Three second-year Conestoga Respiratory Therapy students have been honoured with the Papadakos Student Poster Presentation Award from the Canadian Society of Respiratory Therapists. Entries for the virtual scientific poster presentation were invited from across Canada.
The poster, titled Literature Review: Effect of a Motivational Interviewing-Based Health Coaching on Quality of Life in Subjects With COPD, was developed by Haley Caldwell, Rosalyn Phung and Rachel Wang.
“We were all shocked, but also excited because we were being recognized by the Canadian Society of Respiratory Therapists, which is the main governing body for respiratory therapists in Canada,” said Phung. “The whole experience was surreal to us, but we were very proud to be representing Conestoga.”
When determining their poster topic the team wanted to explore a study that interested them and a topic relevant to their practice.
“There were three factors that went into our decision making. First off, given that there is typically more emphasis placed on quantitative studies, we wanted to focus on something qualitative,” said Wang.
“We also wanted something that involved COPD since it is a disease that respiratory therapists very commonly encounter,” added Caldwell. “Lastly and most importantly, we wanted a study that interested us. The study was interesting as it provided evidence supporting telephone coaching as a feasible, and yet effective and accessible, patient management technique—all things that we think are important to offer our future patients.”
News of the award coincided with Respiratory Therapy week - a national celebration to recognize the respiratory therapy profession and the dedication of respiratory therapists across Canada.
The Conestoga Respiratory Therapy Federation and Respiratory Therapy students marked RT week with educational opportunities they organized and the creation of informational and fun videos promoting the profession and the RT program at Conestoga. First-year students Alishia Campbell, Tom Ngo-Akhien, Sujith Vasanthakumar, Amanda Niederkorn and Lillian Wu were also celebrated -- their literature reviews were published in the Respiratory Therapy Society of Ontario’s fall publication of Airwaves.
Conestoga's fully integrated Respiratory Therapy advanced diploma program provides a diverse learning environment that utilizes classroom education, laboratory sessions, clinically immersive simulation, e-learning, and early clinical exposure with continuous role modeling of the profession.
To learn more, visit the program page.