Respiratory Care Is a Good Choice for Me

¶ … Respiratory Care

In Puerto Rico I was a licensed respiratory therapist. When I moved to America, the license that I held was not valid to allow me to continue that line of work. I deliberated whether or not I wanted to pursue a respiratory care degree so as to return to this profession. It is a demanding activity and requires care and patience. However, as I thought about it and what I loved about it in Puerto Rico, I decided to take up this program here in the States. I feel it was the right decision because as soon as I did I fell right back in love with the profession. So, after being away from it for nearly a decade, I have returned to what I love to do, and I am very happy to be able to do it right here in Florida.

Being able to work in respiratory care is therefore not just some arbitrary or random field that I chose because it sounded good but rather it is something that is familiar to me, something I have known in my life for a good long while. True, when I first got involved in the profession in Puerto Rico it was because the opportunity presented itself and I did not want to turn it down. But after coming to the States, so many opportunities presented themselves and I was by no means compelled to continue in this profession. What made me decide to return to it after 10 years of being away was a desire to scratch one my item off my bucket list (graduate from college) and build on the knowledge and skills that I already possess. Because I have some experience in respiratory care already, it was really the most attractive option for me. I did not know that when I re-entered this profession I would feel as much love for it as I do, but that is one of the happy bonuses of taking back up something that you know but have left for a certain amount of time. It is like returning to an old friend in a way.

That I am able to do this in Florida and be part of the community in a serving way is even better. There are many ways that one might choose to be part of one's community in a fuller capacity -- whether through political leadership, or through teaching, or through servicing. I chose to be part of my community in a more active and direct manner by employing the skills I had developed in Puerto Rico and enriching them through higher education here at this college.

I also draw on my experience in the neonatal intensive care unit where I worked as well in Puerto Rico. This could be a very stressful unit where in many cases extreme caution and care had to be exercised. Being able to operate in this facility using the skills I had learned gave me immense appreciation for life and a love for helping those in need. The thought of experiencing that level of intensity and deepening that appreciation is immensely gratifying. It seems like such a simple, basic thing, the ability to breathe. And yet when one stops and thinks about what it would be like to not be able to get one's breath, an entirely no perception on life develops. Helping to secure that most natural instinct, the ability to breathe for people, for old and young, for new to the world and for those who have lived long in it, is a great gift in my opinion and I am so happy to have the opportunity to use that gift once more.