The Maine Society for Respiratory Care - Lobestergram April 2005

The Trek Across Maine is set for June 17-19, 2005 . There are 1320 registered riders so far and there is still room for more. I am forming a team for anyone who would like to ride with me. I might need some help trekking across this state. I can be reached at 872-8872 for more information. You can get more information at the Lung Association at 1-800-499-5864 or .

ALA-ME has been working with other committees on 14 new bills.

LR 1133 -An act to protect public health by clarifying the law regarding smoking in public places. This bill is in revisions for language review.

LD 801 An act to reduce tobacco use and improve health. This excise tax bill will increase the cigarette tax by $1.50.

LD 52 An act to authorize certain campers to carry inhalers and epinephrine pens. LD 683 An act to authorize a general fund bond issue in the amount of $2,000,000 to clean up chemicals in public schools. LR 529 An act to require the removal from schools of products that trigger childhood asthma.

LD 971 An act to authorize a general fund bond issue for Tails for a Healthy Maine. Support partner is the Bicycle Coalition of Maine. LD 904 An act to create the Maine Asthma and Lung Disease Research Fund. You could make a donation by checking off a dollar amount on your tax form. LD 563 An act to end discrimination against persons with Pulmonary

Disabilities in Northern and Eastern Maine . Ensures Northern Utilities provide patients on O2 concentrators a low-income program, i.e. CMP's Lifeline.

The Asthma Educator Institute was held March 17-18, 2005 . This year the senior respiratory therapy students at KVCC and SMCC participated as a part of their spring clinical rotation. Southern Maine Community College hosted the event, which will be hosted next spring by KVCC. The goal of this collaboration is to assure that every Maine respiratory therapy student has a solid foundation in asthma education upon graduation. In addition to the 22 students and 4 faculty members, 16 professionals participated in the two-day training. The mix of students and professionals created an effective and enthusiastic environment for learning!

Diane Haskell, RRT

Liaison ALA-ME

SMCC News

The SMCC Respiratory Therapy Program is proud to announce the 2004 recipients of the MSRC Student Scholarship: Stacy Schmidt and Jason Kopp.

Our senior class of eleven (11) will be graduating on May 15, 2005 . It will be our first Sunday graduation and first to be held in the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland . All are invited as there will be plenty of space. The seniors are focusing on Critical Care both in class and Clinic. We have been conducting weekly exam review sessions for them to help prepare for the NBRC Exams.

The freshman class is "holding tough" at nineteen (19). This is our largest class to date. These students are getting their first taste of Clinical. Each Tuesday they are experiencing different clinical sites and rotations, mostly as observers with some limited "hands on" experiences.

Sixteen (16) students have thus far been accepted into the class beginning fall of 2005. Four (4) more slots are available but should quickly fill. If you know of someone interested in Respiratory Therapy please have them contact me at: 741-5592 or

Walter C. Chop, MS, RRT

KVCC News

Spring semester is always a busy time of year. Seniors are busy getting their resume' together and coordinating interviews around classes. They are preparing for the entry-level examination and entry into the workforce. Senior students from KVCC and SMCC had an additional task this year. Both classes were able to attend the American Lung Association of Maine "Asthma Educator Institute". Through a grant and the hard work of Rhonda Vosmus, Lee Scott, Gary Hamelin, and Jacquie Greene students at tended the Institute hosted at SMCC. The Lung Association of Maine, SMCC and KVCC co-sponsored the event. I would like to thank everyone who made this possible. Many hours of meetings and extra work went into this endeavor.

Interest in program continues to be high and enrollment for next fall's incoming class is strong. Thank you to all the therapists in the field who promote the profession and program in a positive light.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish the upcoming graduates at KVCC congratulations and best wishes. You are entering the workforce with a sound foundation and are prepared for Respiratory Care which is dynamic and ever changing. Life long learning is the key to success.

NBRC Update

Effective January 1, 2005 , new graduates of accredited advanced level respiratory care education programs have three years after graduation to complete the CRT and RRT Examinations.

In addition, advanced level graduates who have already earned the CRT credential and/or taken and passed one part of the RRT Examination must earn the RRT Credential by December 31, 2007 . Individuals who do not earn the RRT Credential by this date must comply with the new three-year time limit policy to regain eligibility.

Please note: CRT-to-Registry candidates are not affected by this admissions policy change.

Individuals who do not earn the RRT credential within the three-year time limit will be required to retake and pass the CRT Examination for recredentialing to again be eligible for the RRT Examination. Respiratory care practitioners who retake the CRT Examination to regain eligibility for the RRT Examination are not at risk of losing their CRT credential.

The CRT credential is NOT being eliminated. The new policy is to encourage eligible, advanced program graduates to earn the RRT credential within three years of graduation, or by December 31, 2007 if they have already earned the CRT credential and graduated from an advanced level program.

In the past, there has not been a time limit governing when a respiratory care practitioner must successfully complete the RRT Examination after graduation. As a result, thousands of individuals consider themselves "registry eligible" because they meet the eligibility requirements for the RRT Examination. However, these individuals have not taken and/or passed the RRT Examination and the NBRC does not sanction such an eligibility category.

To encourage early achievement of the RRT credential, the NBRC Board of Trustees is currently offering a $50 discount on the RRT examination fee for those who apply for both parts of the RRT Examination within 60 days following achievement of the CRT credential.

MeSRC Conference

Mark your calendar!!

Dates for the Maine Event will be May 18 and 19, 2005 at Spruce Point Inn in Boothbay.

The education committee is working on speakers and the program. The format will have breakout sessions on Thursday and. The Sputum Bowl and a dance will take place on Wednesday evening. Plan to attend!

The golf tournament will be held on May 17, 2005 in Boothbay. All proceeds will be given toward education scholarships forstudents of KVCC and SMCC.

2005 Maine Society for Respiratory Care's Sputum Bowl

This year's Sputum Bowl will be held Wednesday, May 18 th following the first day's lectures of the "Maine Event" conference in Boothbay Harbor at the Spruce Point Inn. It will be held from 4-6 PM in the Linekin Bay room. Appetizers will be served. and a cash bar will be open.

Cash prizes will be awarded to each member of the top three winning teams. Teams can be made up of friends and/or co-workers. Teams can register at the start of the contest. Dr. Neil Duval will again be this year's judge. Moderator will be Keith Siegel.

Each team is allowed to submit questions for the contest. They should follow the rules and format of the AARC's national Sputum Bowl. More visual questions will be added to this year's supply of questions. The rules can be found at AARC's site: http://www.aarc.org/resources/

So, gather a team together or just attend to see the excitement and fun as respiratory therapist from across the state test their memory and knowledge on current respiratory topics.

Sean Shortall RRT-NPS,

RPFT

Congratulations!!!

Dawn McMahon, RRT, CPFT is the new proud mother of twin girls, Abigail and Alexis.

Christina and Norman Roberge are the new proud parents of a baby boy, Lucas.

Educational Piece

Finding Evidenced-Based Medicine in Respiratory Care: It's in Our Mail Boxes Every Month

It is my opinion that the most useful benefit of being an AARC member is receiving the monthly medical journal, Respiratory Care (RC) . It supplies us with one-stop-shopping, if you will, for finding the best practice in respiratory care today.

RC has been "our" medical journal for fifty years. The editor-in-chief is David J. Pierson, MD, FAARC from Seattle , Washington . Dr. Pierson is a true advocate for respiratory care practitioners (RCP). RC is peer reviewed by some of the most revered experts in the field of respiratory care, therapist and physician alike.

Each month the "Abstracts" section provides relevant abstracts from clinical trials and reviews from other medical journals, germane to the field of respiratory care. The editors of RC do the work for us. This rescues us from reading through countless medical journals each month.

Most issues of RC have full original clinical trials, editorials and reviews authored by RCPs and physicians. Occasionally an issue may have a specialty corner. Topics include ABGs, PFTs, and graphic analysis. Each issue also has a book, film, tape and software review section.

Once or twice a year special topic issues of RC are published. For example the January and February 2005 issues published papers and discussions from the 34 th Respiratory Care Journal Conference. This particular conference covered the use of ventilator waveforms and mechanics in the management of critically ill patients. The journal conferences are attended by experts who specialize in the topic being presented. The discussions give us a general idea of how the reviews were received and what part of the review caused the most interest from the experts present.

The next time a fellow therapist asks you, "What can the AARC do for me?" answer them, "They save me time by researching the most current evidence-based medicine in respiratory care."

Sean P. Shortall RRT-NPS, RPFT

Mechanical Ventilator Conference.

There will be a mechanical ventilator conference held at Spectacular Events in Bangor on September 8, 2005 . For more information, contact Sean Shortall at

Ventilatored@aol.com.

Acting President's Message

Hi everyone. Hope that your start to the year has been a good one. The MeSRC remains very busy working on the Bylaws for our Society. Hopefully, they will be finished and approved by the AARC within this year.

We are also still working with the AARC to have Respiratory Therapist included in the wording to allow them to participate in the care of Respiratory patients in the home setting. Please do your part and contact your local legislator by mail, email or phone calls. The AARC capital connection has a list of all your local legislators if you are unsure of who to contact.

We are also in the process of updating the MeSRC website with current information. Please take a look and let us know what you think.

If you have anything that you wish to have included in the next issue of the Lobestergram, please feel free to contact me at belangs@cmhc.org .

If anyone is interested in running for a board position for the MeSRC please contact one of your current board members. Their names are located on our website. Or you can contact me at the above email address.

Shirley Belanger, RRT, CPFT