Episode 8 - The Accidental Therapist

What happens when an accidental Google search completely derails your life plan — in the best possible way? Ask Rachel Jenkins.In this episode, Rob and Mike sit down with the MSRC Vice President and Ozarks Technical Community College faculty member ahead of the Missouri Society for Respiratory Care conference, and things get real fast. Rachel went from psychology and criminology student to respiratory therapist in the middle of a global pandemic, then pivoted to education, landed a spot in the AARC Emerging Leaders Program, and somehow still found time to plan a conference around Renaissance Fairs and dragon-themed ventilators. Yes, really.But underneath the fun, Rachel pulls no punches about the state of the profession — calling out the therapists who want higher pay and a bigger scope of practice without doing the work to earn it, breaking down what it actually costs to get legislation moving, and making the case for why the next generation of RTs needs to be as comfortable talking to a physician as they are sending a text.If you care about where respiratory care is headed and who's going to take it there, this is the episode for you.