Michael O'Brien, Respiratory Therapist Clinician 4, UVA Children's Hospital

Описание: Join Michael O'Brien, a respiratory therapist at UVA Health Children's, as he shares his inspiring journey to join a collaborative team dedicated to patient care. Discover what keeps him passionate about healthcare and learn about his typical day managing a pediatric home ventilator program and working with families to improve their children's lives.

Video Transcript:

Speaker:
Michael O'Brien, MSc, RRT-ACCS, RRT-NPS, RRT-SDS, RPFT, AE-C
Respiratory Therapist, UVA Health Children's

Michael O'Brien: Hi, I'm Michael O'Brien. I'm a respiratory therapist here at UVA Health Children's. I came to UVA after a long journey of trying to find a hospital that was both challenging and rewarding to work as a respiratory therapist. I chose UVA among other children's hospitals because I had seen its collaborative work culture, and I wanted to be a part of it. Respiratory therapists here work as trusted team members to provide the best care for patients. We get to leverage both our knowledge and expertise to solve problems. Getting to collaborate in a team to help people is a virtuous cycle. The more you do it, The more you want it,

Michael O'Brien: Now I have stayed at UVA because I've been entrusted with greater responsibilities and also allowed to give the best of myself. I currently coordinate our pediatric home ventilator program. So, on any given day, I'm doing one of three things. Training caregivers to manage the respiratory technology for their medically complex child, seeing these children in clinic, or finally, helping families resolve problems at home. I am one provider amongst a team of providers that supports these moms, dads, and grandparents to give the best life for their medically complex child. Also, I get to participate in research and quality improvement projects.

Michael O'Brien: When I was younger I thought I had a vocation to be a priest. I discovered healthcare by accident, but I'm very glad I did because in it, I found another way to give the best of myself for the good of others. On an individual level, I get to take care of patients. On a systems level, I get to work with my hospital to improve the care we give to everyone. And finally, on a global level, I get to collaborate with providers of all kinds to advance medical science for the good of our patients. How cool is that?