Daniel D. Rowley, MSc, RRT-ACCS, FAARC
J. Brady Scott, MSc, RRT-ACCS

Sustained collaboration between past AARC International Fellows and the International Council for Respiratory Care (ICRC) Governors from China has provided opportunities for respiratory therapists from the United States to promote the art, science, and clinical practice of respiratory care.

Hangzhou
During our three week stint in China this summer, we met with Ms. Yuan Yue-hua, RT, Director of Respiratory Therapy, and Hui-Qing Ge, MSc, RT, Clinical Manager of Respiratory Therapy, at Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital in Hangzhou, China. We discussed various administrative and clinical opportunities for improvement that were identified by the department leadership team. Initially, with eight new RT staff beginning orientation the week after we arrived, we were asked to participate in new employee orientation. We participated by delivering structured presentations on topics ranging from an introduction to respiratory care to airway management and mechanical ventilation. We also introduced the concept of problem-based learning through hands-on labs that followed didactic sessions. The intent was to make the training and orientation relevant and readily applicable to clinical practice.

Aside from new employee orientation, we participated in morning patient care rounds in the adult ICUs. There, we emphasized and demonstrated an evidence-based approach to respiratory care at the bedside. We discussed how evidence could be accessed and utilized to drive decisions.

Shanghai
Our time in Shanghai was spent at the 10th People’s Hospital of Tongji University with Dr. Xiang Yu Zhang, MD, FCCP. We were given the opportunity to round with his staff of RTs, including Qixing Want, RT (2008 AARC International Fellow) in the adult surgical ICU. We also attended and provided feedback on presentations that were delivered by his graduate students. Those students are currently conducting animal research related to mechanical ventilation and physiologic monitoring. Time was also spent in the school of nursing’s high-fidelity simulation lab interacting and building relationships with nursing scholars and staff from the hospital.

Also in Shanghai, we had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Yang Liu, MD, who is one of four 2014 AARC International Fellows. He is honored and enthusiastic about arriving to the United States in November, where he will be introduced to respiratory therapy education programs and clinical practice in Rochester, NY and Rochester, MN, before heading to the AARC’s 2014 Congress in Las Vegas, NV.

Beijing
We were invited by past AARC International Fellow, Jie Li, MSc, RT, to speak at a nursing critical care conference being held at Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital. A tour of the adult respiratory ICU provided opportunities to discuss patient care management strategies and observe clinical research related to NAVA. Finally, we participated in a round-table discussion about various respiratory care topics with critical care nurses and respiratory therapists.

Daniel D. Rowley, MSc, RRT-ACCS, FAARC is Respiratory Therapy Clinical Coordinator at the University of Virginia Medical Center, Charlottesville, VA

J. Brady Scott, MSc, RRT-ACCS is Interim Director of Clinical Education and Assistant Professor of Cardiopulmonary Sciences Respiratory Care Program at Rush University, Chicago, IL