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Winter 2014 Is There a Role for Cell Phone Applications in the Self-Management of Asthma? Finding Patient-centered Resources on the Medicare Consumer Websites Parents Need Training in Inhaler Technique Is Social Media the Patient's Friend? RT Students Impact Patient Care During a Medical Mission to the British Virgin Islands Asthma and Allergies Linked to ADHD in Boys
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 RT Students Impact Patient Care During a Medical Mission to the British Virgin Islands
Six students in the respiratory care program at Missouri Southern State University Consortium for Respiratory Care Education in Joplin, MO, got the chance to put their new respiratory care skills to work helping asthma patients in the British Virgin Islands last year. The students and their instructors were able to touch the lives of 104 people with their presentations on asthma signs and symptoms, what triggers asthma episodes, and how to avoid such attacks. They also demonstrated the proper technique for peak flow measurement and metered dose inhaler administration. Students prepared for the experience by getting up to speed on the National Institutes of Health and Global Initiative on Asthma Guidelines. It all paid off for the people who received their care — and that was especially true for one teenage girl who had no idea she had asthma until she and her mother heard one of the waiting room presentations. From the student’s presentation, the mother recognized the signs and symptoms of asthma in her daughter, who was visiting the clinic for an unrelated condition. The mother asked the clinic to evaluate her daughter for asthma, and one of the RT students led her through a patient history, physical, peak flow measurement, and pulse oximetry, which revealed the child was having an asthma episode. The student was able to recommend a bronchodilator, and testing afterward showed a reversal of her asthma symptoms. The girl was subsequently diagnosed with asthma and prescribed bronchodilator therapy. They also made arrangements for a follow-up visit with a pediatrician. In addition to treating patients at the two clinics, the RC students toured a local hospital where they met with a range of health officials to promote the profession of respiratory care, which currently does not exist on the islands. Given the general lack of knowledge about state-of-the-art asthma care among the health professionals at the clinics and hospital, and the tendency of patients to treat asthma with plant-based remedies, respiratory therapists could add significant value to the health care system there, so they plan to continue to network with clinicians at one of the clinics in to improve asthma care by establishing a standard of care for asthma patients. 
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