Jared Dizon always knew he wanted to work in healthcare, but realized he didn't want to be a nurse.
After playing basketball in junior college for a year, Dizon decided the time was right to focus on something different when a friend mentioned being in American Career College's respiratory therapy program.
"He said it was a good program and a good field to be in because there are a lot of opportunities," Dizon said. "He graduated two cohorts ago and he's working now."
Dizon said his friend's recommendation led him to check out the campus, where he was impressed by the campus and its facilities. He decided to enroll and less than two years later, Dizon took his place with his fellow cohort to celebrate his September 2018 pinning.
"I'm excited and happy to be here," he said. "All of my classmates, we worked hard to get here."
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What's the best thing about being a respiratory therapist?
I just love interacting with patients and depending on where you work, obviously, everyone's really sick, but the more you see the patients, the more you see them get better. And you're always there, giving them medication and talking to them, just helping them get better and go back to daily activities.
What was your clinical experience like?
My first term I was very nervous because I didn't know what to expect, like I was coming from school and I'm all of a sudden you'd be going to the hospital, putting what I learned to practice on real-life patients. But after the first week, it's easier. You follow a respiratory therapist, they show you what to do and all that and you're not really left alone, so you can't really make a mistake. Just ask before you do something.
What do you want people to know about ACC or the respiratory therapy program here?
It's a great program. If you're really looking into something in the medical field, I would recommend looking into respiratory therapy. The school is great. They help you with everything you need. There's no, 'OK we'll leave you over here.' If you need tutoring, they're there for you. All the professors are here for you. Coming here I learned about being responsible, time management, how to manage school and everything else I do on the outside, just being a better person.
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