Respiratory Blog

“We don’t rise to the level of our expectations ... we fall to the level of our training.”
I think about this often when teaching respiratory therapy students. My goal is never just to teach content but to help build habits and standards that hold up under pressure (fatigue, short staffing, tough patients). I want them to be able to perform safely, not just when things go well, but when they don’t.
I also hope they develop the kind of work ethic that keeps quality and teamwork in focus, even when no one’s watching. What we practice becomes who we are in difficult moments.
As I get older, I find myself valuing authenticity more...not as a fixed identity, but as a process of being honest with ourselves, even as we grow and change. People are not locked into their past values or beliefs, and that’s okay. But in this work, some foundations, like safety, humility, and respect, are worth training until they’re second nature.