SCC Respiratory Care Students Take Home Sputum Bowl Trophy For Fourth Year In A Row

05/04/2015

West Burlington, IA- Southeastern Community College (SCC) Respiratory Care students took first place at this year’s Sputum Bowl competition in Des Moines for the fourth year in a row.  SCC Respiratory Care students, Alicia Tripp, Brooke Wolkenhauer, and Chelsea Craine all represented SCC at the state-wide event.

The Sputum Bowl is a knowledge competition similar to the game show, “Jeopardy.” The main objective of the Sputum Bowl is to stimulate interest in the current knowledge and practices of respiratory care.

Tripp says preparing for the competition brought her and her classmates closer together.

“We helped quiz each other a lot and supported each other as a group. Studying for the Bowl really taught us to work as a team.”

Craine says while the competition was teams-oriented, students sharpened their individual weaknesses as well.

“Studying for the Bowl forced each of us to recognize areas we personally needed to improve upon in the classroom. We learned to take responsibility for our roles as individuals and prepare on our own time, too.”

SCC Clinical Coordinator, Suellen Carmody-Menzer, says after taking first place in the Sputum Bowl three years in a row, the students invested a lot of time studying in and outside of the classroom to bring the trophy home again.

“Our students have been very dedicated throughout their time at SCC and the Sputum Bowl gave them the opportunity to show off their extra efforts.”

Carmody-Menzer and SCC Respiratory Care Program Coordinator, Stacy Lewis-Sells are very proud of how the students represented SCC during the competition.

Lewis-Sells says her students used a simple yet effective study tool to prepare for the competition.

“About 12 years ago, a student’s father made up some ‘buzzers’ to practice with. There are three people per team so buzzing in quickly and cooperating to come up with an answer in 10 seconds needs a little rehearsal.”

Lewis-Sells says SCC Respiratory Care graduates perform above national average and have an 88-97% placement rating, depending on the year.

“Our students are highly sought after by hospitals and health care facilities across the state.

We get calls from Des Moines, Peoria, Iowa City, and even Hy-Vee Home Health Care asking for recommendations ever year.”

Students are now preparing for Nationals in Tampa, Florida.

“We’re really excited to represent SCC at Nationals and see how we match up against Respiratory Care students from community colleges outside of Iowa,” says Wolkenhauer.

For a photo of the winners, please click here.

For more news or to learn about Southeastern Community College, visit: https://www.scciowa.edu/rss/news/index.html