This month in our Specialty Practitioner of the Year (SPOTY) Spotlight series, we’re learning more about our Respiratory Care Management SPOTY: Dave Crotwell, BA, RRT, RRT-NPS, FAARC.
Meet Dave
“I am proud to be a respiratory therapist because I get the opportunity to help people every day,” Crotwell said. “How can you not be proud of helping children heal and live longer lives? This profession has allowed me to make a difference and continue to learn and grow, both professionally and personally.”
Crotwell started in respiratory care in 1995 as a bedside clinician at a community hospital.
“I wanted a challenge so in 1997 I moved to work at a trauma center hospital to gain more critical care experience,” Crotwell said. “I then moved into neonatal pediatrics in 1999 at a large Children’s hospital. In 2005 I moved into management at this hospital and finished a bachelor’s in management in 2012. I am now the director of a department with 115 RT staff members.”
In this role, Crotwell is working with a multidisciplinary team to redesign and remodel their NICU using integrated facility design concepts and full scale mock ups.
“Our RT quality improvement and research program continues to grow, creating more opportunities for us to improve the respiratory care service at Seattle Children’s Hospital,” Crotwell said.
Strengthening your career path
According to Crotwell, his membership in the AARC dramatically affected his career path.
“Through the AARC I have met many colleagues who have challenged me to get involved and help move our profession forward through research and innovation,” Crotwell said. “It has allowed me to learn and share information related to respiratory therapy practices.”
Crotwell is a member of both the Neonatal-Pediatrics Specialty Section and the Respiratory Care Management Specialty Section. He feels that membership in these sections provides a platform to learn from peers who are experts in their fields.
“It provides a great opportunity to learn, share and apply knowledge related to specialized areas of respiratory care,” Crotwell said.
Work with others
“Get involved!” Crotwell said, when asked what advice he would give new members. “We are stronger together and it takes all of us to continue to elevate respiratory care practices to the level we want for our patients and profession.”
Following his own advice, as the Management SPOTY, Crotwell hopes to make more connections with other managers and members of the AARC.
“I am always looking to collaborate with peer institutions to improve the quality of the respiratory therapies we provide to our patients.”
