Published on Dec. 18, 2012
After eight years with the University of Missouri’s Respiratory Therapy program, Shawna Strickland will leave Mizzou later this month for a position with the American Association of Respiratory Care (AARC), which is the national professional society for respiratory therapy.
Taking over as the associate executive director of education at AARC, she will direct the continuing education operation, as well as develop and implement online and on-demand programming for the profession.
She will also lead the development of clinical practice guidelines that will direct the practice of respiratory therapy around the world.
Strickland has been at Mizzou since 2005 and cites many of her experiences at MU in helping her gain the new position. One of those is teaching Writing Intensive (WI) courses, which she has done since 2006.
“The experience that I gained by teaching WI courses and helping others utilize the written word to accurately and concisely express their thoughts and knowledge has helped me personally develop more effective communication styles,” says Strickland, who has also served on the Campus Writing Board at MU since 2010.
During the interview with AARC, Strickland was able to showcase projects that she was part of at Mizzou which supported her ability to articulate ideas and concepts that could be beneficial to the respiratory therapy profession as a whole.
Strickland has also been active in online teaching at MU and recently was awarded the Excellence in Teaching honor at the University Professional and Continuing Education Association Central Region Conference. The award recognizes outstanding teaching and mentoring, while delivering creative and innovative curriculum.
“My experiences with online and blended coursework will be a massive benefit to the challenges that I’ll face with the new position,” she says. “I also hope it will help me bring fresh ideas to the profession and help deliver the information vital to the professional development of respiratory therapists in ways that are meaningful.”
Strickland joined the Respiratory Therapy program in the MU’s School of Health Professions after practicing as a licensed respiratory care practitioner in Missouri, Texas and Illinois for several years.
“I am so fortunate that so many people took the time to mentor me during these last eight years,” Strickland says. “Those lessons will help me be flexible, creative, daring and innovative.”