UAMS Respiratory Care Student in Texarkana
| TEXARKANA, Ark. – Esmeralda Briley of Texarkana, Ark., a fourth-year respiratory care student in the College of Health Related Professions at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), will receive a prestigious national award for her respiratory care research.
The American Respiratory Care Foundation will present Briley with the 2003 Robert M. Lawrence, M.D., Education Recognition Award in December. This award is funded by the National Board for Respiratory Care/Applied Measurement Professionals and will be given to Briley at the American Association for Respiratory Care’s national meeting in Las Vegas.
Briley is earning a bachelor’s degree in respiratory therapy through the UAMS Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Southwest in Texarkana.
Briley’s award-winning research compared respiratory care theories that students learn in the classroom with respiratory care practices in the clinical setting. She conducted the research and wrote her paper during the summer, while also attending school full-time, running her family’s business and taking care of her child while her husband, Matt Briley, was stationed in Kuwait with his United States Army Reserve Unit.
Before entering the UAMS College of Health Related Professions, Briley completed prerequisite coursework at Texarkana College. After she receives her bachelor’s degree from UAMS in May 2004 and becomes a registered respiratory therapist, she plans to focus on the critical care aspect of her profession – possibly working on a medical helicopter transport team and doing emergency care.