Member Champion: Jenn Watts Finds RT Calling in Transport Care and Authentic Leadership

For Jenn Watts, MSc, RRT, RRT-NPS, C-NPT, FAARC, AARC, Critical Care Transport Specialty Section Chair, caring for the sickest children in a moving vehicle requires a unique blend of critical thinking, adaptability, and unwavering focus. Watts currently splits her time between high-stakes transport missions in the Chicagoland area and educating the next generation of critical care clinicians. AARC sat down with her to discuss her 30-year RT journey, how her identity as an LGBTQ+ professional enhances her patient connections, and the vital role the AARC network has played in creating a community and keeping her skills and expertise fresh.

What drew you to the field of respiratory care?
I started in a totally different major of study and did not like it at all once I got into my core classes. I went back to the community college near home to figure out what to do while I was figuring out what to be when I grew up. I knew a bit about respiratory, or so I thought, being asthmatic and around RTs growing up.

How has your identity as a member of the LGBTQ+ community influenced your journey as a healthcare professional?
I find the influence of who I am puts me in the space to be a more objective listener to my patients. While my patients are the neonatal-pediatric population, I think I relate to personalities who always appear cautious, as if no one would like what they have to say. I truly stand by the phrase that it takes courage to be who you are. For my patients, it takes courage to be who they are, finding themselves to be.

Why did you decide to go into transport care?
I always wanted to be able to take care of the sickest patients. By moving into the transport world, I am able not only to care for the sickest kids but also to do so in a moving environment. This environment presents the challenge of being a mobile ICU while requiring critical thinking and assessment skills to provide the best possible care.

Have you seen positive changes in the profession regarding inclusivity and diversity during your career?  
For me personally, I have seen most people not being bothered by me being who I am or that my spouse is a woman. When I started in healthcare 30 years ago, I would not have thought this would ever be the case. I would also argue that the freedom to be myself openly has some bearing on where I call home.

What areas do you think still need improvement?
From my perspective, the areas needing improvement are those where being who you are is not safe.

What are the biggest challenges/opportunities you’ve faced in your RT career? Communication. While I still go on transports, my primary job now involves education and professional development of transport team members – RTs, RNs, residents, medics, etc. As time has passed, each generation has developed different learning methods and communication styles. For me, what makes sense sometimes is clear as mud to the person I am speaking with. While this may not seem very RT-specific, it truly is, because we, as RTs, need to be clear in our communication, whether that’s teaching our patients about their diseases and therapies or, in my case, about the knowledge and skills required to provide critical care in a moving vehicle.

What would you tell students who are looking to go into the respiratory therapy profession?  
The options for finding your niche are more open than you may think. We, as RTs, are an essential piece of the healthcare team. We have so much more to offer than simple medication delivery. We not only possess critical thinking skills applicable to intensive care situations, but we also are expected to figure out puzzles to find just the right fit, for example, the right non-invasive mask for the patient with a unique facial structure.

How has AARC helped your career journey?
AARC has helped me build not only a vast network of content experts in specialized areas of respiratory care, but also provided me with the space where friendships have been formed. I have relied heavily on the professional network I have built during my time with AARC.