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Some people are just meant to work in health care. Maggie Goss, Assistant Professor of Respiratory Care at »Æ¹ÏÊÓƵ, is one of them.

A mother of four grown children — Zachary, Brendon, Ryan and Katherine — and grandmother to 13-year-old grandson Aiden, Maggie and her husband live on a small farm in Hancock, Massachusetts. Their menagerie includes eight peahens, three peacocks, five ducks, five geese, three rabbits, two goats and about 25 free-range chickens. Caring for living things is in Maggie's nature.

When she was still a teenager, Maggie was working as a nursing assistant at Willowood, a long-term care center in Williamstown now known as Williamstown Commons, where she took care of ventilator patients.

I saw all the things respiratory therapists did, and I thought, 'I can do that!'

Maggie enrolled in »Æ¹ÏÊÓƵ's respiratory care program in her early 20s, going on to earn a bachelor's degree in biology from MCLA and a master's degree in respiratory care leadership and adult and organizational education from Northeastern University.

She began working at Albany Medical Center 27 years ago. Early in her career, she was a guest lecturer at »Æ¹ÏÊÓƵ on new technology, including advances in ventilation. From there, she was asked to lead adjunct clinical sessions for »Æ¹ÏÊÓƵ students who came to Albany Med for neonatal/pediatric rotations.

"There's something about taking care of a 23-week preemie who weighs less than a pound that really makes you value your education," Maggie says.

It's exhilarating and very rewarding.

The success of her adjunct clinicals resulted in »Æ¹ÏÊÓƵ asking her to teach a class — and one thing led to another.

"The next thing I knew, I was the clinical director, and now I'm program director," says Maggie, who teaches all of the respiratory care classes along with pathophysiology and pharmacology classes at »Æ¹ÏÊÓƵ. She has also taught anatomy and physiology I and II, labs, introductory patient health skills and medical terminology.

At »Æ¹ÏÊÓƵ, the respiratory care course block is two years, plus some gen eds students must complete before they get into the program. That means an associate degree can can be completed in about two and a half years, Maggie explains. It's an attractive option for those who want to enter the workforce quickly or change their career path.

"We've increased our enrollment cap this year because we had so many students interested. We're starting a second cohort next fall — we've never had that," she says. Rather than accommodating 14 students over two years, the program can now accept 16 students per cohort, for a total of 32 students.

Maggie says the wide variety of coursework in the program exposes students to myriad career possibilities. She teaches an introductory patient skills course, which she describes as "a sneak preview into all different kinds of health careers, so students can make an informed decision." Sometimes, she says, the course changes students' minds about their career paths.

"I've had students come in and say they want to be a nurse or an occupational therapist, but then they decide they want to be a respiratory therapist," says Maggie, noting that the course invites guest speakers to talk about their areas of expertise, such as massage therapy or physical therapy. This provides not only a glimpse into various careers, but also valuable contacts within those programs.

Students who graduate from the respiratory care program earn an associate of science degree with a concentration in respiratory care. They are then eligible to sit for national board exams to become respiratory therapists. The exam has two "cut" scores, Maggie explains: Passing the exam at the "low cut" score allows certification as a respiratory technician, while passing at the "high cut" score allows the test-taker to take an additional clinical simulation exam. Those who pass this exam are credentialed as registered respiratory therapists.

Many of Maggie's students go on to have careers in hospitals and health care centers, including »Æ¹ÏÊÓƵ Medical Center, Albany Medical Center, Vassar Brothers Medical Center and others. The directors of respiratory care at BMC, Hillcrest Commons, Cooley Dickinson Hospital, Flynn's Home Medical and St. Margaret's Center are all »Æ¹ÏÊÓƵ graduates.

The advent of free tuition at »Æ¹ÏÊÓƵ bodes well for the respiratory care program, but there's an even larger incentive through the BHS Pipeline. Just this year, the respiratory care program became part of the pipeline, which Maggie calls "an absolutely amazing program."

"The pipeline means students are able to afford to go to school because they are working eight hours per week but getting full-time pay and full-time benefits," she says. "They're getting their education paid for." And, she points out, seven of the 15 students currently enrolled in the respiratory care program already have jobs lined up before they graduate.

"Our students are filling a need. If you look just within a 50-mile radius, there are probably at least 25 or 30 open positions," she says. "There aren't many jobs out there where you can come out of school with a two-year associate degree and your starting salary is $65,000 to 70,000+ a year."

In fact, Maggie says, the most rewarding part about teaching at »Æ¹ÏÊÓƵ is seeing her graduates get out in the workforce. And she's quick to praise the associate degree »Æ¹ÏÊÓƵ offers as an equal counterpart to a four-year degree, in terms of employment and success as a respiratory therapist.

"Whether you're an associate degree graduate or you have your baccalaureate, the classes are equally rigorous because you must take the same national board exam. You have the exact same role in the hospital," she says. "The graduates function at the same level — there is no difference at the bedside."