Vice President — External
Georgianna Sergakis
Program Director
The Ohio State University
Member Since: 1997
AARC Activities:
- VP – External Affairs 2021- present
- Board of Directors 2017 -present
- Chair Education Section 2017 – 2020
- Chair Vision Grant Committee 2020
- Associate Editor Respiratory Care Education Annual 2020 – present
- Member AS to BS Conversion Committee 2019 – present
- Leader Advanced Education Leadership Institute Education 2019
- CoPI Clinician Training on Tobacco Dependence for Respiratory Therapists program 2015
- Chair Tobacco Use and Dependence Clinician Guide for Respiratory Therapists 2014
- Chair TobaccoFree Lifestyle Roundtable
- AARC Clinical PEP Practices of Effective Preceptors CoDeveloper 2010 – present
- AARC Exam Prep Course faculty 2011- 2012
- Education Section Baccalaureate and Graduate Respiratory Therapy Education Subcommittee At Large Member 2011
- Member Education Section 2006 -present
- Member Leadership and Management Section 2019 – present
Affiliate Activities:
- Drive4COPD State Co-Captain 2010 -2011
- Member OSRC 1997 -present
Related Organizations:
- Current Concepts in Respiratory Care OSU Medical Center Executive and Program Planning Committee Founding member
- CoARC Ad Hoc Masters Degree Standards Committee 2010 -2013
- Coalition for Baccalaureate and Graduate Respiratory Therapy Education CoBGRTE Executive Committee Member at Large 2012 -2015
- Coalition for Baccalaureate and Graduate Respiratory Therapy Education CoBGRTE Executive Committee Secretary 2015 -2017
- Basic Life Support Instructor Trainer American Heart Association 2009 -present
- Basic Life Support Instructor American Heart Association 1998 -present
Education:
- PhD Adult Education The Ohio State University 2006
- MA Workforce Development and Education The Ohio State University 2004
- MS Allied Medicine Education The Ohio State University 2000
- BS Respiratory Therapy The Ohio State University 1998
- BA Psychology The Ohio State University 1998
- RRT
- Certified Asthma Educator 2018 – present
Publications:
- Varekojis SM, Schweller J, Sergakis G. Introducing the Advanced Practice Respiratory Therapist. CHEST. 2021 Aug;160(2):e157-e159. doi: 10.1016/j.chest.2021.03.053. Epub 2021 Apr 2. PMID: 33819470; PMCID: PMC8102079.
- Sergakis G Varekojis S Dunlevy C Cardiovascular Renal and Neural Anatomy and Physiology. In Respiratory Care Principles and Practice. Edited by Hess D MacIntyre N. and Galvin W. Burlington Jones and Bartlett. 4th ed. 2020.
- Georgianna Sergakis PhD RRT TTS FAARC Jill Clutter PhD MCHES Victoria Holthaus MS RD Marcia Nahikian Nelms PhD RDN LD CNSC Lisa Rohrig BSN RN Julie Legg PharmD Beth Liston MD PhD FACP Carolyn McClerking DNP RN ACNPBC Erin Thomas DPT PT Janice Wilcox DNP RN CNL The Impact of Interprofessional Clinical Simulation on Attitudes Confidence and Professional Identity The Added Value of Integrating Respiratory Therapy Georgianna. Respiratory Care Education Annual. Vol. 25 no. Fall 2016 1116. 2016.
- Zuo L He F Sergakis GG Koozehchian MS Stimpfl JN Rong Y Diaz PT Best The interrelated role of cigarette smoking oxidative stress and immune. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol. Vol. epub ahead of print PMID24879054. 2014
Elections Committee Questions:
What do you see as the biggest challenge facing the AARC and what do you recommend to address it?
The AARC is poised to re-invigorate our profession through the transformative process of AARC 2.0.
I see the biggest challenges we face is professional unity, advocacy and trust. I hope that as a VP, and a thoughtful and deliberate Board member, I will contribute to this transformation and we can work together to rebuild a better professional association that it has ever been. We need to become an organization that promotes EVERY RT through advocacy, continued education and we will elevate the profession to the RT’s true potential. We have made progress, but we still have room for improvement to optimize our growth as an organization. Diversity of ideas, expertise and talent is how we will grow. In my role as VP, I will continue to be a champion for diversity equity and inclusion through advocacy and thoughtful deliberation. I see a bright future ahead and I am excited to be a part of this journey to meet the needs of RTs nationally.
What ideas do you have to help todays Respiratory Therapist recover from the pandemic and what do you feel is the main issue Respiratory Care Practitioners are facing, and what key solutions should be addressed to support our profession?
The RT profession is again at a crossroads, like we have been so many times before. The RT has increased visibility through the pandemic, yet we have not optimized the opportunity to show the value-added of the RT to the interprofessional team. I believe AARC 2.0 is an opportunity to move ahead, together. I believe the key solutions are to increase our promotion of the profession, advocacy and support for evidence-based practice. It is time for the AARC to bring together the important stakeholders, and lead the way to elevate the profession to align with the opportunities for growth like increasing the evidence to support practice, creating career pathways (APRT) to keep talented RTs in the profession, and expanding RT practice settings to meet the needs of cardiopulmonary patients. Imagine what we could do if we worked together toward those goals? We would be unstoppable. I believe the key to increasing membership will be through education, advocacy, evidence, and recognition.
Role-Specific Questions:
Promoting the profession is considered one of the greatest opportunities, what are your ideas to help realize this opportunity?
I believe the key will be threefold: educating the world about our role, advocating for RTs to maximize our skills and educational preparation, and recognition of our value to the interprofessional team. I believe if we concentrate on these three key initiatives, we will become the household name that RT should be. RT is listed as the #6 career in healthcare (and #16 overall), yet I meet students each day that don’t know what we do. Careful and deliberate self-promotion and public awareness needs to be coupled with value-added research findings that demonstrate (data) our value to the healthcare system. We need to promote our value to the cardiopulmonary patients that we serve as well as the administrators that can improve outcomes through optimization of RT services. This will then allow the AARC and our partners to clearly articulate and recognize our value to the interprofessional team. I have many ideas, and look forward to collaboration with others to achieve these goals.
