A Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) by day and a singer/songwriter by night, Angela Rowan, BSRT, RRT, RRT-NPS, CPFT, is perfectly in tune with the achievements that bring her personal and professional fulfillment.

Angela is the Lead Respiratory Therapist at OakBend Medical Center near Houston, Texas, and has worked in respiratory therapy since 1982. In the early 1990s, she helped lead the way for specialty credentialing from The National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC): She was among the first respiratory therapists to take the Neonatal Pediatric Specialty (RRT-NPS) exam. Later, in 2007, she expanded her range as a specialist by earning another specialty credential as a Certified Pulmonary Function Technologist (CPFT).

“Having specialty credentials gives me so much more confidence on the job,” Angela says. “I have the clinical experience along with the education and credentials to back it up. I have worked hard to rise far above the standard of care in my profession, and I enjoy all the challenges it brings.”

As early as high school, Angela knew she wanted to “help people in a big way” and made the decision to pursue a career in respiratory care. “Little did I know then all the many different ways I would be able to help others, or how many lives I would help save,” she says. Along with her NBRC specialty credentials, she went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in respiratory therapy from the University of Kansas.

Angela, now 58, enjoys the flexibility of being able to work with patients at any of the campus settings within her health system: acute care, long-term care, physician offices, adult ICU and the pediatric NICU.

“My NBRC credentials are a huge plus for me and for the hospital. They put me at the top of the list in job selection and give me many more choices in the areas I want to work in. When you work hard to advance your career, you appreciate the job that much more because you’ve earned it, and because others respect you for it.”
— Angela Rowan, BSRT, RRT, RRT-NPS, CPFT

Angela, who enjoys practicing and recording songs in her free time, understands how breathing issues can take away the things we love most in life. “My job and my music both help me appreciate the gift of breath,” she says. “Understanding how important the simple act of breathing is, from both a professional and a personal standpoint, makes me want to help others who struggle with it.”