Respiratory Therapy Students Compete in 'Sputum Bowl'

SALISBURY, MD---A team of students from Salisbury University's respiratory therapy program, with members from both the SU and Universities at Shady Grove campuses, competed in the national finals of the 37th Sputum Bowl in Las Vegas last week.

Despite being named after a respiratory secretion the It’s Academic-style competition is a serious intellectual contest.

“Campuses are pitted against one another to be crowned the smartest respiratory students in the nation,” said Dr. Robert Joyner, associate dean of SU’s Richard A. Henson School of Science and Technology and director of the respiratory therapy program. “Employers look for these types of successes on students’ resumes.”

Held during the American Association for Respiratory Care’s international conference, the largest conference of its type in the world, the Sputum Bowl attracts students from all over the country after having won at their state competitions.

The Maryland team included (from left) USG senior Sara Stang of Glenwood, MD; Salisbury senior Brian Sherman of Dunbarton, NH; and USG seniors Kenny Jacobson of Rockville, MD, and Nikki Trankley of Taneytown, MD, along with their USG faculty advisor, Sangeeta Mathur.

They finished second among teams representing 21 other states, competing in the finals against a team from Colorado. They previously had topped teams from Illinois, Minnesota, Nevada, Pennsylvania and North Carolina, among others.  The bracket-style, double-elimination event featured 10-minute rounds and was held over several days of the December conference.

For more information, call 410-543-6030 or visit the SU website at www.salisbury.edu.