Organ procurement organization and university-based respiratory care program partnership to develop student internships

INTRODUCTION: Health care providers working as organ recovery coordinators (ORC) in the United States have diverse backgrounds and many of the skills needed for the position are obtained during on-the-job training. Some students in health care programs express interest in the organ procurement field but have limited experience and knowledge regarding organ procurement practices. In response to this, a partnership was developed between an undergraduate respiratory care (RC) program and its local organ procurement organization (OPO) to develop and initiate an internship designed to educate students regarding organ procurement. APPROACH: The 160-h internship was developed with collaboration between the OPO administration and faculty from the university RC program, which closely followed the OPO’s formalized per diem ORC orientation model. Student reflective journals were qualitatively analyzed to determine the shared experiences during the OPO internships. FINDINGS: One RC student participated in the internship in 2017 and three RC students participated in 2019. The student interns actively participated in organ donor management in the critical care and surgical settings with the scheduled ORCs. Student progression of emotional competence and leadership were demonstrated throughout the internship. DISCUSSION: The OPO internship benefited RC students by providing opportunities for professional development that may not be available during their typical clinical rotations and strengthened their critical care skills and emotional competence. CONCLUSION: Employment as an ORC is an emerging role for respiratory therapists. Offering educational opportunities such as internships in emerging roles promotes student development and autonomy while promoting the respiratory therapy profession.