Photos by Rowen Fisler/Spoke Online
(Pictured) Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) and Conestoga College instructor Pam Hall stands beside a test patient in her classroom at Conestoga College’s Doon Campus in Kitchener, Ont., on Nov. 14, 2024.
Almost 40 years ago, a near family tragedy forever changed the trajectory of Pam Hall’s life.
When Hall was in the ninth grade, her cousin was born prematurely at just 28 weeks old. The baby faced numerous respiratory issues, causing him to remain in the hospital for an extended period of time.
This event became one of the underlying motivators that pushed Hall into respiratory therapy years later.
“What happened to my cousin always stuck in my mind, visiting the hospital and seeing the role of the Respiratory Therapist (RT) in critical care units; those memories never left,” Hall confided.
Fast forward to the present day and Hall has been a RT for almost 30 years, working throughout southwestern Ontario in a multitude of hospitals.
This was not her only job along the way, with Hall becoming a professor right after graduating from Fanshawe College’s Respiratory Therapy program in 1996.
The sudden switch from student to instructor kept Hall on her toes.
“It seemed really weird. It was odd teaching at a college I had just graduated from, especially when I still felt like a student in respect to my experience in the profession,” Hall said.
Rowen Fisler/Spoke Online
Pam Hall demonstrates a technique to help a newborn’s breathing in the middle of a lecture in her classroom at Conestoga College’s Doon Campus in Kitchener, Ont., on Nov. 14, 2024.
After a long stint teaching at Fanshawe College, Hall made the switch to Conestoga College in 2009, three years after the college started offering their Respiratory Therapy Advanced Diploma program.
Hall initially was weary of how strong the program would be, but that was put to rest for her after speaking with several founding members of the project.
“There was a very clear vision, which translated to the RT program. It’s been helpful getting our students to where they are today, and they’re so well respected in their clinical environments,” Hall said.
Hall celebrated 15 years at Conestoga at the beginning of the current school year.
During her long career in education, many of the students Hall taught ended up working in the field and some even got the chance to work alongside her one day.
This is the case for Gino De Pinto, who is the Program Coordinator of the RT Advanced Diploma program at Conestoga College.
De Pinto first met Hall in 2000, when he was one of her many pupils during her time at Fanshawe.
Hall’s everlasting enthusiasm towards equipping the next generation with the tools needed to succeed always stuck with De Pinto.
“At the time, Pam brought a lot of energy and it was great learning from her. That was kind of my first introduction to Pam and the kind of energy she brings to the profession,” De Pinto said.
Rowen Fisler/Spoke Online
Several students attempt to intubate a newborn child in their Airway Interventions class at Conestoga College’s Doon Campus in Kitchener, Ont., on Nov. 14, 2024.
In her tenure at Conestoga College, Hall has won several prestigious awards in education, including Conestoga’s Aubrey Hagar Distinguished Teaching award and the Robert Merry Excellence in Education award, given by the Canadian Society of Respiratory Therapists (CSRT).
De Pinto credits a special connection that Hall is able to make with her students as the key to her success.
“She holds a really high bar for our students, but they appreciate her style of teaching,” De Pinto said.
“It’s very invitational, she wants her students to do the best that they can, and she provides that through her expertise every day… whether it’s just answering a simple question or showing a technique,” De Pinto explained.
Rowen Fisler/Spoke Online
Pam Hall shows a group of students what tube should be used for a specific intubation in her classroom at Conestoga College’s Doon Campus in Kitchener, Ont., on Nov. 14, 2024.
This sentiment from fellow educators is not just unique to them; it is shared with current and former students of Hall.
Gustavo Ricardo Perez is one of these students. He has been a RT for almost a year at Cambridge Memorial Hospital after graduating from Conestoga in early 2024.
Perez looked back on his success in the profession thus far and gave credit to Hall where it was due.
“The reason why myself and so many others have been so successful in the profession is due to people like Pam,” Perez said.
“There’s no coincidence why so many people in this program have won awards over the years; it’s because of teachers like Pam and what they’ve inspired,” Perez said.
Rowen Fisler/Spoke Online
Pam Hall shows her students the start of an intubation procedure on a newborn in her classroom at Conestoga College’s Doon Campus in Kitchener, Ont., on Nov. 14, 2024.
During her time at Conestoga, Hall gradually drew back from her job in the field and shifted her focus to education.
After all the long days and nights in the hospital, the choice to go full throttle as an educator only made sense.
“The students keep me young. It was easy to get bogged down by some of the more difficult aspects of the job when you’re in a hospital setting,” Hall said.
“When I come to work, I don’t feel old. I like to see things through their eyes and when you build that rapport with these students, then they open up to you on more of a personal level and that’s when you become more than just a teacher,” Hall said.
This was reinforced through Hall’s experience as an emergency worker in the field during the COVID-19 pandemic. She described the time as “highly stressful” and something that she still thinks about often.
Rowen Fisler/Spoke Online
Students in Pam Hall’s Airway Interventions class work on different intubating techniques in her classroom at Conestoga College’s Doon Campus in Kitchener, Ont., on Nov. 14, 2024.
After being in the business for almost four decades, many people would be counting the days until their retirement, waiting for the clock to run out.
This is not the case for Hall, She wants to keep going, regardless of what most her age would do.
“This job is my passion. I’ve worked in my profession for however many years and there is never a day I’ve had yet where I feel like I want to retire,” Hall said.
“I take pride in giving these students a chance to learn in a safe environment where they can make mistakes, learn, and grow as people. I wanted to make sure when I retire, that when I look back on my life in terms of a day, that I earned my sunset… and I feel like I did; I have no regrets,” Hall said.
