Respiratory Therapy grad brings home the gold

“I was amazed when I heard the news, and mostly in shock.”

Lexie Medina (Respiratory Therapy, 2024) awoke one morning to a phone call from the Canadian Society of Respiratory Therapists (CSRT) sharing the news that she had achieved the highest score on the association’s national exam that year. She was also invited to attend CSRT’s conference in Ottawa last month to accept the gold award to mark her achievement.

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“I had a fantastic experience at the CSRT conference,” says Lexie. “I invited my father to come with me so he could watch me get my award, too! It was an honour to be able to sit amongst so many highly respected RTs (respiratory therapists) and other medical professionals and have them watch me, a new grad, walk across a stage to receive an award from the president of CSRT.”

Not only was this a remarkable achievement on the national stage for a new respiratory therapist, but it was also a goal Lexie secretly set for herself early in her studies at Fanshawe.

“When I first started the RT program, one of our courses mentioned this award and my immediate thought was ‘I want to win this’ and I actually did!”

Lexie decided to pursue a career in respiratory therapy because of a lifelong interest in the medical field. What stood out to her about RT was the level of autonomy offered, and critical thinking required. Through the program, she learned that RTs have more responsibility and unique skills than she previously thought.

It’s clear Lexie is thriving in her chosen field. Not only did she clinch the top score in the country on her exam, but she also secured a role as a respiratory therapist in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at London Health Sciences Centre.

“The NICU is where I wanted to work, and I’m lucky to have made that a reality so fast,” says Lexie. “Being an RT is special because there is such variety within the RT profession itself that I know I will never be bored! My goal is to become the RT that everyone looks up to in the same way I look up to so many of them.”

“It is an exceptional honour for our school to have the top performer recognized at the national level,” says Lyndsay Fitzgeorge, associate dean of Fanshawe’s School of Health Sciences. “This achievement speaks volumes about the calibre of our students, the strength of our program, and the dedication of our outstanding educator team.”

"The entire RT faculty team is incredibly proud of Lexie’s outstanding accomplishments,” says Julie Brown, coordinator of the Respiratory Therapy program. “It was a true pleasure having her in the RT program, and we are confident that she will achieve great success in her career. Her dedication, talent, and spirit have left a lasting impression on all of us."