Dallas College

Student Experience: Zlatko Prijic, RRT

My name's Zlatko Prijic. I'm a pulmonary rehab coordinator here. I've been a respiratory therapist for about 21 years. I graduated from El Centro. They have a great program, prepared me for the field of respiratory therapy. It gave me an opportunity and since it's a different career for myself it opened up new doors for me. And it's been a rewarding career. Instructors at El Centro we're very knowledgeable and very helpful when it came to respiratory therapy and explaining what it was and guiding us during our education at El Centro. 

Well when I moved down here from Canada, I wasn't allowed to work so I went to school and I didn't know what respiratory therapy was. When I went to El Centro it was convenient for me, the location. And it was centrally located with all the hospitals around it so it was real convenient to do clinicals.  El Centro had a good reputation. It was very affordable -- the education -- and for the quality of the education that you're getting. I think El Centro prepared me quite well and I'm very qualified to do what I do. And I've worked in different areas. This is where I've settled right now but I've worked in ICU and they prepared me for ICU. 

They've prepared me for floor therapy and it's a well-rounded education. I think I'd recommend El Centro to anybody, and I always do. If someone wants to go into respiratory or wants to learn more about respiratory, I point them in that direction.


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Jose (Josey) George, RCIS, LMRT

Registered Cardiovascular Invasive Specialist Baylor Garland Hospital
“My training and education at El Centro provided me with the knowledge and skills required to perform my job very well as an invasive cardiovascular specialist. The best part of my job is the satisfaction I gain at the end of each day, due to the fact that I’ve made a difference in my patients’ and their families’ lives by being a part of the lifesaving medical team.”
Invasive Cardiovascular Technology

Lupe Ortiz, RRT, NPS

Respiratory Care Practitioner Baylor University Medical Center
“I chose El Centro one, it was closer to home. It was a little more affordable than going to somewhere out of state or somewhere else. Just those two things were, were the main thing, the reason why I chose to go to El Centro. I think El Centro did an excellent job of preparing me for going into the workforce.”
Respiratory Care Program
Margaret Lembcke

Margaret Lembcke

Health Information Associate II, Parkland Health and Hospital System, Dallas and Baylor Medical Center at Irving
“There’s not a thing I don’t use from the information I learned in the Medical Front Office program. The classes did a very good job of teaching skills that we’d really need. We were always learning from people who have worked in the field, not just learned information in a classroom.”
Medical Front Office
Kelly Freeman

Kelly Freeman

Dental Hygiene Student
“What's interesting to me in classes is the precision of radiology, and how you can change things in an X-ray that can affect the whole ballgame. The instruction is great: the books give you the info, and then when you're practicing on Dexter (the mannequin) you get hands-on experience of how things need to be done correctly.”
Dental Hygiene
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Zlatko Prijic, RRT
Pulmonary Rehab Coordinator Baylor University Medical Center
Respiratory Care Program
School of Health Sciences
Updated September 10, 2026