“I would like to see your average therapist be asked to come to D.C. and experience the legislative process and see what really happens behind the scenes so that they could share their experience with other therapists and hopefully more people can get involved in the process. Many therapists feel only the NJSRC hierarchy members are allowed to attend meetings in D.C and many feel neglected they can’t be part of the team.”
Response by Bob Guardabasco, President Elect
First, let me thank you for your comment. Every year the board is asked for volunteers to spend three days in Washington D.C. Although we would like to have a member from each of the 13 congressional districts, unfortunately, there are financial restraints to the number of attendees. Over the past three meetings, we’ve had at least 3 first-time therapists in Washington. The commitment begins in January with calls to congressional offices and to set up meetings in Washington.
There are a number of ways therapists can contribute and be part of the team. Become a member of the Government Affairs Committee, and if you are interested in attending a future “Hill Day” and are willing to make the commitment, please contact us. If you are unable to make the time commitment, help us by setting up meetings with your representative or write letters to your legislators requesting their support for the respiratory care profession.
“Align with other professions to give us more clout”
Response by Lori-Ann Ligon, President
As the tapestry of healthcare changes in the United States, we must change with it. Many other healthcare professions have transformed themselves to meet the needs of the patient, but, the respiratory care profession has been lacking in its promotion of who we are and what we do. Most of our fellow healthcare partners have made great strides in raising the bar for entry level education… for example, to become a physical therapist, you must now possess a Doctorate in Physical Therapy. Pharmacists are required to achieve a doctorate as well. There are not very many three year nursing schools left as the nursing profession has moved to an entry level bachelor’s. Respiratory care has just begun the process of eliminating the CRT credential, making the RRT entry level. More needs to be done to develop true bachelor’s degree programs in respiratory care if our profession is to remain current and ensure alignment with other allied health professions. We as a professional group need to be more visible to the public. We need to participate in health fairs in the community, guest speak at service organization events, become and maintain membership in the AARC and get involved in activities through the state society.
“More communication, more frequent short emails of happenings, sometimes notifications are given out too late, making it difficult to adjust work schedule to attend and more communication more visible interaction”
Response by Jill Guide, Chairperson Communications and Public Relations
As the survey results were coming in and then fully tallied, I was pleased by the ratings and comments specific to the communications questions. Our hard work is paying off! The overwhelming majority of participants found the frequency of communications either just right or not frequent enough, with the comments reflecting similarly.
Since 2014, the Public Relations committee has resurrected Scope, added over 100 new followers to our social media sites and launched two new websites. The point being, we have multiple methods for the dissemination of information, but we sometimes lack the content. The NJSRC is a family – in this ever changing profession, it is important we stick together. Scope is a resource you can utilize to share your success stories with your family, gain insight into industry related best practice, put a spotlight on a valued employee deserving of recognition or simply brag about your department’s accomplishments. I can say, posts that are specific to department activities (RCWeek, clinical studies, membership spotlight) get the highest amount of visits on the NJSRC site.
Make no mistake about it. Your colleagues really are interested in what your department has going on!
Our goal is to distribute Scope monthly. The committee utilizes several resources including AARC, its affiliate websites and Google alerts. But most importantly, we turn to our members who share the same passion for our profession as we do and want to make that passion known throughout the state. There are plenty of ways to contribute. Why not submit an article as a guest author? Or when your department participates in a health fair, develops a new community or facility-based program, or anything you may want to share, simply send us an email.
Lastly, working with our education committee, notifications for conferences will go out much farther in advance. This year, the NJSRC will offer a Spring Conference at the NJ Sharing Network, on May 12 and it will be our third year there. The NJSN is more centrally located than our Northern Region Director’s Dinner and Conference and the Annual Atlantic City Shore Conference. The Northern Region Dinner and Conference will be held at Portofino Restaurant on June 5. More information to follow. Stay tuned into our communications for the latest updates!
