Joseph Goss, MSJ, RRT
One phrase in business and in life is “You are never alone.” Another phrase often heard in the respiratory care community is “we are a small group.” Both phrases have important meanings, but how can you be alone in a small group? Perhaps, it’s because in difficult situations, be it a staff therapist or department director, when we need help we tend to huddle in our own corner. The problem is when we huddle to protect ourselves, we are weakening our profession. So how can you handle a situation when all you want to do is hide? The answer is to turn to your professional colleagues.
The AARC and NJSRC are the best places to find your professional colleagues. Both organizations offer similar yet different resources. We are all AARC members, from New Jersey to Hawaii and every state in between. So, the AARC offers you the ability to reach out to colleagues throughout the nation. The NJSRC is your state affiliate. We can reach those AARC members within New Jersey via education conferences and newsletters.
How can we get help when we need it? The best place is AARC Connect. Launched several years ago, Connect has become the members social networking hub strictly for RTs. A member can ask questions and get answers on the Help Line or join a discussion occurring in a Roundtable. If you’re a member of an AARC Specialty Section, then Connect offers even more access to that section’s community. Why is that different than the Help Line? A Specialty section consists of members with a specific interest, such as, management, education, neonatal pediatrics, adult care, etc. A discussion in a specialty section is specific to that section’s interests.
This article’s title is Share Your Idea, Share Your Experience. AARC Connect communities provide us with a location to post our questions and ideas. In addition to discussion, there is a repository of all files posted. These files range from best practices employed by respiratory therapy departments, staffing and productivity tools, recruitment and retention ideas, job descriptions, and much more. Sometimes you need not ask a question but can browse the library for a file already posted. Files are cross linked to the individual who posted the file, so you can reach out with a follow up note.
So, you are never alone when the small group of people called respiratory therapists comes together. In these changing times in health care, we especially need to share our ideas and experiences with others, not just locally but throughout the country. So, if you are an AARC member, join a specialty section in your area of expertise and if you are not an AARC member, then join today! Your professional colleagues await with their experiences!
