Message from the President Kim Bennion, 2011 USRC President
The USRC theme for 2011 is
"Reach Out". In keeping with AARC initiatives, we are choosing to focus on four main areas.
They are:
"Reach Out" for Membership
"Reach Out" for Expanding RT Roles
"Reach Out" for RT Education
"Reach Out" for Respiratory Care Community Education
As the economy continues to compete for funds, organizations are being asked to "tighten their budgets". I have been asked if I feel as though RTs may be viewed as "a disposable profes-sion". I literally laughed out loud. Then, I reflected on several issues that I feel are in our control to assure that our valued place in health care can be assured. The level of our profes-sionalism, quality of care as well as RT activity in our State and national professional organizations will have definite positive impact.
More than ever before, being aware of national standards of care, creating policies/procedures and guidelines for guiding "best practice", and measuring & reporting outcomes will be paramount. In truth, our value will be determined by our will-ingness to bring added value to what we do.
"Reach Out" for Membership"
We are represented on the national level based on our mem-bership. Various USRC Board members are planning to visit hospital across the State during the year. We have a 10 min-ute presentation that we would be happy to give to depart-ments as well. Please feel free to contact me to set up a date/time for us to visit your facility. We need you and your team members in the AARC/USRC.
"Reach Out" for Expanding RT Roles"
A number of universities are moving towards mid-level de-grees in advanced Respiratory Care. Another way to expand roles is for us to be able to determine who and in which roles RTs are working. Through the work of one of our sub-committees, we are hoping to collect an inventory of those Utah RTs in non-traditional roles. Before we can chart a course of where we want to be, we need to know where we are. A demographic analysis across the State will help us de-fine "where we are".
"Reach Out" for RT Education"
The USRC Board of Directors is making concerted efforts to involve student s in the organization. If you are a student and would like to participate on a sub-committee, please contact me. This will provide you with exposure to other RTs and will bring you added experience.
For those of you working in the field already, we encourage you to take the RRT exam or other specialty exams. Consider obtaining a graduate degree. Whether we like it or not, we are taken more seriously when we have the education and experience equal to those leaders in other disciplines.
As the USRC Board, we are planning to disseminate "position statements" regarding our profession. The first was sent in early February to all Utah Hospitals. In the letter, we stressed the need to have RRTs to manage RT departments or to at least have an RRT as an educator.
"Reach Out" for Respiratory Care Community Education"
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) of 2010, also known as "Obama Care " or the Healthcare Reform Act has impact on our profession whether we believe it or not. One vital mandate of the act has been placed on preventive care. Historically, only about 3% of government spending has been on preventive care. Think of all the areas where preven-tive care would impact what we do. To name a few, smoking cessation and asthma education courses & pulmonary rehabili-tation are a few areas where we might have great impact. As a nation, we are only beginning to understand the impact of sleep apnea on overall health. I suggest we take a more active role in "leading out" on educating our public and promoting our profession.
We need your ideas and your active participation. Please con-tact anyone on the Board if you are interested in helping us "Reach Out’.
Sincerely,
Kim Bennion BS RRT CHC
2010 USRC Executive Board
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