Well, we did it! We elected the nation's first African-American President and so many experts thought this day would come, but not for many years yet. As a people, we can be a surprising lot. How we approach a challenge doesn't fit every model and our ability to rise to an occasion is truly second to none.
The point here is not about politics as that is a topic that can get heated (ya think?) as we all have our fundamental beliefs in which is right - left or right, but based on the voters, we are going to be putting our faith and trust towards the left. However, somewhere in the middle, at the end of the day, we are all one country and now Barack Obama is entrusted with getting us out of a number of big problems, the magnitude of which haven't faced our country since the 30s.
You may be asking, ok Susan, so what is the point? The point is that people have different ways of viewing and reacting to the challenges that face us as individuals. Some people take action and choose to make a difference by stepping up to lead a committee or a group or join with like-minded folks for various causes. Some like to find the person (or group) who is responsible and blame them, and some take a realistic view and say what can I do - what is my role in all of this and how can I make my situation better?
Make no mistake, the economy is the real deal - times are tough and money is tight. We will likely be asked to participate in our nation's recovery to a certain degree and we may have to make choices and sacrifices. Healthcare is still not optimal and it will take years for it to evolve to the next stage, but we must be actively involved in that if we want to ensure our success in future roles.
On a personal note though, we really all do own our own success. No one can make us happy or rich or successful. It is up to us. When you consider your position now, your lot in life and you compare it to where you really want to go, what will you do to help yourself get there? How will you make your plan work to get you to your goal? Will you be a leader, a blamer or an action-taker?
2 comments:
Hi Susan - I met you at WA-AHDI in Vancouver (I still can't believe you came from so far!), and this week I am a newbie with TRS. I currently work 60 hours a week in order to change my personal corner of the economy. I agree people are making shifts where we can, and many of us are a hair away from homelessness or not being able to feed our children. I agree with your big picture views on all of us taking a stake in our country's future (and our own). I think daily about possible solutions to the health care situation. Our piece of it (health care documentation) feels to me to have become so fragmented along with every other piece that I wonder whether even people "in the know" can figure out a way to unify and streamline some of the processes. Hospital to hospital, clinic to clinic, company to company, MT is done in different ways with different standards on different platforms. Do you know of good models for IT meeting MT with consistent practices? The VA perhaps? At some point down the road, whatever a individual's politics, health care will only become accessible and affordable with streamlined documentation as its benchmark.
Hi Susan -- I agree that politics can become a very heated topic for us all, so I will stay away from that subject here. My only hope is that we all, left and right, learn to come to the middle and work together for the better of our country. Of course, this is easier said than done, but we certainly can do what we can as individuals to make this happen.
With that being said, the same holds true for AHDI. I have been an MT for 15 years, yet never became a member of AHDI (AAMT). To tell you the truth, since I got into this profession by on-the-job training, I really do not remember how I first learned about the association and when I did learn about it, I was one of those that sat on the sidelines as a spectator, waiting for things to happen.
Things changed for me in January of this year, when I visited my local component here in Austin, Texas, The Capital Chapter. I have to tell you, my morale and attitude towards AHDI and this profession has changed ever since. Our President, Kathy Muelker, RMT, is very passionate about this profession and makes it very easy to want to become a member and get involved. Ultimately, I had to make the decision to change, but she certainly provided the encouragement I needed, and for this, I am forever grateful.
I feel as though I have accomplished a lot this year, by joining AHDI, my local chapter, OA-AHDI, as well as TRS-AHDI. Thanks to TRS and the wonderful study group they offer, I earned my CMT in September! I am now the President-Elect for TRS-AHDI, and look forward to contributing to the future of this wonderful profession.
My goal for 2009 is to become more involved with AHDI and try to encourage not only membership but involvement, as well. Although, I still have a lot to learn about the association, I no longer want to be on the sidelines and be, as you put it, Susan, a "blamer," but rather an action-taker. Betty Honkonen also said it best in an article, "Control Your Own Destiny," in the July Plexus. She also refers to the US Army slogan, "Be all that you can be." Since my husband is retired army and I have a son-in-law serving in Iraq right now, it's one of my favorite slogans – I just wish I would have paid more attention to the slogan, 15 years ago!
So, I look forward to being an active member of AHDI, by encouraging new, old, and future members to be all they can be, by becoming more involved and contributing to the success of our profession. We are all in the driver’s seat here and where we go is ultimately up to ALL of us!
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