My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic may seem like an odd place to look for professional advice, but in order to address these Seven Deadly Sins, we need be willing to step out of our professional comfort zones. It's all about taking long, hard looks at ourselves, and accepting guidance from unexpected sources.
I admit, pretty much all I know about My Little Pony I learned from my daughter. An expert on all things Ponyville, she's the one who first introduced me to a rather odd-looking mishmash character, who turned out to be a recurring antagonist. Appropriately named Discord (and voiced by the incomparable John de Lancie), he personifies the spirit of disharmony and chaos (much like another de Lancie character, Q from Star Trek: the Next Generation). As I asked her a bit more about Discord's effect on the various ponies, pegasi, and alicorns that inhabit the land of Equestria, I was struck by how much I recognized Discord from a variety of respiratory therapy discussion groups.
In Discord's first appearance, he immediately sets about turning the best-friend main characters against each other, setting up misunderstandings and destroying the usual harmony, teamwork, and yes, friendship that gives the pony group their power. His goal is to establish pure chaos throughout the realm, and isn't above using gossip, innuendo, and deception to sabotage relationships and prevent progress.
There are certain elements in our own profession that all too often use similar tactics to sow disharmony for no obvious reason. It is sadly most obvious in any discussion of advancing the profession through improving credentialing or education, and it often appears almost spiteful. Take a look at virtually any social media post that mentions either topic, and eventually the comment thread devolves into pointless bickering. RRT vs. CRT. Associate degree vs. bachelor's degree. More often than not, the arguments are completely irrational; for example, there's always the one therapist who talks about taking their CRT and 15 years experience and "running rings" around some rookie new grad RRT with their "fancy letters."
This. Must. Stop. First of all, it's absurd; you should be able to be a better therapist with advanced experience, regardless of credential. That doesn't mean the RRT is meaningless, it just means that experience means a lot in healthcare. Second, we have to realize that healthcare will advance, whether we do or not. This doesn't mean that experienced CRTs or associate-degree therapists have outlived their usefulness, it just means we need to encourage people to advance by providing enhanced opportunities.
This sort of ill-informed, knee-jerk defensiveness is barely a step removed from breakroom gossip. Conclusions drawn before all the facts are in are almost invariably wrong, and the hearsay that results from them can tear departments apart at a time when hanging together is more important than ever. Whenever we see major shifts in how hospitals are handling respiratory care, we see these incomplete conclusions spread like wildfire, and cause even more friction as people confuse speculation for fact.
We cannot overcome the issues that face us as a profession as long as we continue to be fractured. Some of this can be laid at the feet of our national organizations; the NBRC needs to stop issuing new CRTs and perpetuating the issues, and the AARC needs to put teeth into their 2015 and Beyond recommendation to retire the credential in a way that is respectful and supportive of existing CRT therapists. However, these groups are not making us fight each other. We're doing that to ourselves.
In subsequent appearances, Discord is redeemed by the power of friendship and cooperation. Indeed, by working together with the main-character Ponies, he eventually saves Equestria from a bigger, badder enemy centaur. We need to apply these elements of harmony to our discussions, realizing that advancing the profession does not necessarily imply leaving people behind. We also need to realize that advancement is inevitable if we want to survive, and work to incentivize people to move forward.
Most importantly, we need to realize that we're all on the same team, and we need to support each other in order to achieve our goals. Having some degree of friendly rivalry is healthy enough in the Sputum Bowl, but when it comes to reaching our goals and advancing our profession, friendship really is magic.