Originally published January 5, 2018 on LinkedIn. Follow me there!
"There are no right answers to wrong questions." - Ursula K. Le Guin
We respiratory therapists are a stubborn bunch. That often helps us provide excellent care, in the face of a system that doesn't always understand what we do or the value we provide. But almost as often, that same bull-headedness blindfolds us to answers that should be fairly obvious.
This week (as in most weeks), the question of professional membership arose in the respiratory Facebook world. The usual suspects came forth with the usual arguments for and the usual arguments against. If there was ever evidence that time is truly a flat circle, it exists in the endless threads of these types of posts.
But this time, I started to ask myself, "Why do we keep doing this?" While I agree that those of us involved in our various professional advocacy organizations must do a better job at outreach, transparency, and communication, the answers to the question of "why belong" has been answered and supported many times, in many ways. The evidence is out there, historical and current, but these answers still seem inadequate.
Then it hit me: The answers are inadequate, but not because they're inaccurate. It's the question that's wrong.
You see, the question of whether or not to belong to the AARC and/or your state affiliate posits a situation that does not exist. If you are a respiratory therapist, you ARE ALREADY a part of these associations. When the AARC succeeds, you as a therapist succeed. When it fails, you fail, too. These groups (along with the NBRC, and CoARC, and CoBGRTE) are our voice. For better or for worse, they represent your interests and needs at the state and federal level. They are your voice, and you are their responsibility. It then follows that individuals cannot consider themselves as being apart from these groups. There is no "us" and "them." The AARC is all of us.
Therefore, the question is not whether to belong or not. You do, whether you pay the fee or not. The question is how much input do you want? Do you think priorities are misaligned? Do you disagree with how things like lobbying or regulations are being handled? Do you want to have a say in changing those things? Or are you content to shout endlessly into the Facebook void, and complain when nothing changes?
The choice is still yours, but make sure you're considering the right set of options.