Why is Membership Important for a Respiratory Therapist?

Question

Answer

• Membership - supports initiatives but more importantly adds representation within the local and national government
• Leadership - advocate for change and support within the various levels
• Education - current practices, reliable resources, and collaboration among fellow RT’s

Membership supports initiatives, but more importantly, it adds representation within our local government and our national government. Membership gets us resources that we otherwise would not have. It maintains people who have designated their entire job and work to ensure that our profession gets the correct representation and the proper advocacy. It helps support our leadership, and it helps advocate for change. 

If you want change to occur if you want better representation within your state at the national level, you have to take that step and be that change. Maybe you are not someone who is going to go and rally at the capitol for a specific law, but you can become a member, you can pay your membership fees, and you can allow those other people who that is what they want to do, that is what they have studied for to go and do that for you because your membership helps support them. There are tons of educational opportunities throughout the different platforms that help us maintain current practices, help us know that we have a reliable resource to go to and help collaborate among fellow respiratory therapists. We have that wonderful networking community, and I encourage you to look at these websites and visit these different organizations to confirm that you have the right resources. Make sure you have the correct understanding of what is required of you. Ensure that you are an ally for your profession and advocate for respiratory therapists.

This Ask the Expert is an edited excerpt from the course, Professional Organizations Within Respiratory Care: What You Need to Know, presented by Jessica Fino, EdD, RRT.