COVID-19 has disrupted and consumed the global healthcare community as well as our everyday lives. Ensuring our patients stay safe and are treated with the latest evidence-based therapies, and keeping our families and ourselves safe, has been our focus since March 2020. The pandemic has also proved to be an opportunity to showcase just how amazing RT’s are in the face of challenges.
As a professional body, we undertook a strategic planning exercise in January 2020 to develop 4 goals focusing on Education, Governance, Advocacy and Communication/Marketing of the profession. Under each goal we have created several sub-goals; however as you know COVID-19 has derailed many of these activities. Here is a summary of the goals and activities we have accomplished to date despite our preoccupation with all things COVID.
Education: Instead of planning for our annual INSPIRE conference and Leadership Summit, we held several webinars throughout April, May, and June with the help of many people; instrumental through all of this was Kelly Hassall. Thank you, Kelly! In terms of what’s to come, we will be holding 3 webinars during RT Week in October for practicing members. The Student Advisory Committee will also be holding a student-related webinar during the same week. Details on these will be forthcoming. Even though the RTSO and many other professional associations have held and will continue to hold virtual events, the RTSO is committed to supporting your educational needs during this unprecedented year. We are starting to plan for INSPIRE 2021. The venue for INSPIRE has been booked at Blue Mountain Resort in Collingwood on Friday and Saturday, October 22nd and 23rd, 2021. Please save the dates!
Governance: We accomplished the review and revisions of the by-laws, which will be voted on at the virtual AGM planned for October 22nd. We have implemented the position of Secretary as per the by-laws. Succession planning is a key focus to ensure sustainability of the organization. This summer we recruited a President-Elect and have posted for 5 Director positions to fill current and upcoming vacancies. We have received and confirmed 5 applicants. The RTSO Board has reviewed all applications, and each applicant has been offered a position on the 2021 RTSO Board of Directors (BOD). We are excited to welcome our new Board members, as each has something unique to offer our profession.
Advocacy: The RTSO has long been driven to improve its relationship with government and provincial committees and as such we had the fortune to connect with Stosic & Associates, a government relations firm who has a keen interest in our success. The RTSO Executive & Board have approved and signed a 3-month contract with Stosic & Associates https://stosic.ca/. Together the RTSO and Stosic & Associates representatives have developed a solid plan with deliverables to be achieved within our contractual time frame. We will be reporting on the outcomes at the end of the calendar year, including what our return on investment of the dollars spent on this initiative means to you, the membership. Other philanthropic activities led by the Leadership Committee have resulted in donations to Feed Ontario by selling t-shirts and promoting Respiratory Therapy. Kudos and great work by all involved!!
Communication/Marketing: There were 4 sub-goals in this category. One goal we have accomplished is the Integrated Job Profile. Thanks to Leadership and Community Care Committees who reviewed this document many times, to Nancy Garvey for coordinating and collating input, and to other RRT colleagues who provided input related to specialized areas of practice. The document provides a comprehensive role description and has been shared widely with our members and anyone looking to understand what a Respiratory Therapist can do in any sector of the healthcare system.
Stosic & Associates is also helping with our marketing and communication goal, aiming to raise our profile within the government. Some officials are still not aware of our profession and how we greatly contribute to the healthcare system. The following are the objectives agreed to by the RTSO Executive, Board and Stosic & Associates:
- Expand scope of practice to include the use of ultrasound for specific applications and defibrillation.
- Be included in the Aerosol Generating Medical Procedure Guidelines.
- Participate as a member of government advisory committees including specifically the COVID supply, PPE and ICU tables, as well as other relevant committees.
- Provide advice on what key government officials to contact for other projects.
As a result of all this hard work, we have doubled our membership from January 2019 and we continue to market the Society while demonstrating the value the RTSO brings to your everyday practice. We would like to extend a big thank you to our RT and corporate members for your ongoing support and collaborative actions.
More work is planned to include a review of the strategic goals, and creating and cultivating the relationships necessary within government to ensure RT’s have the opportunity to contribute their expertise when decisions are being made. We encourage everyone to contemplate how to give back to your profession either locally or provincially and become a member of the RTSO if you are not already. Together we are stronger, and as the world has seen, we bring value and play an integral role in the care of our patients.
RTSO Executive
Sue Jones: Past President
Paula Smith: President-Elect
Megan McFarlane: Secretary
Sue Martin: Treasurer
Nancy Garvey: Interim Project Advisor
