This is the tale of two soon-to-be RT grads.
Andrew is finishing up his program in a large Midwestern city and is a little like a deer in the headlights right now. Yes, he’s known all along that becoming a practicing RT was going to require him to pass a tough test leading to a state license, because his instructors have been drilling that fact into him for the past two years. And he knows the job market in his part of the country isn’t what it used it be and he might struggle to find a first position.But now those things looming large, and he doesn’t really know how to prepare for either one of them. I mean, where would one turn for help with these things? (Spoiler Alert: Andrew heard a presentation on the AARC when he first started RT school but at the time the extra dollars he would’ve had to pay in student dues just didn’t seem worth it.)
Emily is two months out from finals at her program out on the West Coast too, and also has some test and job anxieties going on. But unlike our friend in the Midwest, she has a plan. It turns out Emily has been a member of the AARC since she enrolled in her program and she’s been taking advantage of the benefits of that membership since day one.
So Emily knows all about the Association’s Exam Prep course to help new grads prepare for the RRT and CRT exams. She joined the Adult Acute Care Section when she joined the Association because she knew that’s where her first job would lie, and she’s since signed up for several Roundtables as well because they don’t even cost anything extra. She reads her discussion list digests every day and makes it a point to ask questions so she can get to know practicing therapists working in these areas.
With these connections already in place in several areas of the country where she’d consider working, she feels fairly confident that she’ll be able to land a position after she walks across the aisle.
AARC membership might not seem like a necessity to many students, but as the examples of Andrew and Emily illustrate, it really is. By joining the Association as a student you can tap into a wealth of information and knowledge that can help you with everything from preparing for your credentialing exams, to identifying specialty areas you might be interested in pursuing, to finding that first job.
Most importantly, it provides you with a sense of not just pursuing your profession, but belonging to it and to all of the other people who call it home too. And there’s no place like home when the going gets tough and you need professional colleagues to serve as your sounding boards and your advocates in the wider world of health care!
Learn more about AARC Student Membership Benefits — including discounts available to you as you transition to new practitioner — and then consider putting them to work in your newly chosen career!
