National Respiratory Care Week is coming up Oct. 20-26, and in hospitals across the country therapists are gathering around conference tables or emailing and texting each other to discuss how they can celebrate the event in their organizations.
Donna Tanner, MHA, MBA, RRT, RRT-ACCS, is one of them. The CTA RT education coordinator in the Anesthesia Institute at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, OH, has been doing it for years.
Enhancing the profession
“I am the organizer for RC Week and I love nothing more than promoting our RTs and getting their faces and names out there,” she said.
Tanner makes it happen by putting up pictures of the RTs from her department along the skyways that lead in and out of the campus. She has also created a “Thank You RT” section on the hospital intranet where people can leave messages for therapists who have assisted them in caring for patients, completing projects, or more.
Her favorite RC Week activity, however, centers around fellowship within the department itself.
“I think my most memorable activity is the leadership breakfast we host for the staff,” Tanner said. “Leadership cooks and serves as a small token of appreciation. It’s always one of my favorite RC Week days that I never miss!”
Tanner believes working on her hospital’s annual RC Week celebrations helps to enhance her profession.
“RC Week is the time for a thank-you, recognition, and promotion to the dedicated RTs that make a difference every day,” she said. “That one week a year is my time to honor the RTs that I have had the privilege to work alongside and who have helped mold me into the RT I am today.”
Your turn!
What are you planning for this year’s National Respiratory Care Week? If you’re still looking for some great ideas, visit our RC Week page. You’ll find our Respiratory Care Week Planning Guide there, along with plenty of other resources and links you can use to share your own RC Week activities after this year’s week is complete.
Looking for some great RC Week gear? Our RC Week Store has a wide selection of merchandise for you to choose from – including this year’s t-shirts with the theme, “OURTEAM CARES.”
