Lungs to Heart

Taking oxygenated blood from the lungs and returning it to the heart is the catalyst to supporting the function of the entire body. In a similar fashion, being able to take foundational knowledge and build upon it is a critical part of acquiring advanced expertise. Taking foundational knowledge gained through developing a solid team approach and building upon it in order to grow that team is the focus of this goal. With the support of the interdisciplinary team knowledge can then be broken down and translated in order to build a strong rehab team, who will in turn provide higher quality care to the advanced cardiac patients. Earning support of rehab management was critical in building the scaffolding of the training program. The annual competency is the culmination of gaining support, building knowledge, establishing a foundation, and then developing an organized and systematic way to not only support skilled therapy services as valuable, but also ensure the safety and support of the therapist and patient.

Goal Reflection

While working in the cardiac intensive care unit I see multiple things that I'd like to change, but with the every day ins and outs of patient care and productivity and documentation it was always something I wanted to do but never got around to. As time passed I could see the need for more organized and precise training for the therapists being sent to care for critical patients. Initially I approached the situation with a mindset that I knew exactly what needed to happen, and how I wanted it to go. I wanted to handle everything on my own, the research, the presenting, and the building of the program. Over time, however, I realized that the entire process was bigger than me, it was bigger than just what I wanted to do, and that it was something I couldn't do on my own.

When I started this program I felt a similar feeling, that this was something I would do on my own without any help, but again over time I've realized that when you want to accomplish something big, something that is meant to help others, and to change the landscape, that you can not do it alone, and I realized that I cannot do it alone. Utilizing your resources and building a team of people who will support you and work with you to improve the care of others is the most important piece of the puzzle. Without a team of driven individuals who hold the same goals there is a good chance that you'll never end up with what you set out to build.

Building and creating a way to bring others into a specialized area, and engaging them in the conversation is how I see this entire process. Creating goals that don't include reaching out and utilizing the expertise of others will nearly always set someone up for failure. This experience, not only of building a training program, but of developing my level of expertise in order to help educate others has taught me the value of utilizing others strengths as a resource.