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By Jacqui Rose, MBA, CRA, FAHRA
I think we are all feeling a bit disconnected from colleagues, friends, family and others at this time and getting rather tired of it. I never realized how much of a social being I am, more than this year. This year has changed and challenged the way we view and address everything. And since most of us are not back to anything remotely resembling “normal”, we naturally wonder what that will look like going forward. Recently, I read an article that focused on the mental health aspect of a pandemic, with a great explanation of how this pandemic can make us feel like we are stuck and not achieving.
As Imaging people, this is particularly hard for us because we tend to be over-achievers. So, how can we help ourselves and our entire world move forward, in the same direction? By focusing our energy on our purpose and passion. People will always need Imaging and the amazing people who bring that to us. From innovations spurred by our Radiologists and industry partners, to the amazing teams we are honored to serve with every day, the world needs us. We must learn to find new ways to connect and fill that void of human interaction and achievement in new and creative ways. We must also learn new and creative ways to deal with the new forms and levels of stress that a pandemic brings to our medical community. AHRA is here to help!
It is so easy to stay connected to your AHRA family. From sharing of information via the Forum, (which is our top membership value), to great educational webinars with pertinent real time information, our amazing journal packed full of success stories, and many committee opportunities to volunteer your time and talent. The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee under the new leadership of Chris Harris, is amped and excited to ramp back up after the annual meeting. Nicole Dhanraj, a committee member is hosting the Minority Women in Radiology Leadership ONE event on Nov 19. Please join! I am truly excited to see great things develop from this talented team! The Imaging Innovation Council is diligently working to enhance the value and work we do together with our industry partners. And the Board of Directors is working on the new Strategic plan that will help focus our purpose going forward.
As we enter into a season of gratitude, I want to share how truly grateful I am for this amazing AHRA family. I have been a member since 1995, when I found the home I was looking for. This season, please share your gratitude with all those who make your life better. The AHRA and Education Foundation are doing just that with the 30 Days of Gratitude campaign to show our gratitude to the Medical Imaging Community for their commitment to caring and advancing together!
Through this campaign you’ll see posts shared on a variety of things we as an AHRA family are thankful for. We’d love for you to get involved! Follow AHRA on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram to not just see the posts but to join in on them. You’ll see prompts that ask you to share favorite members or become a kid again and tell us your superhero alter ego name. I’d encourage you do it – engage and have fun – we can all use some fun these days. You can also participate by sponsoring a “Shout-Out” where you get to recognize someone publicly ad why you are thankful for them. If you want to take over the “Live” content of LinkedIn and Facebook Stories for a day and show your friends a day in the life, reach out to Francesca at foundation@ahra.org.
We want to see you, virtually, on social media this month. I’m excited to share my gratitude and hope you are too!
And don’t forget all donations made to the EF this month, up to $10,000, will be matched!
Jacqui Rose, MBA, CRA, FAHRA, RT (R) is the 2020-2021 President of the AHRA Board of Directors. She is the Director of Medical Imaging, Telecommunications, IT and Lab, UVMC; Medical Imaging, MVHN. She can be reached at jfrose@premierhealth.com
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