Who we are: The TSRC is a chartered affiliate of the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) and simply put we are the state trade association for respiratory care. The TSRC is segmented into seven chapters across the state with a chapter president and chapter president elect for each one. The TSRC Board of Directors (BOD) is made up of all volunteers, many of us are department heads, business owners, supervisors, marketing or sales professionals, clinical coordinators and clinical educators. The chapter presidents and president elects make up part of the board and the executive committee or state officers make up the other part of the BOD. We also have various committees to spearhead specific areas like government affairs, fundraising, programs (organizing the state conference) and standards of care, One thing we all have in common is we love our profession and we are willing to put in some time and effort to ensure it is being protected and is advancing as fast as possible.
What we do: Our focus is on 3 primary areas
Education – we offer a wide variety of conferences to respiratory therapists in TN through our state meeting (http://77.104.162.109/~tntsrc25/events/tsrc-2015-state-meeting/) as well around 15-20 regional meetings per year. These events are what funds the activities of the society and are a very important part of allowing us to do what we do.
Advocacy & Awareness – We employ a lobbyist to make sure we don’t miss any important issues pertaining to Respiratory Care and to ensure we have a voice in those very same issues as they arise. The TSRC gets involved with the Respiratory Care licensing board as well as others, when issues like sleep licensure as it pertained to Respiratory Therapists, PICC line insertion by RT’s, or EMS ventilator transport training curriculum.
Networking – As professionals in any business, organization, industry or profession, networking is crucial for personal and professional success. I credit much of my success in the respiratory profession to the fact that I became a member of the Board of Directors for the TSRC just a few months after graduating Respiratory School. This allowed me to meet other board members (who were mostly directors or managers), to meet with vendors, meet local and national speakers, I learned how to run a professional meeting and I learned the importance of speaking up to fight for what you believe in, even if the odds are stacked against you. If you have heard the old saying “Its not what you know but who you know” that definitely stands true in healthcare.
How can you get involved?
There are many ways to get involved with the TSRC, you can run for a local position as president elect for the chapter you live in, which is a good starting point to join the BOD. If you want to start small, simply contact your chapter president and offer up some help to spread the word about events or to help plan or work at the regional conference. If you would like to help on a state level we need more resources all the time and can use help on various committees and projects across the state.
Currently we are seeking volunteers to help with our newly formed Social Media Committee to help grow our contacts list on social media and engage the respiratory therapists in TN to get more involved with our profession.
If you are interested in getting more involved, feel free to contact me directly via phone or email.
Zach Gantt, RRT
President
Healthcare Education Systems, LLC & AireMED, LLC
931-261-9302
www.healthedusystems.com
President
TN Society for Respiratory Care