Advancing SNMTS Networking

Valerie R. Cronin, CNMT, FSNMTS

Communication, consensus, and advocacy on behalf of allied health professionals—SNMTS actively participates in advancing these goals with other members of the Health Professions Network (HPN), a premier group of health care practitioners working to positively impact the delivery of high-quality patient care.

As SNMTS president, I was fortunate to attend HPN’s fall health conference in Louisville, KY, which addressed “New Initiatives in Allied Health” and coincidentally celebrated HPN’s 10th anniversary. HPN continues to be one strong voice for the hundreds of allied health professions and the more than 6 million people in allied health jobs. This network continues to be the only interactive, cooperative group that puts the needs of allied health above the needs of individual organizations. Participants meet to discuss issues relating to health care, interdisciplinary problem solving, and future health care delivery and to cultivate working relationships among health care professionals with diverse specialties but common interests. SNMTS participation advances our strategic goals of ensuring that the value of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging in patient care is universally recognized and that significant growth is achieved in their science and use.

Health Professions Network: Cultivating Relationships

As an attendee, I had a chance to network, meet peers, explore current issues, and learn from the many health practitioners who share knowledge and experiences that can be put into practice to benefit patients. I met and spoke with other nuclear medicine technologists and a diverse group of professionals that included educators, accreditors, and administrators, in addition to anesthesiologist assistants, clinical lab technicians, medical dosimetrists, nurse aide instructors, genetic counselors, certified surgical assistants, registered dieticians, certified athletic trainers, dental hygienists, radiologic technologists, and perfusionists. We all had one thing on our minds: Together, we can address the many challenges facing the United States health care system.

This meeting focused on workplace issues and opened with a keynote address on “Organizational Behavior Meets Generation X and Y—A Practical Approach,” given by Richard A. Lewis, CRA, Florida Radiology Imaging, Maitland, FL. Panelists Gina N. King, U.S. Department of Labor, Washington, DC, and Young Song, MS, MPH, RD, Health Resources and Services Administration, Rockville, MD, discussed “What Federal Agencies Are Doing Regarding Health Care Work Force Development and Other Initiatives.” Other presentations included: “Are We Graduating Enough Health Care Providers to Meet Current and Future Needs?” by Pat Munzer, MS, RRT, Allied Health Department, Washburn University, Topeka, KS; “How Mapping Can Support Allied Health Professionals,” by Ann Peton, Rural Policy Research Institute’s Community Information Resources Center, Columbia, MO; and “Employee Retention: Got Them? Keep Them,” by Hazel Hacker, Edison Imaging Associates, Edison, NJ.

Diverse Allies

HPN identifies issues of common interest, communicates these issues to all participants, seeks consensus, and advocates on behalf of allied health to the public, to professional associations, and to federal and state policy makers. HPN’s members—from groups as diverse as the American Medical Association, American Hospital Association, American Occupational Therapy Association, American Registry of Radiologic Technologists, American Society of Radiologic Technologists, Association of Schools of Allied Health Professions, Citizens Advocacy Center, Health Occupations Students of America, Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology, and Minority Health Professionals Foundation—believe that monitoring government relations activities is a top priority. In addition to examining workplace issues, HPN members emphasize the need for critical data collection and analysis, and they value continued collaboration and increased participation.

All allied health representatives form a strong and powerful group when we work cooperatively in an environment such as HPN. Attending this meeting with me were SNMTS President-elect Scott Holbrook, CNMT, FSNMTS; SNM Associate Executive Director Gregg Robinson, CAE; and SNM Chief Executive Officer Virginia Pappas, CAE, leader of the HPN Coordinating Team, which monitors HPN’s ongoing work and organizes meetings. I look forward to attending the 2006 HPN meeting in Atlanta and reconnecting with my allied health colleagues.