Be a Good Citizen

I think there's a lot to do these days, just to keep this world a good place to be. We know that our country is in transformative times, when the underpinnings of what drives the civil society are all challenged. When the 24 hour news cycle, and the parallel, large bore, continually evolving information superhighway lanes keep pushing, bombarding, twisting, inundating our information processors between our ears, - human nature tells us to pull the covers up, as tightly as possible. "Why, why, why!? Leave me alone!" Why not just go through our everyday, only processing the breaking news we're forced to digest, because - it's all too much. "Too much!"

I mean, haven't we had it drilled into our procedural memories as SLP's, that productivity is one of the biggest feet on our daily gas pedal?!? Get those persons served, get your documentation done and PHEW! "That's all I can stands, I can't stands no more", in the immortal words of Popeye the Sailor. Though Popeye meant that it was time to right a wrong, in the case of the SLP clinician who is asked to get involved in the wider socio-economic-political world, that task may be a dike that even Hans Brinker couldn't plug. Why get involved in the bigger world, beyond the clinic or treatment room?

But ultimately, even the most hardened of us by the daily professional grind - we know that in order to make a significant difference in the bigger world, we have to carry the water of good citizenship ourselves.  Whether it is to  spread the news in your community about a clinic fundraiser; to buttonhole a legislator whose vote can decide a critical budgetary issue, keeping the lights on for your practice; to write an newspaper opinion essay on the work of your fellow professionals, and how cleanly our work dovetails with the goals of a body of government; to engage in dialogue with persons of all stripes across all the social media platforms, without concern for personal attack or truncation of your voice; or to perpetuate the values of the democratic republic that has supported the growth of our services, by being prepared then VOTING; - our taking a stand as a citizen of our society requires focus, requires energy that, at times, is very spare in all our lives, but - when it is done well, it makes all our lives more stable and more enriched and more - perfect. Novus ordo seclorum. 

If you see that being an advocate for an individual, a guerilla fighter for your profession, a lobbyist for an issue persons served face every day, a letter writer for your employer's cause, or a candidate for office in a professional association; - if you see that is for you, then - find a mentor to guide you through the webs and labyrinths of government, of public and private institutions; develop expertise or seek consultants to help you research information, as needed, for your interests; make a plan of short and long-term goals (we know how to do this!) for the projects that call for your energies; and then set out with glee and with purpose, to make the world a better place for persons served - and for the persons who serve them and their circles. Your entire skill set as an SLP will serve you well, as you grow in your role as a good citizen.

Be an entrepreneur

The reader overhears part of a motivational talk I give myself often, as I am leaving my car each morning to enter my job site: "This is a valuable service I provide. I don't go to work because it is where I am supposed to be, but it is work in which I believe. Today (the car door closes) I am going to make a lot of money for my employer, and help many people have a better quality of life. I am going to make deep inroads into my patients' needs. There may be scads of barriers in my way as I work on these goals, but - I will make progress on these goals!"

Sales. We don't go into the professions of audiology or speech-language pathology ostensibly to sell, but selling is a primary goal of what we attempt to do. In the beginnings of our careers, and even as we become mature and self-starting clinicians, we have to sell ourselves that we can do this. I didn't prepare the materials as well as I had hoped; - I stayed up too late; - I do NOT want to face my supervisor today; - and there are a bazillion other reasons not to go into work. But, let's assume the battlements at the job site are energetically rushed. Now we have to sell our work to our customers. Who's that?

Our customers are everyone from the person served and her/his circles of support; the referral sources; the support staffs around that person and behind the referral sources; the third-party payers that keep the human service system funded;  the educational system that prepares future professionals in the fields; - and the larger organizations that employ or otherwise empower our employment to serve persons. We close the sale for each of our customers when we fulfill our mission of service; when we work efficiently; when we work with sensitivity to the evolving needs of the person; when we demonstrate that our services contribute to a healthy bottom line; when we demonstrate that our services contribute to persons' increased health and wellness, not only for individuals but also for the population.

What helps close a sale for a clinician? First, realizing that you have a sales job to do for your customer. Tailoring then presenting your sales pitch. Depending on your customer, you have to make the pitch in a way that will get a clear response. Is it the response you want? Hone, polish, trim, refine and re-pitch the pitch until the deal is closed....if it can be closed. The cycle is repeated continuously throughout the work day, as a function of the customer's status. Constant deal-making. Constant marketing. The art of the deal is that deal-making is intrinsic to the clinical workday.  Who wins with your becoming an effective clinical entrepreneur? The person served wins. All your customers win. You win.