Thank You

2021 RT Week

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My respiratory therapy (RT) week tradition is to sit back, reflect, and thank those who have positively impacted my life and career over the past twelve months.

Please forgive me if I missed including your name in this blog post, as it has been a very unique and unusual year for me.
It has been a bitter-sweet year for sure. We unexpectantly lost my father to a massive heart attack. Also, the RT community lost Kevin Taylor, a great leader and advocate. I want to express eternal gratitude to Kevin Taylor and my father, Mohsen Refahi. My mother, Sherry, and wife, Jessica, have been strong and supportive, and they have my utmost love and respect.
My wife and I had our first child around five weeks ago. I am currently on parental leave and loving every second of it. My wife is a lovely person, and my admiration and respect have grown beyond possible levels. Thank you to the PFT RTs at Markham-Stouffville Hospital for accommodating my time off (with a special thanks to Carolyn Greer).

Respiratory therapists, in all settings and positions, continue to help during this pandemic. I recognize and applaud you for your dedication and hard work!

My online presence is because of followers like you who have taken the time to view and share my content. Thanks for including me in your journey of growth.

John Meloche sponsors my website. Despite his busy schedule and family responsibilities, he does not hesitate to lend a helping hand. So shout out to MeloTel Inc.!

The following individuals have been very kind to me; they include me in different and exciting projects: Carolyn McCoy, Micah Kooperberg, Elizabeth French, Carly Brockington and Andrea White-Markham.

I also recognize the work of RTs in the background who support our profession, including instructors, clinical educators, researchers and administrative staff. Some of the names that come to my mind are Carole Hamp, Kevin Taylor, Andrew West, Paula Smith, Nancy Garvey, and Cheryl Connors.

I have also enrolled in the Clinical Educator certificate program through The Michener Institute. While going through the course content, I recalled three exceptional preceptors I met during my clinical years (2013-2014). While I mentioned them in my final written assignment, they also deserve public recognition: Sandra Said, Ron Boudah, and Gary Ackerman.

Dan Pinard, thanks for taking the time to answer my technical/equipment questions.

Sheery Tse, you continue to remind me of the CE opportunities. I appreciate it!

Deidre Kelly, I appreciate that you made the decision to highlight an RT, and the respiratory therapy field, in York University’s magazine.

Happy RT / RC Week!

Farzad

Gratitude

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During stressful times we tend to focus on the challenges and the struggles. It is important to not lose sight of the positive in our lives and to give gratitude.

Over the past few weeks, I have witnessed many amazing people stepping up to help everyone.  Thank you, Sue Jones and Kelly Hassall, for your ongoing dedication and leadership to help RTs through Respiratory Therapy Society of Ontario (RTSO).  Thank you, Gino Luigi De Pinto and Sue A., for keeping the RTSO website up to date with the latest resources.

   Thank you, Thomas Piraino, for putting together the great resource on your website, and answering questions live on social media. 

Also, a big thank you to Carolyn McCoy, Andrew West, Carole Hamp and Kevin Taylor for your ongoing hard work in the background.

  Thank you to RT programs for lending your ventilator to hospitals, and taking your third-year students out of clinical rotations to keep them safe.

Farzad Refahi
March 23, 2020
www.Respiratory.Blog/gratitude/
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Thank you

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It was a few years ago during Respiratory Therapy Week that I started a tradition for myself.  During RT Week I would reflect and write a note to recognize and thank individuals who have directly or indirectly made an impact in my respiratory therapy practice over the past year. 

Over the past 2 years, I have been spending a lot of my spare time on RTSO activities.  I get to witness an amazing work by a great group of people. First and foremost, thank you, Nancy Garvey!  She continues to contribute to this field without asking for anything in return. Gino De Pinto, thank you for the energy you have brought back to this organization.   Sue Martin, thank you for your ongoing care for RTSO. I appreciate your courage to look after an area of organization that requires the most amount of attention. Sue Jones, thanks for your efficient and effective leadership approach.  Hope you can save us one more time. Shawna MacDonald, thank you for continuing to do wonderful work with Airwaves despite having limited resources. Kelly Hassall, I look forward to working on more projects with you! David Offengenden, your support of Nancy is vital to the operation of this organization (thank you for ongoing dedication).  Rob Bryan, you may have stepped down to give space to the new team, however, your years of service at this organization is clear and still noticeable and appreciated. Dilshad Moosa, you were given a difficult assignment and you still took the challenge (thanks for your dedication and contributions). To all the members of RTSO who have renewed your membership, thank you!  As Sue Jones clearly described at the 2019 Leadership Summit and Inspire Conference, if we don’t have the majority of RTs supporting the organization, why would the government listen to our voice of concern and advocacy? Thanks for supporting RTSO. We advocate for our patients on a day to day basis, advocating for our profession should be as important. 

Making a transition from provincial to the national.  CSRT. Thanks to the board of directors, president, CEO, administrative team, and volunteers!  A special thank you to

Carolyn McCoy for her contributions to CSRT, and on a personal note, on her ongoing guidance and mentorship.  A thank you to Carly Brockington for her patience with me (as a novice peer reviewer). A quick thanks to a retired member of CSRT, Christiane Menard.  Your interest and support of my blog fueled my interest in supporting the RT organization. Thank you.  

Through CSRT, I have met many wonderful individuals and I would like to give a quick shoutout and thanks for their ongoing support of my online presence: Brandon D’Souza, Sebastien Tessier,  Christina Dolgowicz, Marco Zaccagnini, Thomas Piraino, Noel Pendergast, Frank Fiorenza, Dave Wall, Greg Donde, Mika Nonoyama, Dave Sahadeo, Lynard Higoy, Kuljit Minhas, Katherine Nollet, Christina Sperling, Patrick Nellis, Karl Weiss  and many more (my apologies if I have missed your name).

Moving to a global level.  Thank you to Bernad Ho (Bsc, RCPT),  Thomas Piraino, Mika Nonoyama, Eric O Cheng, Frank Fiorenza, and  Andrew West for your involvement and advancement of RT practice and image on a global level.  

On a corporate level,  thank you to John Meloche (Melotel Inc.) for supporting my online presence.  Just like Christiane Menard, you have been one of my first followers/supporters.  

Also, thank you to the Novus Medical Inc. for their huge role in the support and growth of the diagnostic side of respiratory care in Canada. 

Congratulations to Tony Kajnar on receiving the Pinnacle Award from the RTSO.  Despite all the resistance and barriers in your way, you have not given up and continue to advance and grow the diagnostic side of our profession.  I also appreciate your mentorship over the years. 

To my mentors,  a huge thank you to Carolyn McCoy, Thomas Piraino, Christina Sperling, Nancy Garvey, Mika Nonoyama, Mieke Fraser, Kathleen Olden-Powell and  Noel Pendergast (I am sure that I am missing some names here). 

Carole Hamp and Kevin Taylor, I may not have direct contact with you, but I do recognize and appreciate your hard work at CRTO.   

Kari White and Madonna Ferrone, I may not really know you two but keep up the great work!

RT schools, I have noticed and appreciate your increased online involvement.  More online presence, a higher RT representation!      

Dave Wall and Greg Donde, thanks for starting an RT podcast.  Seb Tessier, Dave Sahadeo and I had previously spoken about this void and glad you guys started RTAudio. 

A quick shoutout to my Markham Stouffville Hospital RTs that help me stay sane at this crazy fast-paced PFT lab:  Carolyn Greer, Kim Dixon, Perrin Michael and Sheery Tse.

A special thank you to my amazing wife, Jessica Morgan, who despite having an ongoing busy schedule, makes time to support and encourage my RT involvement.   

As I type this thank you post, I become increasingly nervous and worried about the names that may have escaped my mind.    

If you have read this far, I am very impressed and thankful.  On that note, a huge thank you to my followers. I know that I have not been as active.  That is not due to lost motivation or interest. For the last 2 years, I have been volunteering with RTSO, assisting in various projects and goals.  As I become more efficient at my roles, I will redirect more time into my blog and online activities.  

Thanks,

Farzad ‘Raffi’ Refahi
Oct. 26, 2019
http://www.respiratory.blog/rtweek2019/

Merci Christiane

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Ms. Christiane Menard is retiring from her position as the Executive Director of Canadian Society of Respiratory Therapists, after almost a decade of service (9 years).  As a thank you for her contributions to the respiratory therapy field, this blog post is dedicated to her.

The first time I met Christiane was at the 2016 Ottawa Conference.  Even as a relatively new respiratory therapist and a novice blogger, I was greeted with a big smile and a hug.  She is full of energy, passionate and is very driven.

From a quick glance at her career accomplishments you can see that Christiane’s dedication to excellence is evident.  Besides the position of Executive Director of CSRT, she held other positions such as the Communications Coordinator for Merck, Director with Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada (overseeing Communications, Government Relations and Partnerships), and Director of Communications for the Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists.

In 2017, she was the Honorary Lifetime Membership Recipient from CSRT.

I reached out to CSRT’s president, Mr. Jeff Dionne.  This is what he had to share about her:

When I think of Christiane, I think of a true visionary.  She took on the role as Executive Director for the Canadian Society of Respiratory Therapists during a time when things were quite unstable.  Our profession was going through an identity transformation; our membership numbers were steadily dropping, our impact within the RT community was dwindling, and our image as a national organization was blurry at best.  During her time as ED, we have witnessed numerous success stories emerge; from the Blueprint for Action for our profession in 2014, to our role in private practice, to the Anesthesia Assistant certification process, the CSRT is now a nationally recognized leader in the realm of professional association.  Not only have we seen our student memberships double, but we are also proud to say that we have well over 4,000 members in our association.  It has been through her tireless commitment and dedication for our profession that has placed us in such a positive situation for the years to come.  Thank you, Christiane.

 

I will share with you the brief conversation I had with Chriastiane.

  1. Looking back over the years as the Executive Director, what are some of the memorable moments that come to your mind that you can share with us?I have so many memorable moments and in each of these moments, it is the passion of the RT profession that was front and center.  Whenever I went to provincial meetings, I always tried to find out about RTs and to learn more about what they did and the projects in their region.  The most memorable moment was in 2014, I was in Vancouver for several meetings and on my way to the airport I accepted an invitation to visit the PROP program in Vancouver.  A young and most passionate RT named Esther Khor gave me the grand tour of her organization and it was the most amazing set up I have ever seen.  It was the first time, after working 40 years in the health care sector, that I saw an organization actually put in place a truly effective “patient centered approach” to care.  I immediately invited her and her patients to speak at the 2015 conference and I feel this was one of the most memorable presentation at a CSRT conference. 
  2. How has the RT field changed from your point of view?I see a profession that has gained a lot of confidence in their knowledge and clinical skills.  More and more RTs are working in less traditional roles like research, quality assurance, patient transport.  I am very proud of all the RTs who continue their education and keep building on their RT skills and knowledge.  Nine years ago, critical care was the most important area of practice.  Now we see more and more RTs working in community and home care.  Many RTs have entered a growing area of the health care that is most important – patient safety.  The profession constantly shows its versatility and ability to adapt to the changes required in the health care sector.  I have no doubt that RTs will continue to look for new applications of their skills and knowledge than any other profession. 
  3. What is next for you?I am retiring from being an Executive Director, but I love working.  I just feel I am no longer able to work at the Executive Director level and knew it was time to take a step back.  I plan to stay at CSRT in a lesser capacity for a number of months to support the transition of the new CEO.  I will then find some part-time work where I can still use my knowledge and skills.  As I will no longer travel for meetings, I look forward to attending more cultural events in Ottawa and going to the pool and gym more often. 
  4. What were some of the goals you set for yourself when you began as Executive Director and do you think you accomplished them?I had many objectives when I started – increase the CSRT membership, increase the number of participants at the CSRT conference, increase the income from sponsorship – and then I soon realized that none of these objectives could be achieved if we were not able to show the value of CSRT to our members and to our industry partners.  So I think we have achieved those objectives by showing value.  The most difficult objective to achieve had to do with the financial viability of the CSRT.  When I started in August 2009 we had absolutely no money in the bank … no money for rent, no money for payroll.  That was so overwhelming and I struggled with this for many years.  It took nine years, and inch by inch, we increased our financial stability.  This year is the first year that I feel we are on solid financial ground and that we do not have to borrow on the line of credit or on next year`s income to meet our financial commitments. 
  5. What are some words of advice for people in the industry who want to get more involved?Find something that is missing, something where you can make a difference, something that can be done better, and just do it!   If I look back at who has done just that I think of Jason Nickerson, who got involved in international health, not because of the money, but because there was a need and he knew he could make a difference.  Tom Piraino is another RT who saw a void in RT education with regards to the clinical applications of ventilation and he got involved in increasing knowledge and understanding in his institution, at the provincial level, at the national level and at the international level.  It just takes effort, constant effort, and you can achieve everything by doing an inch at a time, one step at a time.  The secret is to not get discouraged by hurdles … anyone can build a mountain one spoonful at a time! 
  6. What are some of the challenges you see in the future for RT’s and how can we as practicing RT’s prepare for those challenges?
    The biggest challenge for the RT profession is keeping up with the complexity of the health care sector.  As the health care sector always seems to be in transition, the RT profession will also continue to be in a transition and there is no way to go but forward and learn more complex clinical applications.  I do feel that the RT profession has been very quick to adapt to changes that have occurred in the past and I have no doubt that RTs will continue to increase their knowledge and clinical skills. RTs will surpass any challenge and will move forward where they are most needed and where they can make the most difference in the respiratory care of their patients.
     
  7.  Any final thoughts?
    My final thoughts ….I am so grateful that my last full time job was with the CSRT and that I had the privilege to have the trust and support of the RT profession who so generously shared their passion with me.   I can brag that my last job, after working in the health care sector for over 45 years, was the best ever!  Not many people brag about their job when they retire, but I do !

I want to thank Christiane for her dedication to our industry and for taking the time to speak with me.

 

Resources:
-Image: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christiane-menard-3946a140/detail/photo/

-Thank you to Carolyn McCoy and Jeff Dionne for taking the time to help me  with this article.

Farzad ‘Raffi’ Refahi HBSc RRT

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