The AARC International Respiratory Convention & Exhibition has been drawing the best and brightest in respiratory care since the late 1940s, and every year there are newcomers among the group. They come away from the experience with a renewed sense of enthusiasm about their profession and the knowledge and information they need to further their own careers.
If you’ve yet to take the Congress plunge, here are five great reasons why you should make the 62nd meeting in San Antonio your first –
- CRCEs: As a licensed RT, you need CRCEs to maintain your license to practice. At the AARC Congress you’ll have the chance to earn 20+ credits, and you’ll be earning them over just 3.5 days and in a setting that engenders professional excitement.
- Networking: You know what they say – sometimes it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. A “who’s who” in respiratory care will be on hand in San Antonio, and the collegial nature of the meeting means everyone is welcome to join small group discussions and even talk one-on-one with leading speakers in attendance. Your next big career move could be waiting!
- Learn from the best: The Congress attracts thought leaders in the field who bring the latest knowledge in research, management, education, and clinical practice to RTs throughout the profession. You’ll learn things in the lectures, symposia, and Open Forums that you can take back to your facility to improve patient care while enhancing the all-important bottom line.
- Specialization: Finding your niche in respiratory care can be a challenge, simply because there are so many great areas to choose from. Sit in on lectures in the specialty areas that most pique your interest to see if one of them might be the right direction for you.
- Have some fun: Sure, the lectures and symposia at the Congress represent serious business, but there’s plenty of fun built into every meeting as well. The Opening Reception serves as a way to introduce yourself to your fellow Congress-goers and the Sputum Bowl Finals Night is a great place to get your inner geek out. Friendly groups gather at trendy restaurants and other venues every evening too, to recap the day’s events in the company of the only people who can truly understand what it means to be an RT – other folks in the field!
