From time to time, a staff RT will call to tell me that they have been asked to take on an additional role in their organization. Maybe it’s writing policies & procedures or perhaps it’s sitting on a special committee.  The question that generally follows is…”shouldn’t they pay me more money for doing that?”  And my response is always, “Yes they should…but they probably won’t.  Do it anyway.” 

I realize everyone is being pushed to do more with less and often it seems like there is simply not enough time.  I also know sometimes family and other commitments make it impossible to take on any additional workload.  But if the issue is not time so much as it is additional financial remuneration that you think should come your way, then I urge you not to let that hold you back.  Like time, there is never enough money, and it seems each year there is less money in the healthcare system.  So I am afraid that if you wait for the money to flow first – you may be waiting a very long time.

Someone in your organization obviously believes that you have something worthwhile to contribute to the project or they would have asked someone else (or maybe you were just the first person they saw).  Regardless…I am not really thinking about what you will give to the initiative as much as about what you will gain. Each policy, committee, in-service, etc. – painful as it may be at the time – is a step forward.  You meet new people within your organization and they meet you.  You learn just a bit more about how your organization works on a grand scale and you gain a slightly different perspective. Just as importantly, they learn more about you and likely more about the value of the RT profession to patients and the healthcare system.  It doesn’t matter if your career aspirations are staff RT or CEO.  Taking on something new almost always opens you up to possibilities you didn’t see before and sometimes to opportunities you didn’t expect. So if you can – do it anyway.