Winston Churchill once said, “There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction.” So—with this, our first presidential column of 2019—we are bringing you news of a change or two.
First, ARHP, our health professionals’ membership division, has changed its name to the Association of Rheumatology Professionals, or ARP. This new name better reflects the broad range of members who are part of ARP (see box, right). It also helps us call attention to the increasingly important role of the entire interprofessional team. Finally, with this recognition of the ARP as the interprofessional division of ACR, we promote the singular position of the ACR as the only organization serving the needs of the entire rheumatology community.
With this said, the second change should not be too surprising. With a new year and a new name, the ARP will take center stage in this month’s column, which has been turned over to ARP President Hazel L. Breland, PhD. She shares her thoughts on the ARP and the interprofessional team it so passionately supports.
—ACR President Paula Marchetta, MD, MBA
January marks the start of the New Year, and accompanying this new start is often a slew of resolutions we make to improve our behavior or renew our commitments to achieve life goals—personal and professional. In preparation for the New Year, we often take time to review our goals and to understand the challenges and the opportunities that lie ahead, so we can plan our individual strategy for accomplishment in the year to come.
During this period of reflection, we may contemplate the availability of resources at our disposal and spend time poring over the data collected by an activity monitoring device that tells us the number of steps we have taken, analyzes our sleep patterns or otherwise tabulates our daily activities. Contemplating our careers, we may wonder if the time and energy spent in the past year brought us the professional rewards we hoped for.
For all of us who are rheumatology professionals, no matter what our unique career trajectory may be, we share a passion for our field. At the ACR, we recognize the immense value of the interprofessional team, which plays an indispensable part in caring for our patients with rheumatic diseases. The ACR is dedicated to serving the needs of the entire rheumatology community. With the name change of our health professionals’ membership division, we underscore the importance of all members of the interprofessional team, whatever role they play. ARHP is now ARP, the Association of Rheumatology Professionals: The Interprofessional Division of the ACR. We are all needed as part of the team.
With the New Year, this time of new beginnings and the adoption of resolutions, the ARP offers a great way to commit to our professional growth and career development.