The Rheumatologist
COVID-19 News
  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed
  • Home
  • Conditions
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • SLE (Lupus)
    • Crystal Arthritis
      • Gout Resource Center
    • Spondyloarthritis
    • Osteoarthritis
    • Soft Tissue Pain
    • Scleroderma
    • Vasculitis
    • Systemic Inflammatory Syndromes
    • Guidelines
  • Resource Centers
    • Axial Spondyloarthritis Resource Center
    • Gout Resource Center
    • Psoriatic Arthritis Resource Center
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
    • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
  • Drug Updates
    • Biologics & Biosimilars
    • DMARDs & Immunosuppressives
    • Topical Drugs
    • Analgesics
    • Safety
    • Pharma Co. News
  • Professional Topics
    • Ethics
    • Legal
    • Legislation & Advocacy
    • Career Development
      • Certification
      • Education & Training
    • Awards
    • Profiles
    • President’s Perspective
    • Rheuminations
    • Interprofessional Perspective
  • Practice Management
    • Billing/Coding
    • Quality Assurance/Improvement
    • Workforce
    • Facility
    • Patient Perspective
    • Electronic Health Records
    • Apps
    • Information Technology
    • From the College
    • Multimedia
      • Audio
      • Video
  • Resources
    • Issue Archives
    • ACR Convergence
      • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
      • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
      • Gout Resource Center
      • Abstracts
      • Meeting Reports
      • ACR Convergence Home
    • American College of Rheumatology
    • ACR ExamRheum
    • Research Reviews
    • ACR Journals
      • Arthritis & Rheumatology
      • Arthritis Care & Research
      • ACR Open Rheumatology
    • Rheumatology Image Library
    • Treatment Guidelines
    • Rheumatology Research Foundation
    • Events
  • About Us
    • Mission/Vision
    • Meet the Authors
    • Meet the Editors
    • Contribute to The Rheumatologist
    • Subscription
    • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Search
You are here: Home / Articles / Rheumatology Health Professionals Reap Rewards of Volunteerism

Rheumatology Health Professionals Reap Rewards of Volunteerism

January 1, 2015 • By Ann-Marie Lindstrom

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version / Save PDF
Volunteer

Collaboration and confidence These are among the benefits that several volunteer leaders of the Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals (ARHP) said they’ve recognized during a recent interview by The Rheumatologist. The membership of the ARHP is varied—advanced practice nurses, nurses, occupational therapists, physical therapists, psychologists, social workers, epidemiologists, physician assistants, educators, clinicians and researchers—and six ARHP members talked to us about how their service on one or more committees has helped them achieve their professional goals.

You Might Also Like
  • ARHP Members Reap Benefits of Volunteerism
  • Reap the Rewards of State Society Involvement
  • Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals (ARHP) Recognizes 2011 Graduate Student Award Recipients
Explore This Issue
January 2015
Also By This Author
  • Rheumatologists on the Move, July 2015

Similarities exist in their experiences and impressions of committee service: rewarding work that is fun, plus the additional benefit of new personal and professional relationships with like-minded professionals.

ad goes here:advert-1
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Collaboration

Afton Hassett, PsyD, is a pain psychologist/researcher at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. During her 14 years of ARHP membership, she has realized such benefits as collaboration for research and friendships built through the shared experiences while planning events.

About five years ago, during a lunch with current ARHP President Jan Richardson, PT, PhD, OCS, FAPTA, the topic of committees came up and the idea of serving on one sounded like it would be fun. “I had no idea how much goes into an event and how much is done by volunteers,” Dr. Hassett says, until she joined the Pain Task Force. Since then she has served on the ARHP Annual Meeting Program Subcommittee, Executive Committee and Clinical Focus Course Committee.

ad goes here:advert-2
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Dr. Hassett
Dr. Hassett

Dr. Hassett thinks working with other ARHP members has improved her organizational and leadership skills. She has been impressed with the coordinated effort between the ACR and the ARHP, with 11 volunteers and two staff members, to put on the Annual Meeting. “I learned how hard it is to put [it] together.”

Her contributions have centered on promoting sessions that more effectively utilize technology (e.g., apps for patient self-management); creating RheumChat, which showcases talks inspired by TED Talks; and promoting Boot Camps for immunology and other topics that offer attendees a series of related talks over the course of the meeting.

ad goes here:advert-3
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Dr. Hassett’s research has focused on resiliency, and she brought that spirit to the 2014 meeting, where sessions highlighted patient strengths, well-being and how to help patients better self-manage their conditions.

Confidence

Greg Taylor, MSW, is a certified clinical social worker at the Mary Pack Arthritis Program at Vancouver General Hospital in British Columbia. During his two years as an ARHP member, he has found the main benefits of being a member are the publications, such as Arthritis Care & Research, access to the Annual Meeting and the expanded knowledge base he gains from both.

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 | Single Page

Filed Under: Professional Topics Tagged With: Association of Rheumatology Professionals (ARP), health professional, Lindstrom, rheumatology, VolunteerIssue: January 2015

You Might Also Like:
  • ARHP Members Reap Benefits of Volunteerism
  • Reap the Rewards of State Society Involvement
  • Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals (ARHP) Recognizes 2011 Graduate Student Award Recipients
  • The ARHP Honors Health Professionals for their Contributions to Rheumatology

American College of Rheumatology

Visit the official website for the American College of Rheumatology.

Visit the ACR »

Rheumatology Research Foundation

The Foundation is the largest private funding source for rheumatology research and training in the U.S.

Learn more »

Simple Tasks

Learn more about the ACR’s public awareness campaign and how you can get involved. Help increase visibility of rheumatic diseases and decrease the number of people left untreated.

Visit the Simple Tasks site »

The Rheumatologist newsmagazine reports on issues and trends in the management and treatment of rheumatic diseases. The Rheumatologist reaches 11,500 rheumatologists, internists, orthopedic surgeons, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who practice, research, or teach in the field of rheumatology.

About Us / Contact Us / Advertise / Privacy Policy / Terms of Use

  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed

Copyright © 2006–2022 American College of Rheumatology. All rights reserved.

ISSN 1931-3268 (print)
ISSN 1931-3209 (online)