More Than Just Statistics
Well, I almost let National Cancer Registrars Week slip by unnoticed. I had slapped it on my iCal back when I first noticed it a couple months back and I guess I figured that wouldn't be the only reminder I got. Sadly, it seems to get less notice than MT week, including on the
National Cancer Registrars Association website, where there's simply a small, nondescript graphic and a link to adapt their own press release for a DIY promotion.
Seeing as how I've been waiting weeks yet to be approved for entry to the NCRA message board and never did get a reply about my newbie questions submitted to state and national membership heads, I find it especially interesting that the press release once again points out the need to recruit new CTRs:
“We must work together with our allies in the health community to ensure that we continue to recruit and train qualified candidates to enter into the cancer registry field.”
Ahem. That might involve some actual schmoozing with potential candidates, might it not? I guess they're leaving it up to all you CTRs to rope your bestest buddies into the field on an individual basis because I don't see a great push anywhere beyond lip service. Slick newsletters and apparent organization, but the followthrough needs a bit of work. I'm seeing more articles in Advance about registry, but that amounts to little more than dangling a half-eaten carrot if there's no practical information about how to join all those folks who loooove their job. Remember that you're recruiting people who have little or no clue and you need to take them by the hand to make them feel you're really serious about wanting them to consider the field. If there truly is a dire need for new bodies, you really want to be more aggressive about headhunting. I suspect working CTRs are too busy to make a hobby of playing Welcome Wagon for the good of the team.
As for festivities this week, I wonder if they're as universally pathetic as they are for MT week. I come from a world where a coffee mug is considered a major token of "esteem" from an employer and MTs who work on site often relate tales of offerings consisting of office supplies left over from drug reps or snacks quickly devoured by predatory residents--and these are considered fortunate because most MTs don't get any recognition at all.
Lest we feel too sorry for ourselves, however, I feel obliged to point out that I bet few of you were aware we recently missed Doctors Day on March 30. Yep, your favorite physician probably would have loved a token pat on the back because he's also dealing with quotas, bureaucracy, insurance companies, and patients who don't do what they're told. Some of these folks sound so weary as they dictate, I marvel that they do it as well as they do. Of course, it helps to not have to support a family near the poverty level, so we can only muster so much sympathy. (Hm. I wonder if I promote Placebo Journal if Dr. Doug would favor me with a free subscription. Love the gazette, but on an MT's wages I can hardly afford a subscription to the real deal. Regardless, I highly recommend it for many good laughs, if not some fascinating insight into the doctors' side of what we do.)
Heck, I think the problem is that there are just too many Hallmark holidays and no one's bought ad time in the right places to make ours stand out from the crowd--secretaries, auctioneers, customers, librarians, receptionists, third shift workers, golfers, principals, tourists, pirates, and all the others vying for attention in the next couple months. I guess that leaves it up to us to toot our own horns. On that note, I'll give a shout out to the 4,500 cancer registry professionals and CTRs I hope to join. Enjoy your week!