Pulmopassion . . . You Got It?

A recent study found that we waste up to 40% of the food we buy.  That's right, 4 out of every 12 eggs will never become an omelet, puff to maturity in a quiche, or blossom handsomely into a deviled egg.  It got me to thinking. . . how much of our potential as Respiratory Therapists do we waste?

Are you living to your fullest?  Do you count the minutes between treatments, with visions of the breakroom dancing in your head?  Or do you find your mind focusing on the hair growing out of Doctor Whosawheez's facial mole during a lecture on COPD instead of connecting with the material itself? 

Or . . . Or!!!  Are you yearning to learn?  Do you find yourself hiding your latest copy of Respiratory Care inside your beach-read, strangely tantalized by statistics and new techniques?  Are you mesmerized with all things Respiratory, like the young in love?  The novelty of respiratory medicine will one day wear off, but pulmonary passion should burn strong forever!  Simply rhetoric sillyness?  I think not!  If Respiratory is your calling, pulmopassion will burn strongly within you.  If Respiratory is simply a job, do yourself a favor and go find something else to do.  Life is too precious to waste it making money at the expense of failing to tap into your potential. 

40% of all food is wasted!  How much of your talent is wasted?  Are you only utilizing 60% of your talent?  How can you tap into what's there?  Attend conferences, read journals, articles, blogs (cough, cough!).  Seek opportunities all around you.  Don't just do your job; challenge yourself to give everything you have to each patient, teach what you know to students of all disciplines, and remind yourself that what you do is the coolest job in the world.  Gather up your pulmopassion, wear it proudly, practice it loudly.