The Power of Community

Posted by Rachel M. Pigott, MPH, OTR/L, CHT 11/09/2020

Over the years, ASHT leadership has worked to consider ways to bolster the value of membership. Membership provides access to free CE opportunities, discounted products, leadership opportunties and access to the Journal of Hand Therapy and ASHT Times. In fact, we have a wonderful visual here outlining how the value of membership outweighs its costs. These monetary benefits do not include the value of access to a network of hand and upper extremity specialists not limited by geographical barriers. This valuable community is impossible to quantify and is the membership benefit I have personally seen the greatest return from. 

On the ASHT e-Community, I’ve seen colleagues helping each other with challenging cases, practice management questions and obstacles to our practice during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a tremendous resource for those practitioners who work in remote locations and perhaps are the only hand and upper extremity specialist in their area. It is important to recognize that our ASHT community is comprised of Certified Hand Therapists (CHTs) who are both physical and occupational therapists, therapists and therapy assistants who are not CHTs, students, surgeons and vendor members. We come from varied backgrounds including people working in small privately owned clinics, large healthcare institutions, academia and research environments. This diverse group works together to help one another pursue excellence in the provision of hand and upper extremity rehabilitation.

I would like to take a moment to thank all of our members for being a part of this supportive and dynamic community so dedicated to moving our profession forward. We are now in our membership renewal season, and I encourage all of our members to take a moment to not only renew their membership but also share the value of membership with colleagues who have not yet experienced our welcoming community. I believe the concept of a diverse membership strengthens our community and allows for varied perspectives that can enhance our work as we move forward as a society together. 

Join or renew today to help expand our network of dedicated hand and upper extremity specialists.