CMSA Today - Issue 4, 2021

PRESIDENT’S LETTER

Case Management in Bloom BY MELANIE A. PRINCE, MSN, BSN, NE-BC, CCM, FAAN

TJ-RABBIT/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

I always look forward to sharing my thoughts with each of you via the Case Management Society of America (CMSA) President’s message for CMSA Today. For this edition, I experienced a dilemma; strug gling with so many things to say, and yet not being able to choose the right thing to say. Spring is in full bloom, there is anticipation and expectation across the country for a “re-opened” world and plans are solidifying for family, work and play. I was stuck…but in a good way! I had so many “R” words dancing around in my head. I wanted to write about themes of Rebirth, Rejuvenation, Resilience, Restoration, Revitalizing, Rebranding and Rejoicing. I often write outside, on my patio, and this time I was distracted by the beauty and bravery of flowering bulbs. The bulbs were breaking through the still frosty soil to restore beauty to a flower bed stuck in the last gasps of winter. I realized the bulb shoots were not erupting from the place where I originally planted them. Yes, they were in the general area of the flower bed, but I know I didn’t plant a bulb within the holes of a

brick. And yet, this tulip bulb found its way up in spite of the barriers that could have held it back, that could have kept it stuck underneath the soil’s surface where it would have been a very late and small bloom or withered away completely. As you have probably figured out, I love metaphors! As I gazed at the budding trees and flowers around me and reflected on an email from a colleague about this issue’s themes of adversity and adapting to obstacles, I knew I had found the perfect metaphor for where we are as a case man agement profession. The year 2020 may have seemed like a long winter, but winters provide time to build up and store what is needed to rise up in the spring. Summer brings an opportunity to display the restored and revitalized version. This is our story as a profession and as an association. We will not allow the pandemic, unexpected changes in the healthcare industry or personal/profes sional challenges to keep us stuck in the same place. As case managers who may have experi enced personal losses or significant changes

to our professional careers, we have an uncanny ability to persevere. Our profes sion is rooted in the ideals of resiliency and restoration; we find a way to apply these concepts to our own lives. As a case man agement workforce, we have been spinning with more expectations, less time, new con straints and chaos. In some ways, it is like the spinning circle you see on a computer when a window tab is trying to open. That spinning circle appears to be stuck, but what do we do? We hit the refresh icon and try a different window. Case managers will find a way. This issue is exciting because it is filled with stories about a profession that tackles complex situations and is leading the way in adapting to the challenges of today’s work environment. Patients and clients will con tinue to experience complicated healthcare scenarios, but case managers are adept at breaking through the complexities of ever changing healthcare environments. Years of experiences, the way we value networking and the pursuit of continuing education make case managers uniquely prepared to

6

CMSA TODAY

Issue 4 • 2021