By Anne Llewellyn, RN-BC, MS, BHSA, CCM, CRRN
Editor-in-Chief of Case in Point Magazine and the Case Management Resource Guide

As readers of Case In Point Weekly many of you have been the recipients of the various emails that I have been sending out to announce our upcoming events. One of the interesting things that comes with getting hundreds of “out of office” emails is reading the taglines that people add to their signature lines.

Here are a few examples: 

• “Affirm it, visualize it, believe it, and it will actualize itself.” by Norman Vincent Peale
• “We are all angels with only one wing; we can only fly while embracing one another.”
• “When I was young I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people.”  Abraham Joshua Heschel
• “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” — Albert Einstein
• “Excellence can be attained if you care more than others think is wise, risk more than others think is safe, dream more than others think is practical, and expect more than others think is possible.” – author unknown
• “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever does.” Margaret Mead

These messages are inspiring and send a subtle message that challenges the reader to do better and affect change. Affecting change is exactly what case managers do each day. Our role is to ask questions, get answers, ask why and why not. People depend on us to do more with less and to improve the complex, disjointed system we call health care.

When I started out in case management in 1988  as a catastrophic field case manager, I was not told the limitations of the benefit plan, but told to go out and assess patients as to their  needs and bring that information back in order to develop a plan of care to meet those needs. I was asked to think outside the box as to what resources would be the best to meet the needs of the patient. When I called my supervisor or the key contact with whom I had to report, I provided insight into the care that no one but me could see because I was onsite. It was an exciting time and a time in my career where I felt that I was making a difference and was affecting change.

I know a lot has changed since I moved away from the onsite role of case management, but I hope you are still affecting change and making a difference in the lives of your patients, because that is what drives the practice of case management. Read the taglines again and choose the one that describes what you do each day.

If you have a tagline that you think helps guide your life, I would love to add it to the collection. Let me know your tagline and if are living up to it!

Have a great week!