WorkCompCollege.com Study Hall, Dec. ’24

Syllabus

(1) Why did you choose this subject matter to teach?

For me the importance of being a voice from the injured worker community is vital. It is very easy to take any of the courses offered by WorkCompCollege however all this important knowledge and knowing must be balanced by understanding that every decision made by any workers compensation professional can lift or break not just the injured worker but also their families. That is why I have always offered
to chat with WorkCompCollege students, I realize that the small time each student spends with my segment the students form questions of their own. For me it is true joy to engage and to answer questions. I believe it is important to simply be in place to assist and to explain concerns. For me it is important to be a resource, a friendly person in the corner, to answer questions and offer support and just explain more about just why I do the work that I do.

(2) Why is this subject matter important to Work Comp stakeholders?

The only reason anyone within the workers compensation industry is in place is because another person went to their place of employment and sustained a workplace injury. For me it is important to remind everyone that regardless of which role within the workers compensation industry that I along with every other member of the injured worker community rely on the support and understanding we need to have in place. A short time back I was speaking at a conference and needed some assistance when leaving the stage, a person from the audience stood up to help me. When I turned to thank him, he reminded me that I had taught him a long time back that injured workers rely on providers so when he realized I
needed support he was more than happy to walk from the back of the conference to the stage just to help. This may sound like a very small thing, but for me at the time it was what I truly needed; plus, the hug was very, very welcome.

(3) How does your content help further a workers’ recovery mindset?

To answer this, I can only go on what I have been told; my content gives pause and reason to think to consider and to see through the eyes of a person with a workplace injury. When the students of WorkCompCollege get to hear directly from someone who has lived with a workplace injury for many long years it helps to form the understanding that a workplace injury has round the clock round the
calendar effect. I am not able to take the pain or physical restrictions from my being for a 5-minute rest or a week-long holiday and neither can any other person remove their workplace injury. None of the injured worker community get to clock on or clock off, we do not get a day away from the impact just because it is a Public Holiday or our birthday, so it is important for me to convey the message to every workers compensation provider they also need to pace themselves with us so we can reach our own maximum return to capacity on a day to day basis, help us to walk within the knowing that there is life post workers compensation and that that life is just as wonderful and as rewarding as anything that was planned
pre-workplace injury.

(4) What are five takeaways/action items for students?

(i) Start with the end in mind: The only goal worth working towards is a sustainable return to the workplace. Set that aim and the rest will fall into place.

(ii) Read books that challenge and give reason to think and to feel and at times be uncomfortable: Being uncomfortable is the best reason to learn more read more and become more within yourself and the work you do.

(iii) Learn to be still within yourself: It is very difficult at the end of some days or weeks to find the inner stillness to silence the thoughts and silence the self-questioning, however it is emotionally important to come to stillness even if it is just for a few minutes. Even after all these years I still practice the Trouble Tree before I return home each evening.

(iv) Practice what I call free-fall writing: It does not matter how nonsensical the writing is when you are resolving a challenge then write every possible option down; do not stop until there are at least 31 options with only 3 or 5 of the options being sensible. What free-fall writing does is welcome in thoughts or fragments of thoughts that will form the best option for the challenge being faced.

(v) Apologize when required: We all make mistakes, we overlook something that another person considers important, simply say I am sorry for the oversight. When we apologize, we take on and learn the lessons we need to learn.

(vi) [just because it is important] Smile and say thank you.

Share This Article: