Kathleen Mears Memorial Lecture: Electroneurodiagnostics—for the Joy of It!

Abstract

ABSTRACT.During the middle of the last century, discoveries about the brain and the nervous system gave birth to a new technology. Thanks to the pioneers in those efforts, the early EEG technicians, and our efforts through the years, the technology has grown, expanded, and become amazingly sophisticated. This is about loving what we do, and finding joy and satisfaction in our accomplishments. We make health care better. We improve the quality of people's lives. We prompt physicians to sit up and take notice because we complement their efforts at diagnosing, monitoring, and treating people's neurologic illnesses.We're old enough to have a history, and a story … about Kathy Mears and hundreds of dedicated technologists, many of whom sprouted from those first small groups trained by the Fathers of EEG to give them important scientific data. And here we are, fifty-some years later, several thousand strong, influenced by things those first technicians never dreamed about! We're still producing data, but things have changed. Let's examine the challenges electroneurodiagnostic (END) technologists encounter in the current healthcare arena, and focus on what we need to find joy and fulfillment in our important work. Come celebrate our profession. Come share the joy!