By Frank Ruelas
Facility Compliance Professional, St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center/Dignity Health
Some folks may recall this is the answer to a question asked by Sam Flynn in one of the early scenes of the 2010 film Tron: Legacy when Sam Flynn is transported into the world of The Grid. As he is prepared for The Games his last question in the scene is “What am I supposed to do?”. His answer from Gem is simple and direct. “Survive”.
As many of us prepare to attend the 2016 Compliance Institute in Las Vegas, it seems that many of us may be much like Sam. Sam found himself alone in a new world trying to figure out what he had to do. How familiar does this sound to those of us who are in a compliance role? I doubt many of us, if any for that matter, raised their hands in elementary school when the teacher asked the question “What do you want to be when you grow up?” and replied with answer “I want to grow up and be a compliance officer”? Unlikely at best.
Then when people were put into that role, though many may not have admitted it at the time, often they had little more guidance than where their work area was located and the marching orders of…”Now go do whatever compliance officers do.”
Is it any surprise that though many people may understand their role on paper, thanks to the ongoing evolution of the compliance role, that people still struggle to put it into practice? This is why the CI is such a positive opportunity for so many.
While many folks operate as a department of one, now they have a chance for a few days to be one in a community of thousands. They can actually meet and greet others who are meeting similar challenges and very likely the same frustrations. This is a good thing. Compliance may be a shared responsibility but in many organizations, the Compliance Officer is like Sam Flynn, trying to find his or her way and in doing so, establishing his or her meaningful purpose by actions and deeds rather than academic descriptions often found in job descriptions or compliance work plans.
So though we may ask as Sam did…”What am I supposed to do?” Survive is certainly an applicable response. Though we may have to survive alone for 361 days out of the year, it is good to know that we also have 4 days where we can not only survive but revive as we come together at the CI next week. We may not have the cool, electronic music from Tron: Legacy as our background music, but I suspect that the sound track of compliance professionals networking, sharing information, and the collegial interactions that will take place at the CI will sound just as nice.
Safe travels everyone!
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