Stay in the Driver’s Seat of Packaging Progress
Do you ever feel like you are beating the same drum over and over? You have repeated yourself in meetings and calls, and you repeat the cycle again and again. I see you. Packaging professionals are continuously educating colleagues within their organizations about packaging, often repetitively, which can be exhausting. If you’ve ever read any of my writings or spoken with me before, you know continuous education is one of the key topics I like to discuss, so let’s get into it . . .
The further you progress in your career, the more you may end up taking what you know for granted. It can be jarring, and sometimes even slightly disorienting, when people around you, including other packaging professionals, don’t know the same things that you do. Here’s the thing, though: they have something to learn from you, and you have something to learn from them, if you choose to remain open to receiving new and potentially opposing information. That openness can also lead to lively, and sometimes heated, debate. It can also lead to impactful change, maybe a more streamlined approach or even new innovations.
Sometimes packaging can feel like driving the same route for years, only to suddenly notice details that had been there all along AND some new things that went up without your noticing. Likewise, the more familiar the path becomes, the easier it is to miss things and sometimes we need others to point those things out.
When first developing the Fundamentals of Medical Device Packaging course offered through the Medical Device Packaging Technical Committee (MDPTC) of IoPP, I challenged the group developing the course to build it around sharing those things so intrinsic to their knowledge that they did not recall a time when they did not know them. They ultimately built a strong educational program and brought so much knowledge into the course that I found myself surprised by how much I learned and continued to learn every time the course was offered. I also heard from instructors, as well as attendees with tenure in the medical device packaging space, that they learned things too. That is what leads me to the conclusion that we all have something to learn from each other.
So, this time, my message is not only for younger professionals, but also for seasoned professionals: keep learning, keep teaching, and keep talking. That is how progress is made. That is how we grow, get better, and advance collectively.
At this point, you may be asking yourself how to keep learning once you have arrived in your career, and formal education may not be the direction you want to take. Here are a few ways I have continued to learn, stretch, and grow my understanding of packaging:
Continue engaging with industry publications and online resources, including this PackTalk blog.
Talk with colleagues, both inside and outside of your organization. Build a network of trusted industry friends you can call to discuss different situations and be that resource for them in return. There is nothing better than nerding out about packaging with like-minded souls. I always find that these conversations reignite my spark for medical device packaging and inspire me to keep learning, improving, and sharing what I know.
Get involved with industry organizations such as ASTM (D10, F02, and other applicable committees), ISTA, AAMI (ST/WG7 for packaging and other applicable sterilization working groups; sterilization and packaging for medical devices are intrinsically linked), Healthcare Plastics Recycling Council (HPRC), KiiP or another Kilmer Community group focused on solving wicked sterile barrier packaging and sterilization issues, and/or MDPTC through IoPP. There are certainly others, but these are a few strong places to start. If you don’t know how to get involved with any of these groups, let me know — I can help point you in the right direction.
Attend industry trade shows and conferences. For North America, this includes MD&M West in February, where the MDPTC Fundamentals course is offered, the[PACK]out in May, and, new to North America this year, the Medical Packaging Conference (MPC), being held in Boston from September 30 to October 2. These are just a few spaces where newer and tenured professionals congregate, learn, talk about medical device packaging, keeping the conversations going so we continue to grow and evolve as an industry collective.
I will continue to educate people about foundational packaging info as well as all the new and exciting things happening — and yes, sometimes that means doing so again and again — because continued learning and teaching are how we move forward together. Who is with me?
