HTM On The Line with BRYANT HAWKINS SR.
This Podcast is the place where we celebrate the hardworking professionals in the field of Healthcare Technology Management. It's going to be for HTM by HTM, and more importantly this podcast is going to be fun. This is where you will hear HTM professionals getting the exposure and credit they ALL deserve.
I also have a youtube channel, where you can see weekly motivational videos. Click the link and please subscribe to my channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNQFL03ijsHjsLAKOX0uGOA
HTM On The Line with BRYANT HAWKINS SR.
You Didn't Skip The Line, You Prepaid! (Part 1 of 4)
In this soul-stirring episode, B-Hawk delivers a raw and reflective message for every HTM professional who's ever felt overlooked, underestimated or unseen. Inspired by a moment at an airport gate, he draws a powerful parallel between boarding a flight and walking through doors in your career, not because of luck, but because of legacy.
If you've ever questioned whether the long hours, missed moments or quiet sacrifices were worth it, this episode will remind you: you didn’t skip the line, you prepaid. With grit. With grace. With consistency.
Tune in and walk away with renewed confidence in your path, your preparation, and your purpose.
Big thanks to our podcast partners: College of Biomedical Equipment Technology, A.M. BICKFORD, INC., UptimeServices, PM BIOMEDICAL AND GMC Healthcare Solutions. Your support keeps the HTM mission alive!
Welcome to another episode of HTM On the Line. I'm Brian Hawkins Sr. And this episode will be a little bit different than the previous HTM podcasts. This episode isn't just a story, it's a reminder. A word for every HTM professional who's been grinding behind the scenes wondering if anyone notices you didn't skip the line you prepaid. Grinding behind the scenes wondering if anyone notices you didn't skip the line you prepaid. Now this will be a full-part series, starting with part one. Right now. Let this one hit you where it needs to. Let's get into it.
Speaker 1:I was flying out for a conference not long ago, got to the gate early, sat down headphones in, just waiting. Now, if you've flown before, you know that waiting game. You scan the crowd, you check your watch. You try not to zone out too much. That day I noticed something right before boarding started. The vibe shifted. You could feel it. People were tense, voices got sharper, body language changed and then I heard the announcement the flight was oversold. Now, if you've ever been in that moment, you know it gets real. People start calculating their importance out loud. I have to be on this flight. I booked this months ago. I got meetings in the morning. One guy was pacing, another was calling customer service right there at the gate. I just sat back and watched. Then a gate agent called my group. I stood up, calm, calm, walked up, handed her my boarding pass. She scanned it beep, the door opened. No drama, no tension, no debate. I just walked through. Now here's what hit me. Some folks probably looked at me like I got lucky, but they didn't know. I bought my ticket months ago, I planned ahead, I paid the cost, I showed up on time and that right.
Speaker 1:There is a word for somebody in HTM, because some of you are starting to walk through doors, starting to get recognized, starting to be elevated, and people are whispering why them? How'd they get in? Who chose them? How'd they get in? Who chose them? But what they don't see are the nights you stayed past midnight troubleshooting a ventilator. The weekends you were on call while your kids were at the park. The dinners you missed the stress you swallowed the prayers you whispered when no one else was listening. They didn't see you in the break room with your head down, wondering if this work even mattered, wondering if the only time someone says your name is when something goes wrong. They didn't see the pressure, the training, the impossible to please standards goes wrong. They didn't see the pressure, the training, the impossible to please standards, the equipment that didn't care if you were tired, if you were grieving or if it was your day to be off. They don't know that you didn't skip the line. You prepaid. You paid with consistency. You paid with consistency, you paid with sweat, you paid with humility. You paid with every single moment. You refused to quit.
Speaker 1:And just because someone else is panicking at the gate doesn't mean you need to, because you've already got your boarding pass, you've already been cleared for takeoff. So walk in peace. No need to explain yourself, no need to shrink, no need to justify the favor on your life. Just sit in your seat and don't apologize for where you're going next. Let me say that part there again Don't apologize for where you're going next, because here's the truth. You didn't hustle your way in, you honored your way in and honoring the process. That's what give you access.
Speaker 1:See, in healthcare technology management, we're often behind the curtain, we're not the ones on the commercial, we're not the ones getting applause in the lobby. But make the mistake. But make no mistake. When a device fails, when a life hangs in the balance, we show up. We show up in silence, we show up under pressure. We show up because it's not just a job, it's a calling.
Speaker 1:And I want to speak to every B-Med, every tech, every manager, every unsung hero out there. You may feel unseen, but you are not invisible. You are essential, you are impactful, you are chosen for this work. So keep showing up, keep staying ready, because opportunity doesn't knock for the unprepared. And you, you're already packed, you're already cleared, you're already assigned to your next destination. Let them talk, let them wonder, let them question why you're being elevated. They don't know what it costs, but you do. You didn't skip the line, you prepaid. So as I sat in that window seat watching the ground crew move below, I thought about all of us in HTM, all of us who fixed the equipment and the culture, all of us who carried the pressure without praise. And I smiled because, no matter where we're flying next, we're not just passengers, we're purpose driven professionals with tickets paid in full. So go ahead, take your seat, buckle up and don't look back.
