Professionalism is a Verb
At AHDI ACE in Nashville, AHDI held is first annual Integrity Awards. While awards have been given annually in the past, in 2009 AHDI altered the program to focus on contributions made by individuals and corporations that better align with the association's focus on integrity, and for the first time AHDI did not announce the winners until the final night of ACE. Per AHDI, "each truly represents the innovative thinking and best practices the association hopes to showcase for the sector." Accolades to each nominee!
The awards were presented at a red carpet awards presentation, complete with teleprompters, videos, a live host, and even paparazzi! The Integrity Award winners are as follows: Excellence in Credentialing Award, Tammy Moore, CMT, AHDI-F; Advocate of the Year, Laura Bryan, CMT, AHDI-F; Rising Star (Student Essay Contest) Award, Kim Boyce; Innovation Through Technology, Scott Faulkner, InterFix; Employer of the Year, Amphion Medical Solutions; Member of the Year, Dianna Hall, CMT, AHDI-F; Lifetime Achievement Award, Bob Harvey, TRS/TRS Institute; Distinguished Service Award, Scott Edelstein, JD, Squire, Sanders, & Dempsey.
Last, but not least, I am proud to acknowledge the Membership Impact Award came to PA-AHDI (Pennsylvania Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity). This is the state I currently hail from and I know the award honors many, many individuals who work in many capacities to make a difference not only for our state association members but also in the health care field and medical documentation sector in general. I am sure this is the case with all of the award recipients and nominees in every category!
Throughout the conference and the final evening's awards presentation, the professionalism apparent in our industry was universal. AHDI chapters, AHDI/MTIA staff, members, and volunteers, MTSOs, large and small, vendors, government groups, industry leaders, health care professionals of many disciplines, and, of course, individual medical transcriptionists (by whatever title we take!) all have a common thread - working hard, helping the profession, staying current, staying relevant. All are action-oriented. Whether it is being front and center by leading in AHDI, association or chapter or being part of the lobbying effort at Capitol Hill, or more in the background as an individual striving to bring top quality and knowledge to their work, a professional has a multitude of faces and roles. A professional integrates work tasks, professional standards, and often volunteerism to not only stay current in the changing health care world but also to make our industry better. All of these attributes require action on the part of the professional! Regardless of how many people are involved or directly impacted, the professional takes an active role in elevating and upholding the high professional standards for documentation integrity.
The AHDI award nominees and winners represent some of the best professionals who focus on integrity - there are undoubtedly many, many more individuals and groups equally worthy of this type of acknowledgement - bravo to each and every one of our professionals who focus on integrity and know that professionalism is a verb!