Can You See Me Now?
I am just getting back from the PA-AHDI Educational Conference in Lancaster, PA. What a great meeting! We had more than 100 attendees from 12 states, a dozen exhibitors, and four generous sponsors. It was apparent that attendees, exhibitors and speakers were eager to share, educate, network and have fun in the process.
While much of our business, continuing education and even socializing can be done electronically nowadays, there is nothing like a face-to-face meeting to bring together all pieces of the complex environment we live and work in. It has great value to come together to hear firsthand of industry trends, learn about medical topics, surgeries, treatments, research and new technologies that we may or may not come across in our daily careers. I actually had the pleasure of meeting in person some of my Facebook friends--it reminded me of days when people had pen pals and then finally met….joyful!
A highlight for many attendees is renewing friendships and meeting business associates in person. Face-to-face meetings are an opportunity that cannot be replicated by electronic means. It is just not the same to be together in person to share time, ideas, meals and enthusiasm, from which many new ideas and initiatives spring forth.
Of course, face-to-face afforded us the opportunity to hear some outstanding speakers, presentations and attendee interaction. We learned from Dr. Daniel Weber, in speaking on Jewish Genetic Diseases that genetic-based disease trends, even specific diseases, are not exclusive to one nationality. As well, we learned from Dr. Nicholas Rider the medical care involved in treating children with complex genetic disease. We learned from Dr. Alan Brader and Stacey Youcis the types of surgical weight loss treatments currently available, and were shown by Jackie Hagy, RN, and Brenda Ulrich, RN, BSN, CNOR how the da Vinci Surgical System allows precision surgery without the surgeon actually touching the patient.
Maggie Costella, JD, MPH, specializes in health law and serves as counsel for Lancaster GeneralHospital. She spoke on Ethics in Healthcare, which, of course, directly impacts the health care documentation specialist in day-to-day activities and will have greater impact in early 2010 as new regulations are implemented.
Kenneth Schafer, gave a thought-provoking presentation titled Following the Money – Why Some Trends Emerge and Others Evaporate. Marketing certainly plays a role in the future of our industry.
Dr. Lawrence Levitt is the co-author of The Man with the Iron Tattoo:What Our Patients Have Taught Us About Love, Faith, and Healing, a book I actually had before this meeting. It was so much more meaningful to see and hear him tell the stories of memorable patient encounters that greatly impacted not only the patient but also Dr. Levitt’s own family. He reminded us of the humanity in any given situation.
Face-to-face was the perfect setting to hold a panel discussion regarding certified medical transcriptionist (CMT) and registered medical transcriptionist (RMT) credentialing, as well as the AHDI-F designation. Kevena Espinoza, RMT, Diana Sommers, CMT, and Grace LaConte, CMT, AHDI-F, gave presentations and opened the room up to questions afterwards. It is inspiring to hear success stories in person as you can feel their enthusiasm and pride in their accomplishments, as well as affirmation from other attendees on the personal benefit of voluntary credentialing and steps to acquire it. Many attendees mentioned throughout the conference that their goal is to become credentialed over the next year, and we look forward to congratulating them in person next fall!
Brenda Hurley, CMT, AHDI-F, gave the last presentation, Great Gadgets for Busy Professionals, and anyone who knows Brenda knows her enthusiasm in person is infectious and certainly cannot be duplicated without being up close and personal!
Can you see me now? You bet, and I can’t wait to see you again next year.