Passage : Professional Associations

A Question of Style

Jeanne Johnston — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:53:00 GMT

When it comes to language, there are accepted formulae for how things work--not just the actual words used, but specifics as to punctuation, grammar, etc. They used to teach that in school, right? In the workplace, the rules are supposed to be more formal....(read more)

I'll Take My Sunshine Where I Can Get It

Jeanne Johnston — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 11:54:00 GMT

Just when I've started to despair that we are going to give spring a miss and head straight into the Florida summer, I found a bright spot in my week to counteract these winter blahs. . . Actually, the story starts out on a grumpy note because it all...(read more)

Advocate for ... Greed

Jeanne Johnston — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:42:00 GMT

I suppose not many MTs have paid attention to AAMT's (yes, I know they're AIrHeaDs now) 3rd edition of their Book of Style because it came out virtually on the heels of the 2nd edition--which was not a great improvement over the 1st edition. Frankly, when Ellen Drake pulled out of the project, I saw no reason to bother. The BOS and various certification gimmicks are obviously the lifeblood for an organization that can't seem to figure out why MTs aren't flocking to join the official ranks--except in India, where MTs are still uninformed enough that they're falling for the notion that all this will buy them a cachet in a field that's paying them the equivalent of about Rs. 5000 (i.e. about $100) a month. (Let's not forget that AAMT also negotiated a deal with Prometrics wherein they get to take the certification test at cut-rate prices because they make less than we do--forget that their cost of living is obviously a fraction of ours and the fact they've already driven our wages and ability to support ourselves into the dumper.) Every time we shell out an increasing amount of money (currently $80 for the book alone), we still get something incredibly counterintuitive and unsearchable. Also, beginning with the latest edition, they have opted not to offer a CD version, claiming it's too difficult to create a workable electronic version. Forget that it's a small feat for anyone to convert the previous CD to a .pdf file, which far easier to navigate than the book or CD, and forget that they should actually have focused efforts at offering an online version (which they could actually amend and improve on the fly) all along. Nope, the old guard has never been terribly adept at keeping up with the times. The reversal on the CD version has been a puzzlement to me, though. Whereas it had previously been offered as both a companion or an alternative to the hard copy version of the reference--and the CD was proving to be increasingly popular with MTs, who found they could either turn it into a text file or simply leave the CD in their drive and save themselves fumbling through the book constantly--there was just something "off" about their claims that the new edition could only appear as a hard copy.

Aha. . . but now the light comes on. Enter Interfix--thanks to their "partnership with the experts at the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI), InterFix has created the first application that sets universal health data quality standards and deploys them to the workstation level, integrating them into the document creation process"--who can now offer "a fully integrated standards-based knowledge base" for MTs via their can't-live-without-it BenchMark KB, wherein for a mere $199 a year, you get:

* Access to the complete medical reference library from Stedman’s in a single user interface.. (sic)
* A continuously updated national physician database (850,000+)
* Quality alerts library highlight common transcription style errors, including Join Commission dangerous abbreviations.
* AHDI Book of Style in searchable format
* Annual electronic membership to AHDI
* Integration with all popular transcription and EHR platforms

Hmm. . . Suddenly, it's not so impossible to offer that BOS in an electronic format, eh? Interesting.

I think this proves my point beyond a doubt that The Organization Formerly Known as AAMT--a "professional organization" representing American medical transcriptionists--has now fully embraced its true purpose as a shill for software firms. Clearly, the "fix" has been on for a long time in their partnership with developers and salesmen, and the plan is to virtually corner the market on not only MT resources, but standards--including, no doubt, lobbying pressure (which AAMT has so proudly focused on in recent years) to attempt to make their credentials (for not only MTs, but MTSOs and schools) required and their products the default for transcription platforms and EMRs.

AAMT is officially dead and I challenge them to simply 'fess up and admit they're working against us. Those of you yet to find your lifeboats might want to form a line on the left. For those of you still in need of a style reference, I once again recommend heartily the totally free and infinitely more useful MT Reference Style Guide, created and maintained by MTs for MTs, and gee, whaddya know--easily searchable online.

No Man Is an Island

Jeanne Johnston — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 19:03:00 GMT

It seems most issues of Advance contain at least one letter from a new graduate, bemoaning the fact that regardless of the field, there's a Catch-22 wherein you need experience to get that first job, but you can't get that first job because no one's willing to give you experience. Just perusing the message boards here, it's also a common topic of discussion.

So how do you beat that conundrum? Obviously, the first advice people give is to be persistent. Put in your application and follow it up often--not enough to be a pest, but often enough so that they might start to think of you the next time there's an opening for a newbie. If your education is good enough, all you really need is the opportunity to test and show them your potential, right?

Another tactic that seems crucial to me--and yet rarely discussed--is networking. But. . . how do you network when you're a "nobody" in the field? Well, you figure out where the veterans are and you plop down in the middle of them and soak up everything they care to impart. Professional organizations usually offer student rates, but these days you don't have to invest a thing if you simply google your way around the internet and find a well-run message board. For MTs (and some coders), the best site out there is MT Chat, which is frequented by some of the grande dames of the biz, n00bs, students, and frequently, people who just stumble in looking for information on the field. If you sidle in and observe a good while, you can pick up a lot of information about everything from techniques for improving your skills to heads-up on job openings. You can't necessarily tell which posters are the vets because they don't make an issue of it, but most are pretty compulsive about answering questions. The board has a reputation for not tolerating fools gladly, but don't let the occasional directness scare you; most of the crusty ones have a chewy marshmallow center and feel very strongly they have a responsibility to share their knowledge with the next generation. Many employers read the forum--both to get a feel for which posters to avoid as well as which ones are good prospects (yes, you can post with a silly user name, but it's often very easy to match them up to actual applications. . .) Not only is there a forum there with job openings, there are often offers made behind the scenes. There are a couple school forums and instructors are very free with their advice. Coding is not as established there, but enough to be a valuable addition to your arsenal.

Your specific field should also have resources like this. For registrars, the NCRA has a jobs board that not only allows you to peruse openings (including internships), but also allows you to post your own résumé, to help match you with prospective employers. Now that the new certification requirements are changing, I suspect they will be working harder to fill those openings.

Advance itself has recently added a facebook page to help network. I have to admit I've not ventured to stick myself on facebook or any similar networking sites (yet) and I'd wager a guess that the majority who have joined this one are probably fairly young. Still, it seems a brilliant way to network, especially as so many of us are telecommuting and never actually get a chance to mingle on the job or at professional gatherings.

I'm sure there are other avenues to network I've not even thought of yet (I tend to be kind of stuck on the internet as my main venue, and I find it's a great equalizer), so I'd love to hear other suggestions. Yes, it's frustrating and sometimes it's very therapeutic to write that letter to the editor or post on a message board and just whine out of frustration--but in the end, the only way to ensure you get that big break is to become proactive and actually DO something. Don't feel helpless and isolated--think how you can build a bridge to connect with others who might give you a hand up to make that big leap.

Live and Learn

Jeanne Johnston — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:41:00 GMT

I think I blame Hurricane Fay--the dumb storm that, instead of plowing into Florida and falling apart once it hit land like a normal storm, pooped along in its own leisurely way and simply dropped a couple feet of water on us over the course of last week--for souring my mood much in the same way she soured my laundry. . . which I was forced to hang in the garage because I couldn't string together even an hour of sunshine to attempt the clothesline.

Whether in my head or out loud, I think I had may have vowed to simply ignore the deluded folks at AAMT, but for some reason I tripped across another ridiculous episode from Modesto last week, and a rant was inevitable. This week, they've actually countered with Part II, in which they outline their plan to up the ante for people wanting to become MTs, requiring at least an Associate's degree by the year 2016. . . totally oblivious to the reality that no one is going to want to spring for additional college tuition for a job where you can't even bring home minimum wage because everyone's now paying us in rupees to become editors for speech recognition engines. Additional obstacles to attract new people to a field that's falling apart? Clearly, the disconnect from reality is growing. . .

But now I don't feel so much like chortling.

It's therapeutic for MTs to commiserate over everything from mush-mouthed dictators to lousy wages to the state of the field in general. It's also really important to educate potential students so that they can at least go into the field with their eyes wide open and able to make the best choices to maximize their success. . . but I overlooked the third part of the equation--students who are already committed, especially to sub par "schools."

I don't intend to be a downer, honest. I'm simply compulsive at times about speaking honestly--especially on topics where information is scarce or there's a lot of MISinformation out there *coughschoolapprovalprogramcough* to trip you up. My compulsions stem from the fact that there was even less information when I started and I feel like I might be saving someone--anyone--from making the same mistakes if I blather on about what I've learned in the school of hard knocks.

So. . . having knocked the blinders or rose-colored glasses off some now-discouraged students, how can I make it better? Honestly, I don't know if there's a good answer. If you failed to do your research before plunking down your tuition and now think you've been suckered, do you hike up the blinders, cover your ears, and repeat that mantra from Stepford promising that if you only want it enough and work hard enough, you WILL be one of the ones who make it? Alas, you can't learn what they don't teach--or if they teach you wrong--and once that doubt takes hold, it sets you up to feel inadequate no matter how many superlatives that school slaps on your certificate at the end. Do you attempt to get your tuition back and start over? Sadly again, poor schools generally give you a very short time to bail out before keeping your money. For me, the question would be whether to finish anyway and move immediately to a better course or just walk away from my initial investment and get on with it--and I honestly couldn't justify learning bad information just to get my "money's worth." I would cut and run to the best course out there.

Well, except that I'm essentially running to a whole 'nuther healthcare field altogether.

I suppose I shouldn't feel too guilty for raining on someone's parade because I'm not doing it from a lofty spot, but from a position of empathy. I am pretty much turning my back on my own initial investment and starting over from scratch, too. In my case, though, I consider that investment has at least taught me some lessons to build on and make more educated choices from this point forward. The further I get into my current studies, the more lacking I realize my original education was. The courses I've had so far have not only been an eye-opener, but have enhanced my current skill set immensely--and have also shown me dozens of related jobs I might have considered if I'd only had a clue way back when. If I had it to do over again, I surely would not have chosen the same school. Rather than curl up into a fetal position and nurture an ulcer over wasting that money, though, I guess I just consider it an introductory course to healthcare. It got my feet wet and set me on a path to something much better.

It's like anything else in life--you have lows to help you appreciate the good parts. Besides, it's not like you can change past events, so why dwell on them? Sometimes Fay comes along and sours your wash and you just have to get a little creative, start over, and maybe invest in a trip to the laundromat to tide you over until the next sunny day.

Is it Still Half Full if it's the Wrong Half of the Glass?

Jeanne Johnston — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:01:00 GMT

How do you qualify success? For some people it's quantification through the use of statistics--which can bite you in the hiney if you're none too clever about them.

Case in point: This overly perky blog about the "wildly successful" AAMT convention, wherein they have to lump in the exhibitors to bolster the number of attendees to what they think is a respectable number of 827. So take out the vendors (including the hotel staff?) and what do you have, maybe 400 members actually in attendance? I suppose that's a better turnout than when they decided to vacation in Hawaii, but still. . . Considering they claim a membership over 7500 (mind you, this includes sweetheart deals like the press release on August 16, 2007, wherein CBay agreed to automatically make their employees members--swelling membership by 6000 paper tigers!) I'm not so sure this is a respectable showing. Even if you shrug off the inflated number of attendees, that's barely 10% of the membership who cared enough to show. To contrast, I believe the Little People of America have about 6000 registered members and about a fourth of them manage to attend their annual national convention. I think even the accordion enthusiasts rate a better turnout than AAMT. . .

Another giddy reference is to this MT survey, based on 3809 responses. Again, I'm not sure if that's a statistically relevant number, given that there are supposedly about 100,000 MTs in the US and the results are undoubtedly skewed wildly because a majority of those MTs have not even found their way online and to the communities that linked to the survey. (I seem to recall that the largest MT message board, MT Chat, has over 18,000 registered users, though that includes many who aren't current users--still, a more respectable membership percentage, though AAMT considers us The Great Unwashed). So--what are the conclusions of this great scientific treatise?

"Cost pressures on the industry are putting MTs in a precarious financial position, potentially hurting recruitment and retention."

". . . it is imperative for the industry that the proper incentives, career trajectory, and general recognition be in place to keep MTs committed to the profession. "

Of course, this is the same organization that has gotten really excited about their "Dress for Success" campaign (I'm not linking to the URL because Firefox has declared it an "attack site" for viruses/hackers), because a snappy business suit will certainly make people forget they consider MTs mere typing monkeys. Again, ignore that statistic from the survey above, wherein over 70% of us actually work from home and a disturbing number still consider the ability to work in their jammies a perk. . .

The message I get here is that AAMT is hurting (she says as much in the blog first cited) and they're looking to promote credentialing (individuals, schools, and corporate suckers alike) and yet another Book of Style (save your money and use this one for free!) for that badly needed cash infusion that helped send their leader to live in DC.

Honestly, I'm not sure how this whole thing can be bandied about as a victory for the Airheads, except that they seem to believe it will help them sell their credentials to MTs silly enough to believe that alphabet soup after their names is going to change the direction this industry is headed. I have just been pointed to the annual report of a major MTSO in which they disclose a major quarterly loss--but never fear, because it's largely due to startup investments in speech recognition technology and offshore training, which means the future's bright for the stockholders standing on the shoulders of the little people crushed in the stampede. Despite assurances that we are in a "normal summertime slump," that doesn't hold up because there is a progressive shortage of work available and none of my peers have seen the like before. It is no longer just curiouser and curiouser--it's getting downright scary to us peons. (Whatever happened to honesty in the workplace?)

As for my stubborn insistence on the use of "AAMT" (which is much more manageable than "The Organization Formerly Known as AAMT"), I remain unapologetic. Though few outside the MT community know them even by that, I guarantee a majority can't remember the new acronym at all. A rose (hardly) by any other name, and all that. I was especially amused by a conversation in the NCRA message board, wherein the tumor registrars are debating whether THEY should consider a name change. Best reply so far referenced AAMT's ill-advised push to call us "medical language specialists" to gloss over the fact that transcriptionists are quickly disappearing, hauling out my favorite old analogy of rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. A CTR stated succinctly that one is a "certified tumor registrar," which seems to convey the job well enough and satisfy the self esteem of a majority. 'Natch, I agree wholeheartedly--a name means bupkis if it's just wrapping up the same threadbare package with a new ribbon.

Say What What?

Jeanne Johnston — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:22:00 GMT

Everyone loves a boner. Reader’s Digest has practically made a career of them, as they comprise a good percentage of their various humor columns. I’ve always found their articles to lean toward the superficial and sappy, but hey--who isn’t agreeable to skimming through Laughter is the Best Medicine when sitting in the bathroom or whilst waiting for your tires to be rotated? MTs seem to especially love them--I suspect because so many of us are working from home and a good, “Can you believe the goofy thing this dictator said?” thread can quickly become a pile-up of hilarity and commiseration. It not only reassures you that you’re “superior” to someone out there who apparently doesn’t know that “chiefically” isn’t a word or doesn’t click that Mr. Smith shouldn’t have a hysterectomy in his past medical history, but it lets you know you’re not crazy, and there are other MTs out there who see this stuff, too. Doesn’t matter if you can top or just marvel at someone else’s bit, it’s all in good fun. We get our camaraderie where we can, to help stave off that feeling of isolation. Even Advance has taken advantage of this with the column, “Say what?” wherein MTs are invited to share their favorite gaffes. It was always one of the first things I read on the way back from the mailbox.

There’s been a disturbing trend in these submissions, though, thanks to the spectre of speech recognition. . . Many of the submissions are not spoonerisms dictated by some tired doctor or finger-tied transcriptionist who catches herself before sending a typo or Freudian slip. Nope, more and more, it’s the ridiculous gibberish churned out by SR that poor MTs-turned-editors are getting to correct (this month, I see gems like, “Wound will heal by secondary infection.”). Despite the wild claims of vendors and MTSOs who seem to think this technology is the greatest thing since electricity, most of us are seeing the ugly truth behind that. Much of it is so nonsensical that the only way to fix it is to scratch it and start over.

Of course, it’s been my contention for a long while that SR has been eyed to replace us. MTSOs who are implementing it assure us that MTs will never be replaced because there are so many dictators who will never cooperate and learn to dictate coherently. The Organization Formerly Known as AAMT assure us that we’re now “more” than MTs, we’re “medical language specialists” (gahh) and if we use our magic parachute, we will float effortlessly into our future roles as minimum wage editors.

But wait. . . according to an article this week, even AAMT bigwigs like Claudia Tessier (what acute care MT doesn’t consider her Surgical Word Book to be a requisite?) is sounding the death knell for MT (article here--you may need to register to read it):

“The movement is toward real-time documentation, which improves patient care and patient safety,” she said. “As this happens, it diminishes the need for medical transcription as we know it. It’s not going to happen overnight, but it’s a reality.”

***

The goal is for all MeritCare clinicians to fill out electronic patient records in other ways, such as by pointing and clicking and using voice-recognition software to add notes, she said.

At first, those notes will need to be edited and proofed by a transcriptionist, but eventually the health organization wants technology to allow physicians and nurses to self-edit, eliminating the need for those services, Hewitt said.

***

Completing patient records during an examination or visit is the goal of the industry, said Tessier, who spent 20 years as chief executive officer of an association for medical transcriptionists.

Technology can make that happen, but clinicians also need to be willing to use tools like handwriting recognition software and direct data entry, she said. Some adapt readily to the technology; others don’t.

The $28 billion a year industry won’t disappear immediately, but she expects it to diminish over the next decade.

Say what? Not exactly the AAMT party line of “MT isn’t going anywhere,” is it?

I have personally suffered at the hand of our local hospital's new point-and-click EMR, wherein the same information was laboriously reentered every time we were shuffled to the next room and spelling errors were shrugged off as unimportant. Sure, it's funny when we see that SR has declared that, "both breasts are equal and reactive to light and accommodation," but somehow, I get nervous thinking that my chart could be one of those travesties lost in translation. It sounds like it's every man for himself in this brave new world, and I think I'll take charge of my own health records and just come armed with my history already transcribed and in digital and hard copy formats.

Maybe it'll get so bad that MTs can start marketing themselves directly to consumers.

Is that all there is?

Jeanne Johnston — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:51:00 GMT

Yes, I’m still studying for my Computers in Healthcare final, so nothing exciting (or dire) to report there--but I have been cogitating about the course in general and I’m curious to know if others have had the same, better, or worse experiences with this standard prerequisite for most healthcare courses. There are a couple alternate "schools" I had considered and I guess I'm just curious to know if anyone had a better experience in theirs. I do recall my son grousing about having to take a basic computer course to begin his degree (in digital media, at a school dedicated to computer brainiacs!), so perhaps this is just a cross we all must bear.

In a long preamble to the actual course, AHIMA informs us that since the class is taken by students in more than one course, “some” of the online coursework will be inaccessible to students in the cancer registry course and “some” of the test questions will pertain to these areas. Never fear, however--it won’t be many and it should still be quite easy to pass anyway. Mkay, that sounds a little odd, but I’m a sucker for a good reassurance, so plowed ahead.

In actuality, however, MANY of the sections had nothing whatsoever to do with the cancer registry side of the coin and HUGE numbers of questions pertained to this hidden wealth of knowledge. The coding students are apparently required to become members of AHIMA and thus, have access to the message boards and library that many of the lessons came from. Granted, in the final portion of the course pertaining to HIPAA and information security, many of these articles were reprinted so the rest of us had access, but in assessing the entire course I would say that almost three-fourths actually was irrelevant to cancer registry. Yes, it’s interesting to see how coding software works and no, I had no idea there were virtual shelves of dusty literature stockpiled in the AHIMA vaults, but really, what does all that have to do with the rest of us? And what the heck? The first module (one-fourth of the class) was spent getting us familiar with the message boards and online course format and how to navigate and post. That’s something that should be given as a free FAQ for anyone considering enrolling, not fleshing out a skimpy course! The way the online courses are presented, I know darned well most people probably have already taken the anatomy course and are also surprised that this information was not available beforehand.

I would humbly suggest that this course would better serve us--remembering that we’ve paid a hefty sum and want our money’s worth--by offering separate versions of the class to mesh with the specific courses of study it’s being required for. Utilize the modules with the word processing and database introductions and (yawn) security for everyone, but substitute more appropriate modules for the rest. It would be a lot more useful to know what software looks like for tumor registrars (yes, I know it’s probably similar--but not specific) and something else for the behind-the-scenes mumbo jumbo. Why not require us to become members of NCRA and walk us by the hand behind the scenes there to give us a leg up on mentors and resources? And fer cryin’ out loud. . . test us on things we really need to know. Half that stuff was from lessons I was instructed to skip over because they weren’t pertinent to my course of study and I simply had to guess at the answers. That just grates against my overdeveloped sense of what’s fair.

I dunno. It was just. . . lightweight. I suspect the course is also a prerequisite for other HIM courses and those students are even more bummed at what they need to learn. It would be far more valuable to have lessons more in depth about working with data in ways that we may actually encounter on the job. Biggest shock of all, perhaps, was that the actual hands-on part of the class involved Office 2003! That's amazingly outdated, as software goes. . .

Maybe I wouldn’t be such a whiner if the course was priced half as much as the others or if I hadn’t gone nuts last week researching software to better do my exercises (which actually proved totally unnecessary as they never went back to them!) *sigh* Well, I’ll just do my best to blow through the final and get back into the fun stuff.

As for my exercise in geekhood last week (LOL--as I know probably two people care), I did indeed install Leopard and with the new OS, Bento. I don’t see the latter as being quite powerful enough for serious database use in the big business world of brown-shoed squares (their FileMaker Pro is made for that), but WOW--it’s a blast! It takes those boring old tables of information and slaps a ton of Mac-style eye candy over it. My address book and calendar never looked so appealing and I’m going to be in danger of ruining my reputation as the black sheep of the family who can never manage a birthday card on time. I must have Virgo looming around my sign because I’m suddenly fantasizing about what I can catalogue next--recipes? books? movies? music? maybe a household inventory, complete with photos, or perhaps I'll finally organize and unload my stack of unused text and reference books I keep threatening to eBay!

Happily, though this computer course was not centered around the platform or applications I prefer, I can say that I am taking away some new knowledge that I’ll be able to apply everywhere. I just wish there was more of it.

With advocates like these. . .

Jeanne Johnston — Sat, 17 May 2008 18:55:00 GMT

Here I am in my self-imposed spring break, trying to just be for a change, with a view toward hitting the books again this weekend. I'm finding that as always, the more you try not to think about something--anything--the harder it is to do. There's such a growing din of discontent in MTville it's rendering me incapable of harmlessly random thoughts. It's like I've caught an Andy Rooney virus and simply need to stew about something.

Case in point: The latest print issue of Advance, in which Peter Preziosi speaks for the Airheads--AKA The "Professional" Organization Formerly Known as AAMT, which should take a cue from Prince and just pick a symbol because their new acronym is just impossible to remember--once again pimps the party line by telling us that the sure-fire way to benefit the field of MT is to bust your hump and get your CMT certification because, golly gee, that alphabet soup and a better wardrobe is what will get you the respect of your employer, your dictators, and your coworkers. Heck, maybe it'd even make your sister-in-law think twice before dropping in for coffee during your shift. But wait--since Peter and his cohorts at MTIA have steered this ship to benefit the speech recognition vendors and AAMT dropped the "American Medical Transcriptionists" from the acronym, they've already declared that they now instead operate as advocates for the medical record and not the transcriptionist. It's all about EMR and SR now, baby. Except MT week is looming and this apparently calls for a flip-flop to claim they're advocating for us after all. So which is it? I guess they're hoping Lenin was right when he said, "A lie told often enough becomes the truth." As an MT, AAMT's claims of advocacy sound hollow indeed. I have a good feeling this is simply a matter of not wanting to give up the potential cash cow that certification offers. They've not succeeded in selling us the idea of the vanity title, though some of our Indian counterparts seem to think it will garner them acceptance. The organization is driven by the idea of selling us on their credential and their BOS, if not a membership. Without everyone on board for individual certification, how will they sell companies on the idea they should also be certified? Nothing else they've done seems to have hit the jackpot. Even that drive a couple years ago to lure in student members has not resulted in many of them staying on as full members, once they discovered how little that membership gets them (i.e. a very expensive lapel pin) and the realities that the organization simply does not want to deal with new ideas. Not that the old way of thinking is getting them too far. These people are the crew of their very own Titanic and as the water rises over all our ankles, they're busy congratulating themselves for jettisoning a few bothersome lifeboats because it gives them room to pack in another game of charades as the orchestra continues to play. To quote Peter: "So if you want to help advocate for your profession, to bring it more visibility and respect, become credentialed. . . The profession could really use your help." Is it just me, or is there a huge disconnect in the concepts of who's advocating for whom and what that really entails? Maybe the medical document isn't the great partner they thought it would be.

As the industry moves increasingly to SR and MTs are told they are now "editors," we find ourselves training the very technology that is replacing us, and at a cut in pay for the privilege. Veteran MTs are not valued when there are sloppily educated greenhorns happy to start at poverty wages. Even the clients are getting used to the idea that crappy transcription is all they'll get--but it's okay because it's cheap! It is fast becoming the norm that MTs with 20-30 years' experience are being hired at the same wages as those newbies and told they must "work their way up the ladder." Only--oops!--they're not talking raises, they mean that you work more difficult accounts with the dictators so awful that SR doesn't work with them, and the main option for increasing your pay is simply to work harder and faster. I know too many who are afraid to leave the nationals because they are at a rate of pay they will never see again and are already struggling to survive, at that. They have simultaneously put the production screws to us whilst redefining our wages with an eye toward 2-4 cpl as soon as they can get away with it. Honestly, is there another field where this kind of thing flies? What did MTs do to deserve an "advocate" like this?

I'm not sure why I'm harping on an organization I truly feel is history. Before I sprout Andy's gigantic eyebrows and launch into another silly rant, will mosey instead to my happy spot: My week has involved a revelation regarding my back misery, in which I suddenly realized the last time my bed didn't make me ache was back before the ex forced me to jettison the beloved waterbed and let him pick out an erroneously named "Beautyrest," which has been akin to camping on asphalt. A little tenacious sleuthing and I sing the praises of Craig's List, wherein I located a very retro full-motion waterbed for a mere $25 and should be floating blissfully by Friday night. The last bad vestige of a worse marriage will soon find a new home with some masochist or desperate cheapskate as I finally relish real lumbar support.

Add in the bonus that my daughter and I finally succeeded in getting far enough into the attic to fix the A/C as the FL summer hits and I am rarin' to get back into school with a clear head and fresh enthusiasm. I've finally received all the textbooks for my next AHIMA module. First impressions are that the computer course will be painfully simplistic and outdated. Since technology advances so fast that any new computer is outdated before you even break it in, I'm not sure how anyone can teach this as more than the basics. It appears that HIPAA is glaringly omitted, at least in the textbook. Hopefully, this class will be a breeze, as I'm still rather bruised from the anatomy & physiology course. Medical terminology looks to be fairly easy, though there's an extra text about pathophysiology that is kind of giving me palpitations because it appears to be an evil cousin to the A&P text. Pharmacology looks to be another fairly straightforward text and involves a lot of things I already deal with, so perhaps three out of four makes for pretty good odds on getting through intact. In light of the increasing grumbling amongst my peers and the knowledge that I need to race to get ahead of our "advocates," am feeling pretty motivated to dive in.

More Than Just Statistics

Jeanne Johnston — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 15:00:00 GMT

Well, I almost let National Cancer Registrars Week slip by unnoticed. I had slapped it on my iCal back when I first noticed it a couple months back and I guess I figured that wouldn't be the only reminder I got. Sadly, it seems to get less notice than MT week, including on the National Cancer Registrars Association website, where there's simply a small, nondescript graphic and a link to adapt their own press release for a DIY promotion.

Seeing as how I've been waiting weeks yet to be approved for entry to the NCRA message board and never did get a reply about my newbie questions submitted to state and national membership heads, I find it especially interesting that the press release once again points out the need to recruit new CTRs:

“We must work together with our allies in the health community to ensure that we continue to recruit and train qualified candidates to enter into the cancer registry field.”

Ahem. That might involve some actual schmoozing with potential candidates, might it not? I guess they're leaving it up to all you CTRs to rope your bestest buddies into the field on an individual basis because I don't see a great push anywhere beyond lip service. Slick newsletters and apparent organization, but the followthrough needs a bit of work. I'm seeing more articles in Advance about registry, but that amounts to little more than dangling a half-eaten carrot if there's no practical information about how to join all those folks who loooove their job. Remember that you're recruiting people who have little or no clue and you need to take them by the hand to make them feel you're really serious about wanting them to consider the field. If there truly is a dire need for new bodies, you really want to be more aggressive about headhunting. I suspect working CTRs are too busy to make a hobby of playing Welcome Wagon for the good of the team.

As for festivities this week, I wonder if they're as universally pathetic as they are for MT week. I come from a world where a coffee mug is considered a major token of "esteem" from an employer and MTs who work on site often relate tales of offerings consisting of office supplies left over from drug reps or snacks quickly devoured by predatory residents--and these are considered fortunate because most MTs don't get any recognition at all.

Lest we feel too sorry for ourselves, however, I feel obliged to point out that I bet few of you were aware we recently missed Doctors Day on March 30. Yep, your favorite physician probably would have loved a token pat on the back because he's also dealing with quotas, bureaucracy, insurance companies, and patients who don't do what they're told. Some of these folks sound so weary as they dictate, I marvel that they do it as well as they do. Of course, it helps to not have to support a family near the poverty level, so we can only muster so much sympathy. (Hm. I wonder if I promote Placebo Journal if Dr. Doug would favor me with a free subscription. Love the gazette, but on an MT's wages I can hardly afford a subscription to the real deal. Regardless, I highly recommend it for many good laughs, if not some fascinating insight into the doctors' side of what we do.)

Heck, I think the problem is that there are just too many Hallmark holidays and no one's bought ad time in the right places to make ours stand out from the crowd--secretaries, auctioneers, customers, librarians, receptionists, third shift workers, golfers, principals, tourists, pirates, and all the others vying for attention in the next couple months. I guess that leaves it up to us to toot our own horns. On that note, I'll give a shout out to the 4,500 cancer registry professionals and CTRs I hope to join. Enjoy your week!