So Little Time
I subscribe to several professional journals to keep abreast of the changes and the latest technological advances in health information. I have been a member of AHIMA and have received the journal for several years. I remember getting my first journal after graduating from college. I was so excited to receive it and read every article with great excitement. The AHIMA journal was considered the premier source for issues surrounding health information.
As I think back to my early years of subscribing to the magazine, it has undergone tremendous changes. The journal was not as sleek and eye catching as it is today. There are a lot more snap shots of information in smaller articles. There are a lot more colorful advertisements and articles with graphs and charts. As health information has evolved, so has the number of professional journals and internet magazines. In addition to receiving the AHIMA magazine, I also receive several smaller publications dealing with health information issues.
With the restraints on time that all of us have, I am finding it difficult to read all my professional journals. When I receive the journals, I scan them for changes in regulations or best practices that I can use. I usually go through the journals a couple of times and still not have enough time to read every single article. I also receive electronic journals that provide a snapshot of the latest issues affecting health information. I spend a considerably amount of time online and tend to be drawn to information that is electronic. I can also save the information and read it whenever I want. My home office is stacked with journals in which I have flagged articles that I need to come back to and read in its entirety. As each month rolls around, my stack of journals continues to grow. As I purged out my oldest journals, I still find myself with a considerable stack of journals. I am afraid to discard this just in case I might need the information later.
I think there is still a market for paper journals and that some people have a love for old fashioned reading from print. I still enjoy picking up the latest novel from one of my favorite authors' James Patterson. I can devour one of his novels in one day. When it comes to receiving information, I prefer to receive it electronically. I don't have the same enthusiasm that I had as a recent college graduate. Back then I believed that it was a necessity to read every article in my journal to be a success. Keeping abreast of the changes in the profession is still a necessity. Now, I have so many choices for the source of the information. So, I have decided not to stock pile my journals but discard them after I read the most important information. The key is to be smart about what information I need to know and where to find it if I need to reference it again.