Confessions of an HIM Student : Professional Associations

Back from the AHIMA Convention

Travis Bankhead — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 13:00:00 GMT

I'm back from my little stint in Seattle at the convention and I must say that this traveling around has left me a little run down and with a cold. Unfortunately for me I have my clinical e-mail update due this week as well as my human resources midterm ... aka no time for rest.

As for the convention, it was really exciting and a bit overwhelming at the same time. There were so many vendors that it wouldn't be possible to talk to all of them if you wanted to. However, we did have time to talk to a good number of them and try to get a feel of what is going on in the industry. We also found time to try and win prizes such as iPods, which four of my classmates were able to accomplish, as well as one of my professors, so that is really exciting.

Another exciting event was last Sunday when we went to a bowling event with a vendor called MedPartners. It was mainly for their clients but a lot of students were also invited to the event, which I thought was really nice of them. At the event we were able to network with other students as well. We met students from Southwestern Oklahoma State University as well as St. Scholastica University in Minnesota. I personally spent a while talking to a few students from St. Scholastica and were comparing our schools programs and where we saw ourselves working. I actually became friends with some of them and hope to be able to keep in touch with them in over the years and be able to see where we all end up professionally.

Another fun event was that my class attended my school's alumni reception at the hotel next to the convention. We were able to meet some of the alumni of our program and just chat amongst ourselves at the reception. We also got a chance to see our professors out of the classroom and we all took many group shoots throughout the evening.

As for the rest of my time in Seattle ... it was filled with wonderful sightseeing. We went to the Pike Place Market, the Space Needle, and the Underground Tour in the Pioneer Square section of the city. I really liked the Underground Tour because it gave a very colorful depiction of the city's history and if you are ever in Seattle, I would highly recommend it.

Before I Hit the Road

Travis Bankhead — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 11:31:00 GMT

This week we had our Systems Analysis midterm ... I did not study enough. I did study but I definitely didn't focus on it as much as I could have and now I am going to feel the consequences when I receive my test back with my grade. It won't be pretty.

On a lighter note, in our non-traditional class we were talking about long-term care facilities and how it feels to be a resident in a facility like this. Our professor had us put on these old sunglasses with cellophane wrapped around them so we couldn't see that well, put cotton in our ears to hear as well and tape a couple of our fingers together so that we really couldn't write that well or have other use of our hands. She then passed around empty aspirin bottles in order for us to try and see if we could open them with all of our sense blocking items on. She also had the lights turned down during this, and then proceeded to ask us questions and we had to write down our answers on a piece of paper and then rip that piece off and put it in a pile. These questions were asking us what is our favorite material possession, something we are proud of, someone we care about, etc. We then had to choose one that we would give up, and continued to do this until we had nothing left in our pile. This really made us think about how much people have lost and how difficult it is for them to be in a facility like that. I think that a lot of us probably didn't think about it and it really made us realize what they are going through at that time in their lives.

Well, that's all for now, until I return from the AHIMA Convention in Seattle. My friends and I are flying out around 7 a.m. on Saturday in order to get there a little early and have time for some sightseeing. I'm very excited and will have a full update when I return.

Looking to the Future, Staying Busy in the Present

Travis Bankhead — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 11:21:00 GMT

So I know this is a little early and all, but I just want to express how excited I am for the AHIMA Convention in October. The four of us who are staying together booked our flight and hotel in February, and yes I know how crazy early that is, but we could not wait! I also just got done booking our transportation from the airport to downtown hotels and it was only $18 per person/round trip. I think that was a steal! On the other hand, I just registered for the convention as well and I did think that the $75 student fee was a little high. I thought I would not be more than around $50 at the most. I mean we are students on a budget here and we're flying across the country as well. On any note, I know it will all be worth it and I cannot wait to go. We're also trying to do a lot of fundraisers so that we can reduce the cost of everyone going. I think there are about 18 of us from my class who are going. If anyone has any good ideas for fundraising, please do share.

So now back to the present at school. We are in the middle of writing our epidemiology research proposals and just the amount that you have to read is astonishing. I have been reading so many different articles and journals that my eyes are going to fall out, but I am excited to be in the process of completing mine. I'm doing my proposal on children with Spinal Muscular Atrophy and the testing of their parents in order to see if they have a very mild course of the disease, and if so how it would be properly diagnosed. It's a very interesting topic that pulled at my heartstrings when I stumbled upon it in probably the most unconventional way, by reading my favorite celebrity site, PerezHilton. Well no matter how I found it, it just hit me that this is what my project should be on.

In other areas, my clinical last week was at a local drug and rehab facility. I went there with one other classmate for 2 days where we went over quality, utilization, and risk management. It was a lot different than I thought. It wasn't as fast paced as I thought it was and there wasn't a lot of chaos. We were with the Director of Medical Records, Quality Improvement, Health & Safety, and Utilization Management. She was wonderful in explaining all of the issues that come up in the facility and we were particularly interested in the legal cases she has to deal with. Of course being that the facility deals with drug and alcohol rehabilitation, the records are under very strict regulations because of HIPAA. It was amazing all of the cases that people would try to get the patients record and it would have nothing to do with their case. These requests were of course denied and I'm sure there were a lot of angry attorneys out there.

Well I don't want to ramble on forever, and I really should get ample rest before my clinical again tomorrow. I'm off to watch TV until I doze off and pray that I have extra time in the morning in order to grab some Starbucks