In Michael Moore’s movie “Sicko” he highlights the plight of many of these heroes who sacrificed their well being for others and suffered without proper healthcare.

We applaud Advance for featuring the following article:

The World Trade Center Clinical Center of Excellence at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York is treating and monitoring emergency responders, recovery workers, residents and area workers who were affected by the terrorist attacks in New York City on September 11, 2001. The Mount Sinai center is the result of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act – named after fallen NYPD detective James Zadroga who died from a 9/11-induced respiratory disease…Watch Video

I have been down many roads within the Land of Healthcare Documentation that spans over 37 years.  So much has changed.  I started before there were computers and continue to modify the way I work every year.  Having worked both inside healthcare facilities as an ART (now RHIT) and from home as a transcription service owner and supervisor, the challenge has always been trying to find a balance…how to balance an industry that never closes (including holidays) with that of raising a family and spending time with other activities.  A huge percentage of our industry have become home-based workers, having to learn new platforms, new skills (including, but not limited to speech recognition editing).  As we recuperate from hectic holiday schedules and move into chaotic summer schedules, the need to find balance continues to elude many of us.  It is so easy to push back the other areas of our life in an effort to gain control over our work life, get caught up, and attempt to clear the decks for the next day.

I had an awakening.  While re-evaluating my own work/volunteer/church/home lives, I realized balance is not something I will ever obtain, and more importantly, I don’t think I WANT. Why?  When something is in balance, like weighted scales, there is no movement. It is static. If it were “out of balance,” it would be another issue to deal with; another stressor.

My awakening was the realization that what I really strive for is harmony. Like the music I love to sing and listen to, harmony is a form of balance, but it is constantly changing.  Not every voice or instrument is in the lead or foreground all the time.  With the acceptance that our work-life can be the primary focus (the “lead”) some of the time, it cannot be all the time. Other aspects of our lives need to take the lead in order find harmony.  With troublesome trends being busy lives, hopelessness and burnout, Dean Shrock, Ph.D., author of “Doctor’s Orders: Go Fishing” writes:  “Peace of mind (and improved length and quality of life) come when we are able to be ourselves, which usually is when we are doing what gives our lives meaning, joy, and passion.”

As we begin a new day, week or month, take some time to listen deeply to what you truly desire versus where you are, both professionally and personally. The work we perform is so important to so many patients’ lives.  Are we giving our own lives the same care and attention?  I truly believe our energy should not be in trying to maintain elusive balance, but how to create movement and harmony, giving all aspects of our professional and personal life the opportunity to resonate in perfect harmony.

Our profession as medical documentation specialists requires us to be single-minded. However, the pressure and pace oftentimes diffuses our concentration and wanes our energy. I believe that there is a very good reason why so many in the healthcare field suffer burnout. We are often asked to go above and beyond the normal schedules in order to meet turnaround times and to help cover for those sick, taking a vacation, attending a meeting. Sometimes we are pushed (unfortunately) for production, even at the sacrifice of quality. Today’s world is full of distractions and a myriad of things that can affect our frame of mind. Just “muddling” through our particular jobs as documentation experts is not an option.

I am reminded of a commercial that says “You deserve a break today.” Well although that is true at times, a pervasive self-centered thought process can promote an eventual loss of vitality of spirit and decreasing engagement in the patient’s “story.” This can result in documents that include errors having a critical impact on patient’s care and a loss of integrity in the healthcare record.

So how shall we keep the focus we need? Here are a few strategies that might help. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list, but a sampling of ideas and tricks that I have used and that others have shared with me (some very recently).

• Start each work day afresh, reminding ourselves of the important part we play in regards to patient care. Make a conscious decision to declutter the mind and environment of distractions whenever possible. Our patients and customers deserve our utmost attention to the task at hand.
• Reign in negative thoughts that serve to sidetrack us. Even if there has been a negative work-related event, there is always room for a new beginning.
• Believe in ourselves, believe in our ability to make a positive impact for the patient, for the customer, for the employer.
• Don’t forget our “first love”–the excitement and passion we had when we first started this career.
• When listening to dictation, employ thought patterns that will help us stay engaged in the narration that is being dictated. For instance, someone shared with me recently that they pretend the patient is a loved one. I used to “play doctor” and tried to figure out what the diagnosis was going to be. Every report was a new mystery to solve. I bet each one of you have some process you use. The point here is to use it consistently.
• Remember that we are an integral partner with the dictator to accurately reflect the results of studies and course of treatment.
• Continue our education. Read and watch material that will increase our fund of knowledge. Attend meetings, lectures, webinars, and/or classes which will help us develop professionally.
• If we encounter something in the dictation that is new, research and read about it.
• Be a sponge: Soak up all the information pertinent for our work and sweep the mind clear of the sludge that may have settled in.

We have been given considerable responsibility as medical language specialists and documentation experts. Let’s turn blurry eyes into “20/10” vision (yes, it’s a pun for the year 2010), staying committed to our profession, even in its evolution, becoming the best of the best, enlightening the world to how necessary our presence and knowledge is, even in a technologically advanced world.