Dare Mighty Things
“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in that gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.” – Theodore Roosevelt
Not too long ago, I read the book “A Million Miles in a Thousand Years” by Don Miller. If you haven’t read it, it’s a great read and one that really makes you think about life.
He speaks about how we each write the stories of our life. And in the end, we get to choose what story we live. That doesn’t mean bad things don’t happen to us, and often there are things in life we can’t control. Yet, what I do believe we can always control is our reaction to those things. It took me a long time to come to that realization. At the same time, coming to understand that I am the only one who really gets to write my story was wonderfully freeing.
If you follow the news online, you may have seen the story this week about the hospital in Vermont that laid off 23 medical transcriptionists. They are making the moving to speech recognition, which created a 27% decrease in the work volumes. They did not let every MT go, and 53 are still employed doing both editing and transcription. I was struck by this story because it hasn’t been that long ago that this same hospital partnered with an educational facility to do medical transcription training because a) they needed the people and b) the community needed jobs. At the same time as this story came out Wednesday, we had discussions happening here about how some had bounced back from things.
Our industry can be a scary place these days. Technology is advancing, and these stories may become more prevalent as we go forward. So what’s the answer? Does that mean we should stop training MTs? Does that mean we should tell students to not go to school? I don’t think so.
I do think it means we need to be smart about embracing the changes and learning all we can. I do think it means we have to be diligent in staying informed. I think the days are long gone when an MT could get by just by “knowing how to spell the words” and has to really understand the meaning behind what we transcribe. I also think we need to continuously explore our role in the healthcare industry. Where do we fit with all of the changes and how can be assure a place in this new world that is being developed?
My heart goes out to the MTs who have learned they have to seek a new job. I hope for them that they will step out and be awesome at what they do and that they will find a new home that they love. As we all know from our experience, change happens when we least expect it and we are not guaranteed tomorrow.
What are you doing to prepare for the changes in our industry? What are you doing NOW to make sure your life is not lived “in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat”? This is a discussion I will really look forward to!
Related posts:
- 19 Things You May Not Know About Me
- Medical Transcription: How Does Technology Alter How We Do Things?
- Happy MT Week Saturday: Be a Linchpin
- Is Fear Holding You Back?
Tagged with: Goals • medical transcription • writing your life story
Filed under: Books • Goals • Professional Development
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
Good question! I think “what I am doing now” is a three-fold answer. First, of course, I am pursuing getting my credentials which, again, makes no guarantees but it would, I think, show an employer that I am definitely serious about maintaining my career and skills. Second, I am always open to learning new things and think I learn most things rather easily which, again, puts me “right up there” due to versatility–whether we are talking about working on more than one account or just generally being able to pick up on new things and/or new ways of doing things. Third, I do my best to see that the work I turn in is of the highest quality. I’m sure to leave a blank or QA marker on things that I question rather than fill in something I’m not sure about (which would compromise the integrity of the entire document). I’m not entirely SURE that this is enough to guarantee me anything in our weird job market, but at least I am doing my best!
[Reply]
Okay, now I have a dilemma and am asking for input. My current account is a strict verbatim account. My line rate does NOT include spaces. Yesterday I had noted, when looking at some completed jobs for samples for specific doctors, that some of the MTs were only doing 1 space after any punctuation, no matter what it was. I asked the “owner’s right hand person” about it and was told that it is “okay” to use one space after all punctuation on this account.
My question is this: It’s “okay” to do this, but it flies in the face of everything I have been taught. In fact, it FEELS so foreign to me that I haven’t yet begun to do it. Due to so many of our abbreviations having periods in them, I removed the automatic instruction to space after every period, so whatever I do here is totally up to me. But just because something is “okay” to do doesn’t mean it’s right and I SHOULD do it, right? I know that in the past my sister has told me that she won’t even work on an account that doesn’t pay for spaces, because she says that if they don’t pay for them, they aren’t going to get them, andweallknowwhatthatwouldmakeadocumentlooklike, RIGHT?
So, I guess my question is OKAY/ACCEPTED vs ALWAYS CORRECT (but not paid for).
It doesn’t matter to the hospital which way I do it, as long as there is at least ONE space after each punctuation mark.
I know this is a totally idiotic question, but I’m up in the air about it because what happens if I get in the BAD HABIT of only one space after punctuation marks and then need to STOP doing that because of working on an account where they want it done RIGHT?
I’m sure they are only allowing the 1 space due to the fact that they realize they aren’t compensating for spaces at all, but does that mean that I should take advantage of it and do it incorrectly? grrrrr I’m just such an ethical wussy!
[Reply]
Kathy Reply:
May 27th, 2010 at 8:21 am
Sherry, I came up in the “old school” that said two spaces after punctuation. Now, according to the Book of Style, one space is customary “with a proportional spaced font.” It took me a long time to make that change, but I managed to do it. In the world of moving to an electronic record, I believe we will do everything this way. So, I think you’re fine doing it, and yes, it will be a tough change to make. As for the discussion about spaces vs. no spaces, now you’ve given me an idea for a blog post sometime this week!
[Reply]
Hi Sherry,
I feel your pain!! Like Kathy, I came up in the “old school” that taught 2 spaces after punctuation. The new, “preferred,” 1 space after punctuation has really been tough on me. Still, I have also heard…on various listserves and in webinars…that this will be the way of doing things with the coming of EHR. If it was me, I would do the 1 space…if only to get used to doing things the way they will most likely be required in the future (EHR Land). Just my 2 cents…
[Reply]
It is truly not going to be easy un-learning my old school ways…but I guess I will give it a try. I just fear the day when I get an account that will require those 2 spaces after periods, colons, question marks…trying to break the bad habit and getting back to doing it the right way.
Don’t y’all think that the world is just really getting away from right-and-wrong and getting to be too much “common/accepted” vs “old-school wrong”? I know that punctuation has NOTHING to do with Christianity or the Bible, but I believe that Christian or not most of us were raised with definite guidelines about right and wrong. I’ve always believed that right is ALWAYS right and wrong is ALWAYS wrong. People often make mistakes, what some will regard as “sin,” and if they ask they are forgiven. I just think our society has gone way overboard in dismissing “wrong” by now calling it “accepted.” We will come across this same attitude in government and in business.
This is where my question of ethics comes in. It could be so EASY to just go along with the crowd, never mind that “the crowd” in one town (or even one PART of town) totally disagrees with another town (or the other SIDE of the same town), or on a larger scope referring to cities, countries, nationalities, religions (look at the differences between Muslims in general and Muslim extremist/terrorists), etc. Where does it all end when you begin discussing right vs wrong, accepted vs wrong? Some people believe that “accepted” equals “the norm.” Well, I think that is a misnomer. I think the loud voices think they make up for lack of numbers by increasing their volume. What does “norm” mean? Is it anything more than 50%, or would it have to be such a proliferation that we’re talking more like 85%, 90%, 95%? You will NEVER get me to believe that something I’ve been taught (on a Christian, Biblical basis–in other words, what I have based my entire life on) was wrong is now RIGHT! I don’t care if 95% of society disagrees with me. We can each believe what we choose, and if there is to be a reckoning after death, it’s too bad we can’t know the outcome ahead of time! That’s why it’s called “faith,” I guess.
I have strayed, I know, from the general comment that started with the idea of 1 space versus 2 after periods, colons, and question marks. It’s still the same idea but taken in a much larger context. Are the rules of grammar really important? Can we bend them (these rules) to suit ourselves in any given situation? Are they as important as the other right-and-wrongs we’ve been taught to live our lives by? Where does it all end?
[Reply]
Kathy Reply:
May 27th, 2010 at 10:09 am
Ahh, Sherry. I won’t get started on the “politics” of your comments here, only to comment on the ideas about punctuation. I think what we are seeing is a change in how things are done related to technology. I’m not sure it makes it wrong, just different, evolving. Sue is right, the idea is that with the EHR, these things will be required so it’s a good idea to get used to them now. Just a part of that ever changing world we live in!
[Reply]
Kathy, I have to change the focus of my attention here and thank you once again for the very wonderful prize/gift of Benchmark KB for a year. I can’t believe the uses I have already had of the various parts of this wonderful tool! I love it, and I’ve only had it for 2 days!
You know what they did, though? If I remember the actual description correctly when I pulled it up to see what was included in this, it seems like they had you CHOOSE a specific number of specialties that would be included from the Stedman’s books (maybe I’m wrong, I’m not sure). At any rate, evidently there are 31 possible choices, and they have included 30 of them…I feel so blessed to not have to keep swiveling my chair, leaning over to a bookcase, and pulling out a book and then having to put it back after I’ve used it, sometimes still not finding what I’m looking for. I know I’m going to want to renew this…and I’m thinking I could possibly find a student who I could “donate” my reference collection to, even though they aren’t current editions…for just the price of shipping. Still, I guess I’ll hold out for this first year and see how it goes, just in case I decide I won’t (did I say that out loud?) or can’t afford to renew this at the end of the year and actually still NEED them myself (I don’t want to even think about the possibility–I’ve gotten spoiled in 2 days).
Anyway, thank you again SO MUCH–I can’t believe I won this, and you can bet I’m going to use it to death for this year so that I can definitely justify the cost of renewing it when faced with that choice.
[Reply]
Kathy Reply:
May 27th, 2010 at 10:10 am
So glad you are loving it. I think it’s a great product and well worth the investment! The guys at Interfix are awesome to work with and I have always enjoyed working with them. They are simply a believer in our profession and work to create awesome things for us. I will pass on your comments to them as I’m sure it will make them even more glad they donated the subscription!
[Reply]
Okay, I am convinced. I am just going to work hard at using only 1 space after every punctuation. And in future, I’m actually not going to worry about it unless someone corrects me and makes me start using 2 again after periods, colons, and question marks. (If however, I am working on something that is not related to medical transcription, I will probably revert back. LOL)
[Reply]
Kathy, I have a question for you with regard to books that you are talking about and pretty much suggesting as desirable reading material, like “A Million Miles in a Thousand Years” by Donald Miller. I checked with our local library, which is networked with all of the public libraries in our county, and they don’t carry the book at all. I’ll probably end up purchasing it off of Amazon.com some day, but just not right now.
Part of where this is going is that I haven’t kept track really of the books that you have talked about in these postings. I’m not sure if there is any easy way to put together a list of the book titles and authors, but if it would be feasible for you to start a category on this page maybe entitled “Reading List Suggestions” it would put all of these in one place. In the meantime, what is your suggestion for an easy way for me to find all of this information going back since approximately the beginning of the course…because that is close to the length of time when I have been coming to MT Tools Online.
I’m actually developing quite a nice library (outside of my MT references), and my husband has even talked about either buying some really nice book shelves for in our living room or even possibly the 2 of us building shelving. My book collection includes: novels; biographies/autobiographies; books on plants, flowering plants, and herbs; scrapbooking; actual “collections” (such as the entire Harry Potter collection); spiritual/mystic (i.e., WICCA, Celestine Prophecy); diet books, cookbooks; finance (Suze Orman); classics (Dickens, Shakespeare, Poe, C.S. Lewis–The Chronicles of Narnia paperback collection); special publications (i.e., soft covers) on storage, organization, and cleaning; texts/references for classes I’ve taken (i.e., crime scene investigation and forensics); and, last but not least, quite a library of audiobooks!
While my husband thinks that reading is a waste of time, I love to read. It is probably my #1 hobby. If I could afford to travel extensively, reading would probably drop to #2 but be integrated into #1! LOL
Anyway, it seems like every time I post, I write a book myself! Hope you are able to give me a good hint how I can get the info myself but that you might also be able to start a category in here about suggested reading with title/author names so that even though your daily posts may change, this information will stay with the site and just grow every time you mention a book.
[Reply]
Kathy Reply:
May 27th, 2010 at 12:25 pm
I can sure add a category here, but it won’t go back to the older postings. I think the best way to find the list of things I read is on my personal blog at http://kathynicholls.com. I DO have a category there for “book reviews” so if you go to that category (search box for categories on the right hand side of the blog), you’ll find those reviews. I also have a page there called “Books” which is an Amazon link to some of my favorites. I need to update that page as it’s no longer an Amazon link (Amazon stopped allowing that for those of us who live in Colorado not too long ago), but it will still give you the list. Going forward, I’ll add a “Books” category here and be sure to add that as one of the categories the post is filed under. Great suggestion, thanks!
[Reply]
Thanks for letting me know how to get the info. I appreciate it!
[Reply]
Omigosh! I just did a booboo that turned out to be a positive.
I forgot one of the L’s in your last name and typed in the address of http://kathynichols.com and got a Kathy Nichols out in California who is a diet/nutrition coach. Before I realized it wasn’t you, I signed up for her newsletter! LOL At any rate, I’m going to give http://kathynicholls.com a try now and make a list for myself of those books! “Kathy Nichols” (one L) sounds like an interesting person, though. If anyone is interested in nutrition information (and I saw tons of good recipes on the website), you may benefit from following my mistake but signing up for a nice newsletter! LOLOL (Kathy, I swear I will never forget to put 2 L’s in your last name ever again!)
[Reply]
Kathy Reply:
May 27th, 2010 at 2:27 pm
That’s too funny. I learned about this person when I set up a Google search in my reader for my name, which is something I monitor. Her name comes up as much or more than mine does.
[Reply]
What am I doing to prepare for the future?
First I got my CMT (which scared the crap out of me but I did it anyway).
Next, I have spent hours and hours learning and perfecting Instant Text, not just for the expander capabilities, but learning how and why something is programmed the way it is, how to change it, tweak it, improve it, how to make macros, etc. gives my brain some technological expertise – and if the future doesn’t involve technology, I don’t know WHAT it involves, LOL!
Third, I make sure I know how to do everything in our department – all work types, all dictators. I learned early on how to make new report types, templates, etc., and I’m the only one besides my immediate supervisor who knows how to do that. No one is indispensable, but you certainly have a greater chance of staying at your job when you can do everything.
Fourth, our hospital has put VR plans in the budget for next year for the first time. This doesn’t worry me, as we are planning on hiring more in-house MTs, but I want to be heavily involved with VR from the get-go, not because I love the idea, but because it’s inevitable and I want to know it inside and out. When other MTs want to hide and hope it will just go away, I have asked to be on the ground floor of VR implementation. I want to be in the first group to learn about what we can expect, the steps in executing it, how much they plan to use it, all the initial decisions (as no but one doc has any experience with VR, not even the med. rec. director or any MTs). I want to be the first MT to work with it. (I always volunteer for all new projects/dictators/technology because I love to learn!) I want to have some input on how we implement VR and how to use it to its full advantage.
The future is a’comin’ and you are indeed correct that we have to take whatever steps we need to take to be prepared and confident that our abilities are up to the challenge!
[Reply]
Kathy Reply:
May 27th, 2010 at 2:25 pm
Carol, what great examples of doing things that make a difference! I’ve always felt that the more we know and understand about things, the better position we are in, whether it’s new specialties, technologies, whatever it may be. It is also true that by being involved like you are, we do have an opportunity to shape our future and how these things get implemented. Way to go for you!
[Reply]
Kathy: Kathy Nichols actually told me her website is .net and not .com, yet when I put in “kathynichols.com” because her name spelling was an exact match, I guess, up it came instead of yours because of missing 1 L, even though I had .com instead of .net. I guess it takes a computer to really do some weird stuff!
Oh, well, I made a “find” and think it turned out okay. Her phone number is listed at the very bottom of the page, and I thought I’d call you (ended up “her”) to say I couldn’t find the “book reviews” you said I’d find. We talked for a couple of minutes, and I told her that I was in your CMT study group, and she asked me if you were in real estate ’cause there was someone near her (in California, I guess) with the same name who was in real estate, but I said that I didn’t think you were in California or into real estate! LOL Oh, well…you might know that I could turn a mistake into an opportunity, huh? Hope you have a great day….and I’m glad you enjoyed the train station video of “Do, Re, Mi.”
[Reply]