AHDI WWE Style
In August, I wrote a post suggesting, or perhaps requesting, that our industry not become the WWE titled just that, Let’s Not Become the WWE. You might remember that was during the AHDI Annual Meeting. Warning: This is going to be a long post so grab your coffee! We’ve been so busy with gratitude and Christmas that I haven’t posted this so it will take awhile to catch up.
Last week, things began to erupt when the AHDI Lounge posted a link to the press release that TRSi was going to start training program for medical scribes in a partnership with ScribeAmerica. TRSi, as many of you know, is my former employer, and so for a time I watched on the sidelines as people questioned how an AHDI-approved school could be participating in training people who very well may take jobs away from MTs. At some point, I felt compelled to post as I watched people start to almost demand that the company come to the blog and explain themselves. My response was pretty simple and you can read it there if you care to sift through the over 100 comments so far. In essence, it said that while I am not privy to their reasons for doing this, I suspect it is plain and simple a business decision. I imagine they saw a way to increase their revenue and took it. And for that, because they are a business, they really don’t owe anyone an explanation.
The conversation went quickly downhill with this post by Ava Marie George, who is the AHDI President Elect:
“I find this discussion fascinating. Here we have change in our profession offering opportunity (albeit at a low rate of pay) to document patient encounters firsthand. It requires all transcriptionists to really evaluate what it is that we want. Do we want to stay at home and work? If so, this train will leave you at the station. Are we willing to change our point of view and take a lower rate of pay to assure that the documentation is correct? If not, you will be left at the station as well. Let’s face it…we like what we do, we like where we work, and we are not open to change. If this describes you, you will also be left at the station.”
Okay, that made me cringe coming from one of our elected leaders. Apparently it made a lot of others cringe as well. Repeat requests were made for an explanation of what she meant there and if she was really saying MTs should love our work so much that we should take less pay. A staff member added that she had asked Ava to come back and explain. And while she did add another post, this point wasn’t addressed at all. Sadly it still hasn’t been. Yesterday, the same staff member posted that she had told the AHDI Board they should be coming there and addressing hard questions and requested that things be done professionally. Sadly the response on both sides of this coin have been less than professional in the Lounge. So far, no board members have been back to post either.
When the Director of Curriculum Development for TRSi came to explain what scribes do, I didn’t really see any real explanation. I saw some information on how to get involved in organizations in your own area who are working on electronic record issues, but nothing really about the role of a scribe as had been requested of her (she is also an AHDI board member so the request had been that she come, in her role at TRSi AND as a board member, and try to shed some light on this profession.) It didn’t really happen. What we have heard repeatedly from the staff and many of the leaders is that we just don’t know enough about this, it’s simply too new.
Are you still there? 
Julie Weight at MT Exchange wrote what I see as a good response to the statement that AHDI can’t just jump in and set standards of practice for this role. I agree with much of what is written there. This is not a new thing, as we discussed medical transcription and scribes here several months ago. The very name and vision statement of our organization says we are to “direct the evolution and insure the integrity of healthcare documentation and data capture.” That change was so that we WOULD address that documentation, no matter who was doing it or where it was being done. The idea of scribes isn’t a new one and if we are going to lead, we do need to step up and do that.
Finally a Post with Action Items!
Today on the Omniscribe blog, Chad Sines, wrote a post on Strategic Credentialing. He outlines three things that he believes should happen to move our industry toward the idea of mandatory credentialing, a resolution passed by this year’s House of Delegates.
- Lead by Example: Meaning all AHDI board members should hold the credential relevant to what they do. He does address that there ARE some roles in healthcare documentation (like IT, for example) where the CMT doesn’t make sense. Still if it fits, mandatory credentialing, support of which was passed by this year’s House of Delegates, starts at the top with our leadership.
- ACCP Approved Programs: Require the CMT for all educators and program directors in approved schools. It’s pretty tough for any educator to convince students credentialing is important if they don’t have that credential themselves.
- Companies: Go to MT companies and ask them to commit to hiring only a credentialed workforce. That kind of asks employers to really show whether they support it or whether it’s just lip service.
Chad’s post makes it clear that the above should happen in that order. We cannot convince others that credentialing is important if we don’t hold everyone to the standards we set, and that starts with leadership. It’s important in education and yet many instructors and program directors don’t have a CMT. And until those things are in place, employers are less likely to see the value as well. Last, when those things are done, THEN it makes sense to go to the legislators, but not until our own house is in order. Chad is also the Speaker Elect for the House of Delegates, although not really since the HOD voted to keep the current speaker in place through next year when they dissolve under the planned restructuring.
My Take on It
Boy if you’ve stuck with me this long, give yourself a medal! None of this is easy. It’s also not easy being on the AHDI board, I did that for 8 years so I know what I’m talking about. I’ve know Ava for awhile now and am both perplexed and surprised at her comments. I wouldn’t presume to speak for her. I would hope she will do that sometime and soon. The concerns expressed that any of our leaders who are asking for our trust to represent us in DC would imply we need to be happy making less money for the good of the documentation being right are quite valid ones in my opinion. We hold our leaders to a higher standard, at least I do. When things deteriorate as they have in this topic, it disappoints me. It also sometimes makes me wish for the “good old days” of AAMT when that kind of disrespect would not have been tolerated from board or staff. As leaders, no matter whether you are feeling attacked or not, I have always felt it’s important to HEAR the person and not go on the attack yourself. It is indeed a different world now.
Scribes are here to stay, at least it appears so. And yes, their role may lessen the workload of the MTs. ScribeAmerica is only one company doing this. I don’t know if six months is long enough to train for that role when the documentation is so critical to patient care and safety. Right now it appears there are no standards of practice for their education or practice.
There has to be a place where issues can be discussed and all sides heard, at last that’s my take on it. It’s one of the reasons I don’t choose to “moderate” your comments here. We will not always agree, that’s not the point. And, there is no Nexus here.
Okay, it’s your turn. Thoughts?
Related posts:
- Let’s Not Become The WWE
- AHDI Releases Resolutions for House of Delegates
- AHDI Meeting: House of Delegates, Day One
- AHDI Ballots are Out, Let’s Have Some Discussion
- AHDI Meeting is This Week
Tagged with: AHDI • medical transcription • scribes • tales from the blogosphere
Filed under: Industry Updates
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I haven’t read Chad’s post on Strategic Credentialing. Thank you for giving us the highlights. I find one of them interesting. There was a resolution a few years back, shortly after the name change I think, which would require all AHDI board members be credentialed. The HOD didn’t like that at that time. They amended it.
I have been following the many, many comments in the AHDI Lounge. It has been very entertaining and enlightening – and unfortunate.
At times, I also wish for the good old days of AAMT. Things seemed much easier then. There wasn’t so much friction. Of course, there wasn’t so much change either, and also discussions were held mostly face-to-face where statements could be questioned and/or clarified on the spot. Back then, it seemed we were all working towards the same goal. Today, I’m not even sure what that goal really is.
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Kathy Reply:
December 9th, 2010 at 10:45 am
Lisa, I think you may have nailed part of the problem, being united and understanding the goal. It has always been the challenge in our industry.
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Hi, Kathy,
I just wanted you to know that my lengthy post to the AHDI Blog Lounge last evening did finally hit the page around 5 am East coast time. (Sometimes there is a time lag and another negative one hit right after mine.) I hope I was able to address the best of the questions contained in the previous posts. In reviewing all the comments I think we did come around to the conclusion that a scribe position is not at all the same as that of an MT, although there may be some similarities. Is 6 months enough to train an MT? Certainly not. Is 6 months okay for a scribe? Maybe, based on some of the tasks they may be asked to do. Would an MT bring more richness and depth of knowledge to such a position? On the terminology/documentation side, I have no doubt.
If one wishes to check out the qualifications and credentials of the directors on the Board of AHDI, there is a link to their bios on the AHDI website.
In terms of Chad’s check list, all are in effect and underway at this time, with the exception of “requiring” MT educators to have their CMT. That requirement, as per the school approval program (ACCP), is “strongly recommended” and I dare say weighs very heavily in whether transcription school approval is granted. As for employers requiring a credentialed workforce, I think that wave is building. Watch for news from one of the largest MTSOs in that regard. What I am hearing also is that more and more RFPs ask what percentage of a company’s workforce is credentialed. They are going to want to look good there! Plus, a couple of informal studies are showing credentialed employees are great employees, with better accuracy, skills and dependability. It’s a winning situation for both sides of the equation.
Finally, in my blog I ask a couple of questions. I hope some of your readers and you take the time to consider responding.
Regards!
Barb Marques, CMT, AHDI-F
AHDI President
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Kathy Reply:
December 9th, 2010 at 10:47 am
Barb, thank you for coming by and adding to the dialogue. Dialogue IS what it’s all about, a way that’s professional and meaningful. I really do appreciate it. As I know many readers here don’t read the AHDI Lounge, I felt it worthwhile to point out some of the discussions. I do think Chad made some excellent points in his blog. Are you saying that we are moving to require credentialing in the board as well? Thanks again!
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I guess I just don’t see threads like that really as being good or bad. Where I come from, anything that gets folks at least minimally attempting to look at something from a different viewpoint is a good thing. For so long the organization was so insulated, so closed off, that something as simple as communicating with members was sort of anathema. I was there in those days. I vividly remember what it was like. We pronounced things and tough nuts if the folks paying the bills with membership dues didn’t like it. What can I say? I saw the light. If you are taking my money, you owe me the simple courtesy of telling me what the heck you are doing with it when I ask what is going on and not handing me a bunch of corporate doublespeak instead. If the organization leaders/staff do not respect its own membership enough to do that simple thing then I think they could beg for respect all day long from their posters … but it is not going to happen. Out here in our swamps respect, once lost, is a hard, hard thing to get back I don’t think that is something those leaders truly understand.
I do think it is a good thing that the group has at least opened up some sort of line of communication again. That posts there, at least for the moment, are not going “POOF” in the night anymore. For a while they had become so moribund it looked like we were heading right on back to those old days with Claudia hopping around the meeting cause her microphone cord was too short
I think what a thread like that really shows is a lack of being in touch with the group’s core membership base and their needs and concerns. If you shut the tap off on a water main flow, all that stuff backs up and when you even crack it the teensiest bit it all comes spilling out. Sure I could wish some of those posts were more genteel, refined, as schoolmarmish lecture sounding as the officials responding. Perhaps they will leave the lines of communication up long enough for folks to start to look at things more realistically. I am really not holding my breath for that to happen just because someone demands it from them, but nurturing is so much, much more effective than lecturing, at least I think so.
I do know, Kathy, that if you really wish to tippy toe around the WWE you should attend a few AMA chat sites … or listen in on a few drug advisory commission meetings
and trust me, some of those folks would curl your nose hairs with the things they come out with over microphones in open meetings. They are much, much more graphic than a few off color swear words and their refusal to pretend to a false respect for those they feel don’t merit it is blatantly hung out on a big white poster, and these guys are very well known physicians — about as professional as it gets I would say 
Ultimately I think the main problem is that the organization always seems to expect the members to all speak and talk exactly as they themselves do … a very unrealistic expectation if ever there was one
I found Chad’s post quite simple, easily understood, will it succeed? Who knows? If the group is really going to shut up and lead as Julie would say, they would be tackling that post and its 1-2-3 steps at a BOD meeting right now … anybody see them stampeding in that direction yet?
Nae
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Kathy Reply:
December 9th, 2010 at 11:24 am
Nae, I’ve never been much for corporate doublespeak myself either. I do think we need to be able to have REAL discussions and listen to everyone. I know sometimes it’s tempting to blow off the “naysayers” but they often really do have some good points. We won’t ever all agree, nor will we all speak and talk exactly as any organization we belong to. I’m thankful for that as I believe that diversity brings a lot to the table. To your other comments about the “good old days,” I think we were indeed a bit less communicative. I do think that is better than it was, although I’d still like to see that improve. I had a totally different relationship with our past CEO and never really felt her to stifle me. Perhaps it’s a work in progress and I’m just not very patient!
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Sarah Reply:
December 9th, 2010 at 11:36 am
Nae, I have read everything you’ve posted on the AHDI blog and without the years of experience you have I have not been able to see some things from the same point of view, but I’ve enjoyed reading your point of view and could tell how angry you were at times. I think the very best thing you’ve said yet is “I think what a thread like that really shows is a lack of being in touch with the group’s core membership base and their needs and concerns. If you shut the tap off on a water main flow, all that stuff backs up and when you even crack it the teensiest bit it all comes spilling out. ”
That is absolutely hitting the nail on the head. Even still being pretty green, I can see what you’re saying and agree with you 100% on that statement. Very well said!
Some things that have been said have reminded me of a show I watched a while back with one of the kids in which a teenager was trying hard to get her mom to listen and really hear her but the mom was on her blackberry and multitasking. The girl got so frustrated she started crying and screaming at her mother. When she calmed down she put her hands on her mother’s face and said “I just need for you to hear me.”
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Nae Reply:
December 9th, 2010 at 12:28 pm
I had to ask myself the same question, who am I really mad at? I have to admit, I think with the organization it is more annoyance that they don’t seem to learn from past mistakes … almost never it seems.
I think my real anger is with myself for hanging in there so darn long, holding on to the hope that this year would be different. All my life I have been a joiner, a worker, part of me just kept on clinging to that membership because that is just what one “does.” You are a professional you “must” belong to your professional group. That is simply the done thing. This year has really been a journey for me. Dealing with so much death in such a short time made me step back and reassess where my time and priorities really should be. I discovered that I found it very liberating to just not renew. Would I have written things differently if I was still a member … I can’t answer that really, perhaps I would, perhaps not. I do know that anything I wrote I darn sure meant
Nae
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Kathy Reply:
December 9th, 2010 at 5:29 pm
Nae I can’t imagine that you would have written any differently. One of the things I love about you is that there’s never a real question about where you stand on something.
I think that AHDI post has become so absurd that I actually “unliked” my regional AHDI group on facebook this morning because they send out updates with each post. I was just that sick of reading it.
Ava Marie George’s unwillingness to further explain her statement leaves us to make a lot of assumptions, the most obvious being that she meant it exactly the way many of us took it. I was stunned when I read it. I have to wonder if the popular interpretation of her statement is what she truly meant, then why on earth would she want to be the president of an organization representing a group of people who should either be happy with low pay or find other jobs? On the other hand, if that is not what she meant then why would she not want to clarify that? So much about that statement just does not make sense. A lot of things that have been said have not made sense to me. I think people have become so angry they are experiencing tunnel vision, on both sides of the argument. We could discuss all day long what she meant by what she said, but until she herself clarifies it we’re only guessing. My first instinct is to tell AHDI I won’t be renewing my membership until the person who said I should be happy with low pay or find a new job is no longer president, BUT that is a thought bred from anger at those words and will not accomplish anything. I do hope that the leadership in AHDI realize how upset so many people are about that statement, but I think at this point the message has probably been recieved.
I agree 100% that all board members and educators should be credentialed, especially with mandatory credentialing on the horizon. I am not credentialed myself. Although I had planned to take the CMT this month, it just wasn’t in the budget and those things happen. I really love how AHIMA handles credentialing with coders. As a new coding graduate you either have certifications or you do not get a job. It is pretty simple. I hope that one day MTs will be the same. That will force schools to raise the bar, or one would hope so. There are different credentials to be had in certain specialties as a coder. I’m not convinced that the MT who is happy working for a single family practice throughout his/her career should have to pass the same test that those of us working in acute care with 2,000 doctors in a massive hospital system with every specialty and sub-specialty you can imagine have to pass. Then again that is just the nature of the credentialing beast in most professions.
I hope that in the future there will be more oversight from an organization that will ensure quality training and professional practices for scribes just as there is for coders and MTs. I wouldn’t be surprised if it is AHIMA who ends up doing this. Part of the AHIMA mission is “AHIMA is concerned about the effective management of health information from all sources and its application in all forms of healthcare and wellness preservation.”
I recently applied for a scribe job with a local HMO. I’m very happy with my MT job and don’t plan to leave it, but I was curious. I was very qualified for it but only because I worked in sports medicine prior to being an MT. They wanted someone who could observe what was happening and enter information based on that and then listen to the doctor about the additional information. Entries would be made only if the scribe was 100% certain though so they were looking for someone who could make good judgement calls and know when to say “I don’t know” just like an MT does with flagging. It was not a simple data entry job and not one that being an MT alone would qualify you for. I have no idea if this is typical of scribe work but I did find it interesting someone else had posted also coming to the conclusion that being an MT does not mean you can be a scribe. I agree with several of the posts though that I’m not losing any sleep over the idea of scribes taking over my HIM department and my job. Scribes have their place and I have mine. They are just not doing MT work, at least not the ones that have been available here. The very few scribe jobs that are available in my area are taking on part of the role of the over worked health unit coordinators, which is another profession that is grossly underpaid. Like I shared early on in that thread though, I am not sitting by assuming it will always be sunshine and roses in my job. I’m working toward earning my RHIT or RHIA and a coding certificate. I know I do not want to work from home forever and I also know that with the RHIA, experience and a good work ethic the sky is the limit in HIM. I feel that between SR and off-shoring I would be a fool to not make myself more marketable if the opportunity is there to do so. Of course, I had to make the opportunity become available.
Kathy, I think it is wonderful you’re talking about this here, not to mention brave! I’m looking forward to hearing what more experienced MTs have to say and hearing everyone’s perspective.
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Kathy Reply:
December 9th, 2010 at 5:21 pm
Sarah, first let me say I’m glad you decided to leave your post as it has some good information in it! I agree with you about the credentialing and until we can get our own house in order there, I also think we lessen the impact of our message.
When it comes to AHDI membership, even when I served on the board, I always said I don’t think it is a one-size fits all and when it is no longer was a good investment for me, I would no longer do it. That’s still how I feel about it.
I don’t know that people react so much in anger (although I will give you that they were angry over a leader telling them to be happy making less money), but in fear. It’s the unknown that often makes us apprehensive. And yet, our industry has been an unknown for a very long time. Thanks for adding to the discussion. I DO appreciate it.
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Negativity — I knew there was something else I wanted to say. I think it is just about my least favorite word in the whole world.
In my experience with every organization I have ever belonged to, there are always those who shout that word like a mantra … all it really means is “you” are saying something I don’t want to hear, so I can refuse to “hear” by labeling it as negativity and not worthy of my attention at all. One of the biggest biggest mistakes our organization made and makes to this day is to label “negativity” the minute anything at all that does not make one feel all warm and fuzzy as “negativity.” It happened just a few posts into that thread and then over and over throughout. Instead of stepping back and saying, okay, I don’t like you really, but I do concede you might have a good point … the label gets hung and the effect is like little children sticking their fingers in their ears and shouting “na-na-na-na.” I have always, always thought that one of the most important things we could do with elected officials is teach them how to not take things personal and take that step back. I know we try/tried at one time to do that … just not very successfully.
And the poor president elect, yes … I wish in the 10 years I have been there I had a dollar for every time I had to go back in and explain “what I really meant” to say in the Hot Zone. Or just flat out say, that was a stupid thing to say, I don’t know what I was thinking. Stuff gets posted in a hurry, without thinking, in between working, running errands. My Lord I have worn egg on my face probably more than most posters and I learned early on not to wallow around in it, just own up to it, that is not how I meant that to sound, let me try again. Conversely, if that is what she really meant, own up to it and say, let me give you my reasoning for that, then I will either read it and agree, not agree, but I sure won’t be wandering around still scratching my head trying to read someone’s mind.
It might be helpful for that forum to use a different type of software so that people could go back and edit their posts … sometimes things sound really good to you until right after you have hit that send button, it is too darn late in that forum then. An edit function might nip a lot of this stuff in the bud for them.
I am luckier than a lot of folks. I have a unique work relationship with my boss. I have always, always owned my words for good or bad and signed my name to my thoughts and words I post. Let’s face it, I have been online so long and write a certain way, it would be pretty hard for me to pretend to be anonymous, the jig would be up as soon as I hit send
But I do understand why in today’s instant information age it is necessary to stay anonymous … it really bothered me that our own organization seemed not to understand that as well. We tell people at MT Chat all the time, employers read this stuff, if you don’t want them to know it is you, don’t post it. People have lost jobs for things they posted in our forum … it is a very real possibility.
Nae
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Kathy Reply:
December 9th, 2010 at 5:28 pm
Nae, I think you’re right. All too often that word, even the one I used, “naysayer” is just a word people pick to mean they don’t like what someone has to say. I think that’s just plain wrong. I have never wanted to be a part of any group where everyone thought the same way. I also agree with you about the comments on the blog. I don’t know what happened there but know I’ve had those times when I shot off my mouth before I thought it through. In the end, if that is the case, I think it’s just best to acknowledge it and move on. Not doing that just leaves folks wondering.
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Honey you are not gonna get fired over something like that unless you signed something saying you would not discuss your employer, etc., online and since you never mentioned your employer by name that would be a pretty big stretch. I don’t think you need to worry. I am referring to things like the poor soul who in a moment of annoyance posted dictator real names and critiques of their styles along with the address of where they worked; inadvertently letting slip what your employer is charging the client as opposed to what the you, the MT are making … stuff that really gets you in hot water
Folks who get really down with details that really should stay private. Some of the larger MTSOs have contracts you must sign stating you can never identify yourself as working for them by name in print, it is not at all uncommon.
Nae
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Sarah Reply:
December 9th, 2010 at 12:55 pm
Thanks for sharing that. I talked to kathy too, which is why she removed my request to remove my entire post(I asked her to). I really love what I’m doing and cannot say enough how highly I think of my boss. Not to mention I’m already failing miserably at supporting a family of 6 as an MT so the last thing I need is to not have a job! LOL! I wouldn’t want to offend a co-worker, or anyone really, with my opinions. I’m not saying that because someone from my work could read this either. Every MT should be so lucky at to have a boss who cares about the MT so much. Whether I think we should all be credentialed or whether I didn’t like things said in the AHDI thread doesn’t change the fact that I am super proud to work for my company and admire my boss. I just wouldn’t want to offend anyone I work with.
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Kathy, I think this new Industry Upadates is a great addition to MT Tools Online. I try to keep up on most of the issues but sometimes it is very hard to do and I really like the idea of being able to keep in touch with the industry all in one place.
I have read the posts in the AHDI Lounge, and I believe that having a respectful dialouge and exchange of ideas is a good thing. Not much can be accomplished without it. Even if I don’t agree with everything that is said, it still makes me stop and think about the issues and balance the pros and cons of both points of view. My problem is, that if I get riled up about something I can have diarrhea of the mouth and get myself into trouble by speaking without first thinking about something. My husband says I can switch from one point to the polar opposite in the blink of an eye and he gets really frustrated by that. Having said that, I really prefer to have balance in my life, and I try to understand boths sides of the coin before talking or writing.
Due to the fact that I can get riled up about one thing or another and go off like a bull in a china shop I have found it helpful to write down my first gut reaction to an issue, save it in MSWord, and let it sit for a day or two. More often than not when I go back and look at my first response I am really glad that I did not say or post the things that I wrote in the heat of the moment. There were times when I was working in the insurance industry that I had to do the same thing because I would get angry about what the boss or higher ups wanted to do and I know I saved myself a lot of grief by writing it down and letting it sit and then revisiting it. There are times in the heat of the moment when it is very tough to have a respectful dialogue with anyone.
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Kathy Reply:
December 9th, 2010 at 5:33 pm
Linda, glad you like the new format. I think it will work well.
You make a good point about writing something and then sitting on it for awhile. That sometimes keeps our feet out of our mouths!
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You know, I think everyone is concerned that we have a “body” of people (and it’s quite a small body at that) who speak for all of us in this profession, or so that is what the government and others in the medical profession want to believe…and that’s what this body of people WANTS them to believe. What I see as the problem is this: Yes, SOME of us work for the same companies as others here do, but also SOME work for other companies–large and small. For the most part, we have had training for our jobs, whether “on-the-job” for many who have been doing this for maybe 25 years or more and for others at some “recognized training program.” What it basically boils down to is this: Nobody can read anybody else’s mind. Just as the people who represent us feel they know what is best for us (as a group), they don’t necessarily know what is best for EACH of us. They say things in public, and they put things in writing, but with such ambiguity that there are questions…and they don’t actually answer them with any clarity. Someone said (paraphrased) that (1) people say things that are ambiguous, (2) people hear these things and have strong feelings, one way or the other, and (3) at that point everyone develops tunnel vision, seeing and hearing only one point of view (theirs).
I guess that what needs to happen is too large to implement. My feeling is that (1) employeers need to decide if they are going to hire only MTs who are credentialed or even if it is in the best interests of their business’ bottom line to do so. After all, they must negotiate contracts with doctor offices, clinics, and hospitals, and will these facilities be willing to pay more than they do now if they KNOW that all of the MTs are certified? (2) If employers decide to hire only credentialed MTs, will there be EXCEPTIONS, such as they may hire someone who is in a study course planning to take the exam and that they are (to use a phrase that might be misinterpreted) “on probation” in that they will be given a specified period of time (i.e., 6 months) to get their credentials or they will lose their job or their contract? (3) If no exceptions are going to be made by employers, what will that do to the large amount of MTs who are financially not able to prepare for the exam and hopefully pass it on the first try so that there is no additional expense…not to mention that most study courses aren’t free, either. I will speak from my experience here and say that although I don’t have children, I could be quite representative of the financial picture of many of us who are MTs: I am married, we have a mortgage, we have 2 vehicles on which we make monthly payments, and we also have all the other usual assorted monthly bills–including electric, gas (for heat and hot water), the phone/internet/television service, groceries, entertainment (not a lot, but some), and saving (for a rainy day, but also putting a little away each month for when the car insurances come due, etc.). It’s all the 2 of us can handle! I cannot imagine the situation for a family that includes children and all of their inherent expenses…or how about a single parent trying to make it on 1 income and having those children and their expenses?
Then we are also dealing with the fact that no matter what our professional organization says, when it comes right down to it: HE WHO SIGNS THE CHECKS MAKES THE RULES! How many times have we had contracts with medical facilities who are “strictly verbatim?” They tell us (paraphrased….but you know this is accurate in many cases): “I do NOT care what you have been taught. As far as that is concerned, you can FORGET everything you have been taught other than to be able to spell things correctly. WE are the doctors, we are RIGHT, and YOU type what we SAY, and you should not question this. If we take the contract away from the company YOU have a contract with to do transcription for, you will be out of a job. If you do not do AS WE SAY, your company will lose this contract.” I have had contracts to transcribe for facilities like this, and the person who trained me to use their platform would simply tell me, “We cover our ______ by just typing what they say. If you don’t hear something clearly, do not guess. Leave a blank, put the time stamp where the blank is, and submit it to QA. Don’t assume anything. If, deep in your gut and with the knowledge that you have, you believe that the doctor has said something that may be incorrect (especially if it is a medication name or dosage, but definitely something that will have an impact on patient care) and also including direct contradictions, like using both right and left to describe the injury site or stating the patient is male and also female in different parts of the same report, etc. leave a blank or attach a comment, etc. but otherwise, just type what they say.”
Anyway, it’s all very complex. We trust that our elected leaders will do their best for all of us, but what is best for EACH of us may not be what is best for ALL of us. I don’t believe that for the most part we want outsiders to view us as “moneygrubbers” or “pennypinchers,” but everyone has to face the fact that we work because we need the money–we aren’t working for our health, for Pete’s sake! And outsiders who work in jobs where things like certifications aren’t an issue cannot begin to understand what is happening, yet they are viewing from the sidelines and passing judgement also. Any time there is “infighting,” there will be judgements made from people who ARE affected (in the long run…as no doubt they are patients somewhere, at the very least) but who cannot see that at the moment. It’s like someone driving past a bunch of picketers in front of a business and the remarks they make are basically uneducated and too-simple statements that may be something like, “If you don’t like what you are getting, then find something else to do…they’ll be able to replace you.”
Now I have a question for all of you reading this. Except for the part about having a transcription contract with a company on an account that was “strictly verbatim,” did I sound like I knew what I was talking about? My reason for asking this is that I have not personally attended a meeting where things were discussed, I’m NOT a voting member of AHDI, and in fact EVERY SINGLE IDEA OR POINT OF VIEW that I have expressed is based upon what I read online that others have posted. If I’m interpreted by you as being correct (or “spot on” as the Brits would say), then it is due to the clarity of what has been posted within this group. If I’m interpreted as NOT knowing what I’m talking about, then that, too, is due to the many interpretations of what has been said and done in postings within this group. It’s not an easy thing…it IS tunnel vision, and it is based upon pretty much snap judgments and gut feelings about things that get said by a few people who are speaking for many, and the “many” either disagree with what is being said and done or how it is being said and done and who definitely have problems with things being too general, with no true timeline, and without having been asked for or being allowed to give any input.
Well….there I go again, writing a book…and it’s all based upon conjecture. How did I do?
[Reply]
Linda Kirvel Reply:
December 10th, 2010 at 9:16 am
Sherry, I think you are “spot on.”
[Reply]
Sarah Reply:
December 10th, 2010 at 10:05 pm
I agree.
[Reply]
Kathy Reply:
December 10th, 2010 at 10:17 pm
Sherry, I too think you pretty much got it. I think most MTs are in the same boat, and know many who work more than one job to make ends meet. I also think that membership in any organization is never a “one size fits all.” It works for some, not for others. And sometimes it stops working for those who have been involved. One of the things I have always appreciated about this community here is the ability to have some discussions on tough issues, not agree to disagree when we need to, and to still talk about things! I love that about this group and all of you are what makes that possible.