Two Roads Picture

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I…I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference. – Robert Frost

In this week’s EHR course, we ended our session with some great discussion about our profession, the industry, and how fast things are changing. We also talked about how very unknown the future is right now. I want us to have that discussion today because I was struck by the discussion and the need to share some thoughts about the future.

Our World Is Changing

The reality is that we simply don’t know what the future will really look like when all the dust settles. All around us, we have technology promising to make drastic changes to the healthcare industry, and in many cases that technology is coming with a speech that says medical transcription will no longer exist. Everywhere we turn we hear “we must figure out how to remain relevant,” yet nobody really seems sure what that looks like. Just hearing those words has the ability to create a panic in us as we think surely it means we’re in danger of extinction.

Two Roads

I think we have a couple of choices here. The first is to do the easy option: Buy into the panic and be terrified about the future. In that process, admit that there’s really nothing you can do about it so you’ll just sit and wait for “it” to happen and when “it” happens, you just know that it won’t be good for you. It’s in this mode that we begin the “what if” thinking that leads us down a path of worst case scenarios. By the time we’re finished, we’re all going to be working for less than minimum wage at jobs we hate, and the profession we’ve come to love will no longer exist. It is an existence that is very out of control. I don’t know about you, but I’m way too much of a control freak to let this one take over my life.

Fortunately there is an option B. Explore what’s going on, get knowledgeable, and poke the box to see what pops out. As you know, I’m a poke the box kind of person. In this option, you work to figure out what’s going on, you learn the lingo of things like the electronic health record, and once you learn that, you start to see some possibilities. And, you learn to think not just as a medical transcriptionist. You learn to take things apart and see how they work, then figure out some things that you think might be really cool in that environment and all of a sudden you realize “wait! I have those skills!” And yes, some of the things you come up with might not work, but that’s what poking the box is all about. Another interesting thing happens when we learn about this stuff. We lessen our fear because our fear is really about not understanding it enough to see the possibilities.

Some Great Examples of Brave Medical Transcriptionists

In the last two months, I’ve seen two great examples of MTs taking control of their future. The first group is a group of ten medical transcriptionists who this week are finishing up our EHR course here. It’s been so cool to meet every week with this group and explore possibilities. Perhaps the best thing I’ve heard in this time is today when someone said when they started the course, they were afraid of the EHR, but now they just aren’t. That’s empowering. Kudos to them for stepping out and doing something outside of the box.

Next week, 10 medical transcriptionists will start a program in EHR implementation through Dakota State University: Some of us will take EHR implementation management, some are taking the training role courses, and some are taking implementation and support. Another MT has already started her program and is taking the course for workflow redesign and trainer. What’s really cool about these training programs is they are offered throughout the US and many are being offered now with full scholarships as a part of the ARRA funding. Here’s a group who sees an opportunity to take what we already know and learn to use it in a different way.

Which Road Will You Choose?

We are indeed at a crossroads in our industry. We have a choice to make. On one hand, we can sit back, watch and wait, be fearful, and let things happen to us. On the other, we can refuse to allow someone else to define our future and choose to write our own story. One role makes us a victim, the other a victor. Which will you choose? Let’s chat!