Saturday, March 28, 2009

Hopefully..

"I understand feeling as small and as insignificant as humanly possible. And how it can actually ache in places you didn’t know you had inside you. And it doesn’t matter how many new haircuts you get, or gyms you join, or how many glasses of chardonnay you drink with your girlfriends … you still go to bed every night going over every detail and wonder what you did wrong or how you could have misunderstood. And how in the hell for that brief moment you could think that you were that happy. And sometimes, you can even convince yourself that he’ll see the light and show up at your door. And after all that, however long all that may be, you’ll go somewhere new. And you’ll meet people who make you feel worthwhile again. And little pieces of your soul will finally come back. And all that fuzzy stuff, those years of your life that you wasted, that will eventually begin to fade."

http://littlemiss.tumblr.com/post/59696157/i-understand-feeling-as-small-and-as-insignificant

Friday, March 20, 2009

An abode.

Well -

I now officially have a place to live when I go to medical school. Hip hip hooray!

Now I just have to come up with rent for the next few months.. blah.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

My experience with EMR

When I was originally hired as a "file clerk," they hired me because they were at least two months behind on their charts. Referring physicians were not receiving their OV notes until at least a month after the appointment. This was in early 2005. That summer, they moved to another building with "more" space for their records (as well as to accommodate their growing practice). This included shelving on tracks that would allow a more space-efficient filing system. Before we moved charts to the new building, our office manager had us to do a estimated count of charts. From the years 2002-2005, more charts were counted than space was available in the new building's space-efficient filing system. This was before we'd even moved in! Within months, we had the 2002 charts boxed up and moved to the basement.

As a file clerk, I would spend many of my Saturdays and after-hours faxing office notes and binding them into the charts. We were seldom ever caught up on paperwork. After all the charts were bound and ready to be filed, it would take an entire day to file them into our new shelving unit.

In January 2007, we began the transition to EMR: preparing our computer system, speaking with representatives, implementing software and training. Six months later, we "went live." What a fiasco.

In the end, it took about 6-9 months to iron out the wrinkles. Three months later, I was laid off from my job as "file clerk" due to lack of work. There were no charts to bind, office notes were faxed via the computer in about 20 minutes, and no charts to file in the ridiculous space-efficient shelving system.

Despite the fact that I lost my job, I cannot tell you just how much EMR helped my former employers' practice. From a receptionist point of view, it makes phone calls, refills, questions, and records requests so much more efficient. From a clinical point of view, it's a lot easier to mark check boxes, type abbreviations and review patient history with the touch of a button.

As a student of the class of 2013, it is my hope that by the time I am ready to practice (~2017) that EMR will be a permanent, essential component to medical practices across the country.

Whew, mouthful.

Monday, March 16, 2009

I'm a bad blogger.

Dr. Rob's post makes me realize what a poor blogger I am. Believe me, I do like blogging quite a lot. But I'm guilty of being a poor blogger. Maybe that's why I only have three people following my blog. ha.

I have plenty of things on my mind, but don't feel that this forum is the best venue to make them available. Lots of family issues, school issues, unemployment issues, money issues. Lots. But I really feel that I shouldn't bore you with it. I'm not charming. I'm not witty. And this blog definitely isn't themed -- yet. I'd say that once I start school, things will have a bit more continuity.

I'm stuck mulling over my living situation, my finances and my future. And right now, I'm not ready to share that. It's too sensitive. Maybe soon.

Although I will publicly announce that if anyone has information regarding rentals in the DCOM area, comment me. I'm beginning to get desperate.

3 months till I need to move. It's hard to believe. 4 months till my life is turned upside down.

But for now, I'll remain here in blogland with sporadic posts about random things and hope that one day I'll find the motivation to be a good blogger. :)

Edit: Oh, oh yeah... follow me on Twitter.