Getting recertified in my career

Written May 20 (Facebook post)

Aside from my independence, GBS took away my 30-year career in the Health Information Management fields. It was a career I enjoyed first a coding specialist in data collection in hospitals’ health records department and then as a coding coordinator here in Calgary. I had wonderful experiences in my field like travelling across twice reabstracting and recoding charts to ensure accuracy and the following of our national standards, as well as being an Alberta representative working on our national standards. In Calgary I took advantage of opportunities to spread my wings/comfort zone by becoming a trainer for new staff and doing something I never I do which was being a part of a management team. Have learned so much and made wonderful fellow colleagues too. Understandably, you could appreciate the devastation of not returning to my job. 

With the direction of our global technology, some of our first glimpses during this Covid-19 pandemic, where coding specialists in data collection could potentially work from home. Have programs capable to work with voice recognition softwares and using touchscreen laptop/desktop computers with the necessary safeguards in place (VPNs) to protect the patients information. This is an exciting prospect for me. In my 30-year career, I have only encountered one coding specialist who had a “disability” and this person had bilateral cochlear implants. Personally, I wonder if I could go back to the career I loved and enjoy in the future, as a quadriplegic. 

Today, I took my first step - I was able to recertify to become a Health Information Management (HIM) Specialist without having to rewrite my certification exam (1992). Now I can take CPE credits to update my skills - a new distraction 😊

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