Career & Personal Professional Development for the Expert CDS

dbutler

Have a thought that has been tickling lately -- once a CDS has grown through the steps toward expert

(and thinking of Benner's Novice to Expert for context)
(and when is that? 3 years? 5 years? ACDIS poll -- How long did it take you to get up to speed as a new CDI specialist? http://www.hcpro.com/acdis/view_readerpoll_results.cfm?quiz_id=1811 -- showed 34% 6-12 months)......

Anyway, what avenues do folks find to continue with professional growth and interest once the core activity of the role has become largely routine and repetitive? Move more into a leadership role? Advocate for program improvement & expansion? Working on special projects (perhaps service line focused, quality/core measures....)? Become active in a local chapter? Research -- is anyone conducting research yet? Publish? Change positions? Consulting? Traveling agency for CDI?

Thinking on the part of some of my folks that have been with the program since inception 5 1/2 years ago, they are outstanding experts, but for some frustrations seem to be building. Part is areas that we as a program need to continue focus & improve, but part are also on that personal professional level.

Thoughts?

Don


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sharon.cole

Join the board. I believe headway has been made, but we are still a long way off from being recognized as true professionals by hospitals, physicians, fellow nurses/coders. Until CDI specialists are as common place as ICU nurses or inpatient coding professionals, we have nowhere near reached our potential. I still think as professionals we should be able to converse with physicians the same as we did as clinical nurses. Ask a direct question, discuss documentation without being ruled by the ambiguities of what AHIMA views as leading. I will never understand how asking a direct question or a yes/no question is "leading" a physician to make a decision regarding his/her documentation. I hate feeling like my hands are tied or my mouth is gagged when speaking with physicians I worked so closely with in previous roles. I have been told countless times, "Just spit it out, what is your question, don't play games by making me guess what you are talking about, etc". The physicians I work with prefer and respect direct questions and dislike the ambiguous and enigmatic process we are forced to use.

OK, sorry, ranting and raving over:)

catladyrn

Oh, you shouldn't tempt me into another rant.

I have made offers to my management to give me something meaningful to do, complete with suggestions, but they're going nowhere. I just did a detailed analysis of our program and made several recommendations, but my memo has not been acknowledged. I also have preliminary interest from a nursing journal editor in an article I've written for publication, and am awaiting confirmation. But mostly, I'm desperately trying to transfer into another position within the organization because I'm sick of it all. CDS isn't the hospital cash register and I'm not the cashier.

At least I kept it short this time.

Renee


Linda Renee Brown, RN, CCRN, CCDS
Certified Clinical Documentation Specialist
Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center

lspryszak

Renee:

Loved your metaphor about the cash register and the cashier -- priceless!