Busy week

We continue to move along at work on the computerized medical record or EMR as we call it. This was supposed to be the first week of using it exclusively, without all of the paper processes. But one of our Medical Assistants just returned from her maternity leave. She hasn't had any EMR training until now, so we elected to stay at 60-70% EMR until we could get her up to speed. I've been doing all of my pts "electronic" for the past 2 weeks, so it is starting to get easier for me. I think it's really funny to come out of my little hallway to the main, open area of the nurses station and see all of the Medical Assistants and Nurses with their heads down, fingers pecking away at their respective keyboards, as they type in all of the information that previously got recorded in pen. Call me a Luddite, but I'm going to miss all of the inscrutable handwriting that dotted our charts previously. I consider myself somewhat of an expert on bad handwriting, my own being pretty poor at times when I am in a hurry (One of my mentors told me that my handwriting only looked illegible at first glance and that once you really tried to read it, it was actually pretty clear as opposed to those folks with handwriting that looks neat at first glance, only to be undecipherable upon further inspection. Ever wonder why our handwriting is so bad? I did. But one day I counted the number of times I had to write or sign my name; I stopped counting when I got to 300, but I digress). Just out of curiosity, I am doing a desk audit every week now to see when my supervisor's desk is clear of paper charts. She is one of those people with stacks and piles all over her desk. I know that once those are gone, we will be fully electronic.

I have been thinking about my Aunt Mary Alice who would have celebrated her birthday this week, her 60th I think. She died several years ago from alcohol abuse, accelerating her own drinking after Uncle Tommy died of alcoholic pancreatitis just weeks before his retirement from the Postal Service. Aunt Mary Alice was my Godmother, favorite aunt, and a role model with her secretary to Vice President career path despite never going to college. When I was really young, maybe 6 yrs old or so, she took me to work with her, which I thought was the most fun in the world-playing with the telephones, sitting at a desk, and getting to write on official paper with company pens (surely bad handwriting then too). It seemed so adult and real world, which I just loved. But we also went to the fair and roller skating and camping-all things I adored as a kid. And I often got to do them without my twin sisters, just me and Aunt Mary Alice and Uncle Tommy escaping together. I was so heartened when she stayed sober for several months after my Uncle Tommy died, but eventually, she relapsed-drinking more and more and more until she just died one day. I checked her name on Google today to see if there was any mention of her, the way one might look for info on an old classmate or friend. She wasn't there. She is still with me though; I just wish she were still with us.

Today's photo: Lenten Roses in my garden in Asheville