President's
Message: Exploring Career Paths
By
Beverly Rhodes, MSHP, RHIA
The
majority of you reading this message are probably
aware that Wade Harless chose to step down
as President for Texas Health Information
Management Association (TxHIMA) for the 2003-2004
year. He made the decision reluctantly, as
he was looking forward to serving the membership,
and in fact, had already made significant
contributions to this organization in his
role as President-Elect. The board felt that
the best decision was for me to remain in
the position of President for another year,
with the board working together to meet the
objectives of the organization. I know that
I have said this before, but it is worth repeating:
The TxHIMA board is an energetic, creative,
and dedicated group, and we will continue
to work hard for you, the membership. Several
members have volunteered to assist the board
this year, and we fully intend to accept these
offers as occasions arise over the course
of the year. On behalf of the TxHIMA board,
I would like to thank those who offered assistance
and support by way of phone calls and emails
to various board members and to the TxHIMA
Executive Office.
The board's next undertaking will be the AHIMA
national meeting and House of Delegates in
Minneapolis. I am sure that several of you
are planning to attend the meeting as well.
I encourage all members to stay up to date
on American Health Information Management
Association (AHIMA) issues by logging on to
the AHIMA Communities of Practice (CoP) and
accessing the State Leader and House of Delegate
community. You will be able to discuss issues
with other members across the nation, as well
as access information regarding the national
House of Delegates, Team Talks, etc. The TxHIMA
board prepares for the national meeting at
the state Fall Meeting, this year in Galveston,
Texas. By the time the January Journal is
published, we anticipate that TxHIMA will
have made decisions regarding how we will
communicate with the state membership in the
future for issue discussion and input.
In my role as President I have had the privilege
of getting to know several of you. As editor
of this issue of the TxHIMA Journal, I had
yet another opportunity to do this. This journal
is titled "Career Paths" and highlights
several Health Information Management (HIM)
professionals working in nontraditional or
alternative careers or locations. Most of
the authors are from Texas, although I thought
you might enjoy hearing from a couple of people
from outside the state. Rebecca Reynolds writes
from the "other UT", the University
of Tennessee, about her dual role as faculty
member for the HIM Program and Privacy Officer
for the UT Health Science Center in Memphis.
And, if you communicate reguarly with AHIMA,
you may know Marilyn Render by her timely
responses to members' queries and her cheerful
demeanor, evident even via email communications.
Although Marilyn does not have an HIM background,
I thought you might enjoy hearing about how
she found her job niche at AHIMA.
Although the authors' individual stories are
unique, I think you will find a common thread
in their personalities and their approach
to pursuing a career path somewhat off the
beaten path. Each was able to take his or
her "HIM" skills and apply them
in various job settings. Some report that
they readily accepted additional work which
led to new job responsibilities and new career
goals. Jana Olivas' husband assisted in her
job search, which led to her getting a job
in an attorneys' office. He apparently had
no idea that he was being creative in the
job search; he was just being helpful.
I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the many
ways HIM professionals are using their skills
to perform jobs in various markets, and I
think that you will as well. Using individual
talents, skills, and competencies to find
jobs that give satisfaction is inspiring to
all of us, whether in a "traditional"
role such as in a hospital HM department,
or in a "nontraditional" route as
this journal's authors have taken. If you
would like to enhance your career in your
current job, or you are thinking of evaluating
career opportunities elsewhere, I encourage
you to read AHIMA's article, "50 Ways
to Enhance Your Career", found on the
HIM Body of Knowledge or in the Journal of
AHIMA 73/4 (2002). Thank you to the many authors
who contributed to this Journal. If any of
you have a story that you would like us to
tell in a future journal, please contact me.
Thank you, TxHIMA members, for your continued
support of this organization, and God bless
each of you.
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