Two TSTC Departments Thank Clinical Supervisors

Two of the magic words are "thank you" and recently that's what Texas State Technical College Harlingen faculty in the Health Information Technology & Medical Information Specialist/ Transcriptionist Departments formally said to clinical supervisors from area hospitals at a special appreciation day.

"I consider all of you not just associates but also as friends," Susan Tichenor, program chair, told about 15 guests during her greeting.

Tichenor, Clinical Coordinator Ana Gonzales and Assistant Department Chair/Medical Information Specialist-Transcriptionist instructor Beyda M. Ramirez took the group on a tour of the department, stepping into classrooms that were in session. They dined at the Culinary Arts Department. Some of the guests also serve on the departments' advisory committees.

The clinical supervisors received information for their employees who might take courses at TSTC, and they reviewed curriculum, clinical experience evaluation forms and provided input to the faculty.
"We could not accomplish our mission without you," Gonzales told the medical professionals.
About 200 students are in the HIT and MIS/T courses. The MIS/T students undergo 160 hours of clinical work outside the classroom and HIT students complete 320 hours of on-site training, Tichenor said.

"The TSTC students are excellent. They are prompt and very conscientious. They are so professional," Isabel Chavez of Lifecare Long-term Acute Care in Edinburg said.
Ed Sanchez, medical records director at the Harlingen Medical Center, said that he's familiar with the academic program at TSTC and he liked the special event. "It's great," he said. "You get to see the other side of the students' lives and see what's new at TSTC."

Tichenor said that an appreciation day would be planned in the next few months for clinical supervisors at other medical facilities who also work with TSTC students in the HIT and MIS/T Departments.