For over two years here at HealthcareITToday, I have chronicled my experiences as a Vendor Certified Healthcare Information Technology Consultant – providing details, advice, and what my work life is like, specifically in the Electronic Medical Records (EMR) job industry from my first hand knowledge. Most of this information I have provided has been based mainly from my sometimes humorous (…I think), or technical and practical perspective regarding what I do. Yesterday, as I traveled on Merritt Parkway (Route 15) going south to Westport, Connecticut, I realized this client site location (and surrounding area) is one of the most beautiful I’ve experienced in quite sometime. This Epic Systems – EMR Clinical Applications Implementation contract assignment, I’m currently engaged is with a prestigious hospital client up on the northeast coast (New England area). We are about 4 weeks away from go-live (the date the clinical system is available for it’s actual usage by all individuals involved in the patients’ care). My tasks for this particular EMR Implementation contract assignment includes me visiting many of the lab draw station clinics that collect this healthcare facility patients’ lab work. Therefore, between last week and this week I’ve been traveling all around this New England area’s highways and byways from each town to the next. I spend anywhere from 30 minutes to 45 minutes at each of these lab draw station locations, meeting with the lab technician at each site and expediting what we call the clinical system’s “walk-through.” This one is based on this particular lab order requisition “workflow.” These tasks are completed to ensure the process is working as designed, prior to go-live. Maybe because the weather has suddenly “sprung into spring” out here on the east coast and it has created a delightful environment for these site visits, or maybe due to this particular contract assignment duty, I’m getting an opportunity to see more of this hospital client’s geography…or just maybe it’s because I’m older and wiser and have been blessed with this opportunity to have a pretty good balance between my work and personal life – and I appreciate it ALL so much more, as I’m able to put my life into proper perspective! Whatever the reasons – my views from the road at these quaint towns of neat and tidy homes situated on hillsides, woods, and near various waterways – is the most charming site visits I’ve encountered over the past several years as an EMR Consultant and “Road Warrior”.
As I think about some of my many other contract assignments – I thought it would be kind of fun sharing with you my word association game to describe in a few words what came to my mind about the “geographics and other things” regarding some of the locations I’ve been assigned with healthcare facilities nationwide, over the past several years:
| Location: | Word association – in a few words! |
| California ……….. | beautiful exotic flowers, sunny, warm, reflective. |
| Chicago ………….. | great food! |
| Connecticut …….. | quaint communities surrounded by small hillsides, woods, and waterways. |
| Dallas, Texas …… | super huge airport, “frontage” roads, and high “roller coaster” looking highway ramps |
| Houston, Texas ….. | heat, humidity, occasional heavy downpours – flash floods |
| New Hampshire …. | clean, “green” environment – really enforced, good local transport from site to site. |
| New York City ….. | crowded, exciting, shopping, and Broadway shows! |
| North Carolina ….. | surprising steep hill-sides, friendly southern hospitality, rich foods |
| Ohio …………….. | cool shopping malls, easy to access highways to this states major cities that have EMR systems in place |
| Philadelphia …….. | close to home, great central location to all types of transportation by – trains, airports, buses |
| South Dakota …… | “little house on the prairie” – flat open land, great skyline views |
| Vermont ………… | snow, snow, snow |
| Virginia ………….. | red brick buildings, history, my family ancestry |
Please keep in mind, my word association is based on limited time spent (outside of actually working there) at each of these locations nationwide. It’s also reflective of what time of year I was assigned there. Most EMR consulting contract assignments length varies from 3 months – 2 years, depending on what phase of the EMR Implementation one joins the project. Also, know that the standard weekly work schedule is Monday through Thursday for these engagements. (One travels from home to the client’s work site location – either Sunday evening or very early Monday morning, then stays at the client work site location until Thursday evening’s travel back home…there are times/exceptions when one does occasionally get the opportunity to stay at the client’s locations on weekends
Please feel free to play your own word association game as it relates to this topic and reply with your experiences!
