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Healing Tree

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By Sheila Hammond, RSCJ, BCC

At the hospital where I am in ministry we are preparing for the move to an electronic record. Among the comments about this development are: “Well, finally we will be able to read doctors’ orders; finally there will be fewer chances for medication errors because we will be able to read the prescriptions, etc.” The gist of the message is, of course, that handwriting is difficult to decipher sometimes!

While the results of even the best penmanship do not have such drastic consequences in our field, it remains true that handwritten records do not communicate as clearly as those done through word processing or what some of us remember as typing! So the NACC and the certification commission, in order to better serve our membership, and to be able to preserve the sanity and eyesight of our staff, will require that all Education Report Forms and Peer Reviews for renewal of certification be done via the computer. You will still submit hard copies of your records, but handwritten records will no longer be accepted in the process.

This makes sense. Our staff will be better able to assure that you receive credit for the continuing education you have completed. You will be able to organize your own records without killing as many trees. If you have access to a computer where you can save documentation, you will be able to save all of your continuing education hours in an accessible place. If you need to use another computer or one at the public library, for example, you still will have an easily readable record of your year’s activity.

By the end of the year, the NACC is looking to develop a new form for our continuing education records. You will be alerted by NACC Now, by Vision, and by email that the new recording form is alive and well, available on the NACC website. There will be clear directions for how to make use of the form and it will be easily downloaded for your use. So as the new year begins, be aware that from then on ONLY Education Report Forms and Peer Reviews using word processing via the computer will be accepted as part of your renewal of certification material. Handwritten Education Report Forms and Peer Reviews will not be accepted. If this causes you anxiety, talk to a friend who uses the computer more than you do and make a deal for help. Or, as I sometimes do, consult a young relative! Teenagers are great at this. And always be assured that Phil Paradowski by email (pparadowski@nacc.org) or via telephone (414-483-4898) is at the ready to assist you. He, especially, is charged with assisting you to solve any technological problems, but all members of the NACC staff are helpful and generous in your service. Here’s to everyone going forward with this initiative with serenity, good humor and the ability to hunt and peck on a keyboard!

Sheila Hammond is a member of the NACC Certification Commission.

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