Note from the ACDIS Director: Love the CDI profession and want to give back? Volunteer for a board or committee

By Brian Murphy

I find that the more you volunteer, the richer your life becomes.

I am a volunteer committee member on the Reading Memorial High School (RMHS) Athletic Hall of Fame. As a graduate of the RMHS Class of 1991, when the opportunity arose for me to help out my alma mater by honoring its greatest athletes, teams, and coaches, I couldn’t pass it up.

The RMHS Athletic Hall of Fame is fun, but it’s also a lot of work. We research nominated athletes, hunt down old scrapbooks and photos, write scripts, and publicize the event. We employ subcontractors to create plaques and videos. Sometimes, we get into disagreements.

But at the end of it all, there is nothing like seeing all our hard work come together at the induction ceremony every other November. The inductees enjoy a plated dinner with attendees and their families and get to say a few words after their highlight video. The inductees find it incredibly humbling and rewarding.

Professionally, through my role as the director of this amazing association of CDI professional, I get to work with volunteers almost every day through a number of boards, committees, and generous participation of ACDIS members in a hundred small ways.

This January ACDIS is offering some great volunteer opportunities for you to consider as 2019 gets underway.

There are few things more rewarding than being part of a conference committee, seeing your hours of work selecting speakers and sessions come together with an amazing conference experience.

Or working on the CCDS certification committee, and hearing from a freshly-minted CCDS about how proud they are to have earned their credential, and the doors it opened in their career.

Or helping other CDI professionals connect, learn, and grow by addressing networking challenges through thought-leadership and best practices with the Chapter Advisory Board.

Or serving with high-performing peers on the ACDIS Advisory Board and creating helpful new industry guidance like How to Conduct a Medical Record Review, and sharing it with members via our well-attended quarterly conference calls or ACDIS Radio.

There are other benefits from volunteering, including opportunities for career growth. Just ask Angie Curry, BSN, RN, CCDS, Senior Consultant, Client Services Manager, Nuance Healthcare, who was elected to the advisory board in 2017:

Being elected to the ACDIS Advisory Board has been the most rewarding experience of my 20 plus years in nursing. The variety of backgrounds of the board members and the common passion for all things CDI make this group a force to drive change, ensuring CDI stays relevant!

Just this year we partnered with both AHIMA and ASPEN for joint projects, resulting in industry guidance supported by best practice. There is a time commitment, however, there is also great pride in a finished project that brings information or resources to our members. I encourage all our members to find a way to get involved whether at the local level by joining a state chapter, a national committee, or applying for the Advisory Board. Passion for your profession is contagious!

We are currently seeking volunteers for four boards and committees. Please visit the ACDIS website and review the obligations, expected time commitment, and scope of work for more information:

• The ACDIS Advisory Board: Provides leadership, expertise, and an industry voice for the ACDIS membership. Note that board members are ultimately elected by a popular vote of ACDIS members. (This year’s openings call for two nurses, one HIM/RHIA professional, and one physician.)
• ACDIS Symposium Planning Committee: Selects all speakers and sessions for the 2019 ACDIS Symposium: Outpatient CDI event.
• Chapter Advisory Board: Serves as liaisons between local chapter leaders and ACDIS national administration by participating on chapter leadership conference calls, promoting best practice, and providing guidance to leaders across the country.
• CCDS Certification Committee: Maintains and updates the CCDS Certification Program, including the exam and its prerequisites.

To apply for any of these committees, click here and fill out the requested information by Friday, January 25. This link will allow you to select the committee that best suits your strengths and interests. If you love the CDI profession, and want it to get stronger, or if you think it needs some changes, get active in ACDIS.

Happy volunteering!

Editor’s note: Murphy is the director of ACDIS. Contact him at bmurphy@acdis.org.