They Must Not Know....

I do not like change. 

Or do I? 

About 2 years ago, I began hearing "rumblings" about a change in our transcription company.  "It's gonna make your life SOOO much better," they said.  Well, time came and time went and no changes were made.  There were small changes, in preparation for the big change, but nothing that caused me great pause. 

It took so long for this change to be implemented that I at times wondered if it was actually going to happen at all.  Then I would receive an e-mail assuring all the transcriptionists it was in fact still coming. 

And it has.  We are going live on the new system tomorrow morning.  After all that time waiting, why does it feel so fast?!?

After my first 2-hour conference call on how to use the new system, I have to admit, I felt old and left behind.  I can understand why older people leave jobs 'cuz it went computerized and they don't even know how to turn on a computer.  I know how to turn mine on, and I definitely know how to find my way around a keyboard, but this new program was blowing my mind....

It changes everything, how we pull our work, how we do our work, how we check our work, how we submit our work, and how we get paid for our work. The name of the company has even changed! Nothing, and I mean nothing, is the same. (Except of course the doctors are still humans and they are still dictating sick human patients). However, if the program works the way it's supposed to, I'm starting to see how it will benefit the transcriptionists. Less work makes time for more work. What that means is I will have to spend less time doing things I don't get paid for and have more time for the work I actually do get paid for. Does that make sense? In teacher terms, no more "busy work." After a patient husband gave me a sit-down run-through of the program (sad, he doesn't even do this job and he understood the program better than I did, mostly because I was so afraid of messing something up and he wasnt afraid of that at all) and after another 2-hour conference call last night, I'm feeling a little better. 




Dare I say even a little excited? 

Am I nervous?  Heck yeah.  I feel like I'm starting this job all over again....and I well remember my very first day to sit down at this computer and type a clinic note.  Scary.  But now I can almost do it in my sleep and oftentimes I know what the doctor is trying to say even before he gets the words out.  One day, I'm sure this new program will be old hat as well. 

Change stretches you, I guess.  It's good for you.  It can even be beneficial for you. 

But after tomorrow, I'm done with any more changes for the year.  I mean it!  I can only handle one big change about every 6 months!  One a year is even better!  (For the record, I've been at this job for almost 9 years and this is the first major change we've undergone so I can't fuss too much!)

I hope you have a great day and a wonderful, wonderful holiday weekend!