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Staying Organized!

Credentialing Resource Center Connection, September 11, 2008

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Dear credentialing colleague:

I juggle a busy schedule, so people are constantly asking me how I stay on top of everything. First and foremost, I am a busy Mom of two—a teenager and a first grader—each of whom play two different sports and have other extra-curricular activities. I also oversee several departments at a large academic medical center, working an average of 50-plus hours per week and handling everything from credentialing to multi-million dollar budgets, from physician grievances to regulatory readiness. I have returned to school and still do some consulting and speaking in my (spare?) time. When asked how I do it, my answer is always the same—I have a GREAT executive assistant who helps keep me organized. And I am a checklist fanatic! I didn’t always have the benefit of an executive assistant, but I have always found that checklists are the best way for me to stay organized.
     
Keeping an up-to-date to-do list—including notes on the status of uncompleted items— ensures those items will not get buried at the bottom of the pile...at least not for long. While everyone must find an organizational method that works best for them, the key to any system is making sure you maintain it and keep it current. Setting time aside at the end of each day to re-group, organize your work space, and revise your checklist to reflect the current day’s tasks is essential to staying abreast of the many tasks that we deal with as MSPs. Although we may sometimes feel as though we add more to our checklist than we are able to cross off, it feels great to scratch items off, task accomplished.

Using checklists for credentials files is also important, not only to ensure that we, as the specialist or coordinator, are staying on top of missing items, reminder notices, and timely processing, but for the sake of others in the office. If we are unavailable, they can easily look at our checklist and determine what the status of a file is and field any questions that may arise regarding it.

Remember, communication is the key to success!

That’s all for this week,

Anne Roberts, CPMSM, CPCS

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