Note from the Instructor: Be comfortable with being uncomfortable

By Laurie L. Prescott, RN, MSN, CCDS, CDIP, CRC

I just spoke to a student of our online CDI basic course. She was worried about the final exam and passing the course. I had to smile as I talked her off the cliff. Even though there is an exam at the close of the course, it should be used to test your knowledge and ensure that you retained important lessons from the materials. She demonstrated a personality trait often seen in the CDI profession. We strive for perfection; we want to be the best at everything we do. We are overachievers! This desirable trait drives us to learn, grow, and improve ourselves. But, it can also hold us back. We need to be okay with feeling a bit uncomfortable, being the novice in the room, and exploring often complicated and confusing concepts.

I often tell managers hiring new staff that the best individual for the CDI role is someone who is “comfortable in the uncomfortable.” I know that sort of sounds like the alternative dimension of the “Upside Down” for those Stranger Things fans, but as CDI professionals, we owe it to ourselves, our organizations, and our providers to continue to grow and expand. The same holds true for our profession as a whole, as well. I am the kind of gal who constantly tells people that “change is a good thing.” (Although I am sure some of my friends find this statement irritating as heck.)

But honestly, as healthcare professionals, we understand that if a body is NOT changing, it is dead. If the body of knowledge related to CDI is not evolving, then we are dead.

I will say it again: change is a good thing. So, when you’re asked to explore how your CDI department may affect a new organizational endeavor, don’t say “no” too quickly. I know it’s scary—will you have enough staff, resources, support to take on new tasks? Can CDI actually provide an outcome that is worth the effort?

So, first explore the request, self-educate, and then respond with an informed answer. The research process may provide you with an entirely different platform for you to grow your department and its contributions in this regard may, in turn, support your organization’s longevity and your CDI program’s worth in it.

I remember many years ago being asked how CDI could assist with the efforts of the quality reporting department. I had little personal knowledge related to quality measures, abstracting, and patient safety indicators. This was all new to me. My first answer was, “no, our efforts will not likely assist them.” I giggle because, now this is a major focus of most CDI departments. I could not have been more wrong. I was wrong because I did not take the time to explore and learn about the specific measures, how they were affected by claims data, and risk adjustment methodologies.

Looking back, I think my initial answer was fueled by fear. I knew the resources (staffing, etc.) I had and I understood the knowledge deficit on my own part. I knew I would have to put myself in the “Upside Down” to figure this one out and I was afraid of being uncomfortable. I tried to fight the natural evolution of CDI.

Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution tells us that only those creatures who evolve and adapt will survive. Twenty years from now (when I am hopefully retired on a beach with an umbrella topped drink), I don’t wish to describe a distant time where there was a creature called CDI that no longer exists. So, my advice: get “comfortable with the uncomfortable.”

Take time to explore new avenues of CDI practice, celebrate CDI expansion. Even if reviewing for patient safety indicators aren’t within your scope yet, seek out articles about it and learn a little. Even if you will never perform outpatient CDI at your facility, learning about this function will assist you in your daily reviews and communications with providers. You may never be involved with the denial/appeals process, but explore how CDI professionals are now involved in this.

Knowledge is power and it will make you a better CDI.

Editor’s note: Prescott is the CDI Education Director at HCPro in Middleton, Massachusetts. Contact her at lprescott@hcpro.com. For information regarding CDI Boot Camps, visit www.hcprobootcamps.com/courses/10040/overview.