Cancer Registrars, clinicians and other healthcare professionals have been searching for the answers on how cancer begins and grows for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. In this short illustrated video the newest advances in science, and how that has changed how we view the cause and origin of cancer, is explained in simple, easy-to-follow, language and then illustrated by an artist. It’s a one-of-a-kind video that every Cancer Registrar should view.
Not all that long ago I was sitting in the department head’s office discussing the cancer registry budget for the coming calendar year. Now, if you’re like me, the mere mention of the “B” word causes anxiety! I knew this particular day was coming, it came around every year. But, why it has to coincide with the holidays is still a huge mystery! But, on this day here the two of sat, much like two cats squaring off for the big event in the back alley.
My wish list was in my hand and the department head’s eyes were on this massive Excel spreadsheet that resembled something out of a power grid for a metropolitan city. “Let’s get this over with quickly,” she said. “Tell me what equipment you need, if anything.” I checked my list and named the two items I needed, both of which amounted to less than $2,500. “Nope,” she said. “Can’t do that, no room in the budget. What else do you have?” Hmmm. Skipping down on my list I looked at our plans for education and travel. Taking a deep breath I relayed the information she needed about the state and national cancer registry meetings and the importance of our attending. “Well,” she replied. “I don’t get to travel and neither do any of the other managers or supervisors, so why should we send anyone from the cancer registry?” Ah ha! I knew this coming too and had a very brief, yet powerful reply (or so I thought). I carefully explained, in bullet points, the necessity of travel based on our accreditation status, CTR credential needs, and so forth. After a few moments of silence she said, “Can’t you get any of that online for free? Why should the hospital have to pay for this?”
Sound familiar? After my “special moment” with my department head, our cancer registry spent the next year dealing with antiquated equipment failures and scrambling for information on the new program standards and changes so that we could correctly and accurately collect, code and classify data. At some point along the way, she did offer to pay for my registration fee to the national association meeting. I, of course, had to ante up for the rest of the expense, much like many of you have had to do. That’s the cost of being a healthcare professional for which I have had to adjust my attitude, mindset and, of course, pocketbook.
This time of year we face incredible challenge. Perhaps you are struggling to get all of your cancer program accreditation requirements completed or you are working overtime to publish that annual report before the stroke of midnight on December 31st. You, too, may be facing the budget blues and challenges just like I had to do. Or, you may be dealing with emotional and physical challenges from caring for your family or an elderly parent. Or, maybe you have suffered the loss of a loved one or friend recently. What is a cancer registrar to do?
The first thing you can do is to set aside time to regroup, enjoy time with family and the holiday season. No one will get a hero’s welcome or special recognition for being a workaholic, it just does not happen that way. So, be kind to yourself, eat, sleep, rest and be merry. Then come back to work, refreshed and ready to tackle that “elephant in the room.”
Second, be realistic about what your organization can, or will, give you for educational and travel benefits. If you are fortunate to not have to worry about this, then rejoice in that fact. If you are not so fortunate, then accept that this is more common than not and make a decision, and commitment, to continually maintain your professional status, grow your skill sets and knowledge base, and to creatively network with your peers. To simply stagnate or stubbornly refuse to update your skills will only lead to frustration and isolation.
Third, be kind to yourself and explore alternative and effective ways in which to learn and grow as a cancer registrar. For example, Registry Mindset is the best online continuing education resource that offers budget-friendly CE courses developed by, and for, today’s cancer registrar. No travel is required and the payment methods will not break the bank. Corporate plans are also available (upon request) and you just might be able to sell the idea to your department head as a budget-friendly option for your organization!
Fourth, work on the mindset and behaviors. Be wholly present and accountable for your career and the service your cancer registry provides. All of healthcare is struggling to bend the budget and provide the best state-of-the-art services and care. How you support the organization, in your behavior and attitudes, will be a large determinant of your success and longevity. Stop whining or complaining and, instead, enhance and develop new methods and processes that will help your organization effectively use the cancer registry data to provide better patient care services.
So, to bend the budget and holiday blues, try these four steps to dramatically increase your value, improve your mindset and attitude and give you options and alternatives on how to grow and maintain your cancer registry professionalism. That’s the best holiday gift you can give yourself!
If you have ideas or suggestions that are not mentioned in this article, please Leave a Reply in the box below or on the “Contact Us” page. We would like to know how we can serve your needs and help you to become everything you are capable of becoming.
Michele Webb creator of http://www.RegistryMindset.com, the cancer registrar’s best online continuing education resource, is a nationally recognized, certified cancer registrar, committed to Cancer Registry leadership and professional education as a coach, mentor, motivational speaker and author. You have permission to repost this article as long as do not alter it in any way and give a link back and credit to the author and this URL.
As we approach the Thanksgiving Day holiday we all look forward to spending time with family and friends, good food, rest, relaxation and just “getting away from it all” even if only for a day or so. The holiday also gives us opportunity to appreciate the blessings we have in our lives.
While this is good, we can, and should, maximize gratitude and our performance by learning realistic thinking. Realistic thinking and daily thoughts of gratitude will not only enhance your value as a cancer registrar but they contribute to a healthier and happier lifestyle. All this, literally, is 100% free and readily available. Just imagine, no medical bills, no pills to take, no doctor visits. Instead, it is a process we use to think about and react to our daily lives and the world around us.
Now, realistic thinking is not about replacing negative thought with positive thoughts. We will always have and be bombarded by negative thoughts in our society. Instead, realistic thinking is the development of a process that helps you to change deeply ingrained habits of thought. Your awareness will increase as your abilities to control your thought processes and reactions increase. This, in a nutshell, is how you become a realistic thinker and move forward to a life of gratitude, happiness and success. When you incorporate daily gratitude and appreciation with realistic thinking you become a “force to be reckoned with” and significantly enhance your ability to change your thought patterns and reactions.
As cancer registrars our reactions to our workplace and environment are observed by others. Negative thoughts and behaviors detract from our effectiveness as a cancer registrar and negatively impact the value our profession and industry has in patient care. Just imagine the power and success that we can all experience if cancer registrars across the nation radically changed into realistic and grateful thinkers and doers! I know that each of us has the capability to make this change. I invite you to join me in evaluating your core behaviors and to adopt a realistic thinking process that will ensure your place in healthcare for the years to come.
To learn more about how gratitude can improve your brain health, happiness and longevity visit Dr. Daniel Amen’s website by clicking here.
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http://www.RegistryMindset.com. Michele Webb is a nationally recognized, certified cancer registrar (CTR) who is committed to Cancer Registry leadership and professional growth. She helps cancer registrars around the world as a motivational speaker, author, and educator. You have permission to repost this article as long as you do not alter it in any way, give credit to the author and link back to her website.
Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions is a great book written by Guy Kawasaki. In it, he explains how to influence what people will do while maintaining the highest standards of ethics. Here’s a snapshot of his poster on the subject to get you started!
Have you ever heard of anyone who was successful in their work, life or business that did not experience failure at some point in time? Probably not. And, if everyone was being honest they would probably tell you that they learned more from their failures than their successes.
In his book, Fail Up: 20 Lessons on Building SuccessTavis Smiley talks about failing up and draws an analogy to what he calls “The Drum Major Instinct.” Simply put, is your motivation to help or lead others coming from a positive, constructive spirit within you, or are you more interested in leading the parade, like a drum major? Your motivation and intention are predictors of your success.
As a cancer registrar it is easy to want to be the drum major and lead the parade. You may want everyone to fall in line behind you and to simply do as they are told. While many may adopt this approach it is a journey that is headed for disaster and dictated by your ego. Ego-driven leadership leads to ineffective and negative influence in the workplace. Intentions driven by ego do not serve a useful purpose in any situation.
Learning from our failures and then using the lessons learned to “fail up” is what achieving success is built upon. Cancer Registrars will be successful if they set their ego’s aside, somewhat like laying down the drum major’s baton, and learn from their failures. Smiley refers to these as “success scars.”
Here’s the bottom line. You cannot have success without failure. You must learn from those failures in order to stretch, grow and to reach a new level of achievement. And, when you reach the new level, you will likely fail and repeat the cycle again. Successful Cancer Registrars must go through this cycle in order to achieve their goals and serve the healthcare communities. Period.
If you have not taken the time to evaluate your failures and to identify what you learned from those situations then I encourage you to do that as quickly as possible. To get maximum effect, briefly write down the scenario in which you failed, how and why you think you failed and then craft some constructive and positive statements on what you have learned and how you can use that situation to fail up. By adopting this mindset to failure and success you will achieve much and be the cancer registrar you are meant to be!
http://www.RegistryMindset.com. Michele Webb is a nationally recognized, certified cancer registrar (CTR) who is committed to Cancer Registry leadership and professional growth. She helps cancer registrars around the world as a motivational speaker, author, and educator. You have permission to repost this article as long as you do not alter it in any way, give credit to the author and link back to her website.
As cancer registrars we can be more successful at influencing our cancer program team and peers by applying a few simple principles. Often people think of influencing others as a form of manipulation and unethical behavior. But, nothing is further from the truth. Influence, when used appropriately and for the right reasons is not only ethical, but highly effective.
According to Robert Cialdini, author of Influence: Science and Practice, the first principle of influence is reciprocation. People will be ready and willing to help you when you have first done something for them. This is really quite simple and perhaps you recall The Golden Rule. The principle also suggests that the cancer registrar will be proactive in how they approach and influence members of the cancer program, instead of reactive. So, in a nutshell, this means give first, then receive.
The heart of the Cancer Registrar’s work is helping others. It stands to reason that they will also develop their professional assets and skills to help others do their jobs better, be more successful and to collaboratively work together. You have one of the most valuable assets in healthcare at your fingertips and that is information. By freely giving of applicable and critical information you can generate feelings of gratitude that makes the other person want to reciprocate. This will foster not only a collaborative environment but will demonstrate your value to the organization and cancer program.
What are you giving to others today? Are you generating a sense of gratitude and reciprocation? How do you demonstrate value as you influence others?
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http://www.RegistryMindset.com. Michele Webb is a nationally recognized, certified cancer registrar (CTR) who is committed to Cancer Registry leadership and professional growth. She helps cancer registrars around the world as a motivational speaker, author, and educator. You have permission to repost this article as long as you do not alter it in any way, give credit to the author and link back to her website.
Just recently heard this song from Kristen Chenoweth’s newest album, Lessons Learned. The song is amazing! What is that you want to do with your life? How can you make a difference and help to make this world a better place?
You will notice me
I’ll be leaving my mark
Like initials carved in an old oak tree
Just wait and see
Maybe I’ll write like Twain wrote
Maybe I’ll paint like Van Gogh
Cure the common cold, I don’t know
But I’m ready to start cause I know in my heart
I wanna do something that matters
Say something different
Something that sets the whole world on it’s ear
I wanna do something better
With the time I was given
I wanna try to touch a few hearts in this life
Leave nothing less than something that says
I was here
I will prove you wrong
If you think I’m all talk, you’re in for a shock
Cause this dream’s too strong
And before too long
Maybe I’ll compose symphonies
Maybe I’ll fight for world peace
Cause I know it’s my destiny
To leave more than a trace of myself in this place
I wanna do something that matters
Say something different
Something that sets the whole world on it’s ear
I wanna do something better
With the time I was given
I wanna try to touch a few hearts in this life
Leave nothing less than something that says
I was here
I wanna do something that matters
Say something different
Something that sets the whole world on it’s ear
(I wanna do something that matters
Say something different
Something that sets the whole world on it’s ear)
I wanna do something that matters
Say something different
Something that sets the whole world on it’s ear
I wanna do something better
With the time I was given
I know that I will do more than just pass through this life
And leave nothing less than something that says
I was here
I was here
I was here
Recently I received an email from Brian Tracy that got me to thinking about cancer registrars and their success. Did you know, that by investing in your own continual professional improvement that you can double your productivity each year and be more than 1000 times more productive in the next decade? Now, don’t go away yet because this is serious business and it can make the difference between your success as a cancer registrar, or not.
To get started create your customized plan that includes your vision of success. When you are “successful” – what will that look and feel like? Take your vision then write down a few goals that you need to reach that will help you achieve the vision. Just start breaking it down, one by one, until you have your continuous improvement plan. See, it’s really that simple!
Another component of success is accepting 100% responsibility for everything you are and everything you become. Refuse to make excuses or blame others. Accept more responsibilities, in fact, ask for them. Put your whole heart into doing an excellent job. Carry out every task or project to the best of your ability and utilize your God-given talents. Keep doing this and not only will you increase your value but you will gain more experience and be given more important things to do.
Dedicate yourself to continual professional improvement. That includes more than just learning the standards or the rules. It means that you will continually develop and grow yourself as a “whole person.” Your plan needs to include personal and professional development, leadership, communications, relationships skills, strategic thinking and more. Keep increasing your skills and knowledge a little at a time.
Here’s how the compounding works. If you become 1/10th of a percent more productive each day, you’ll be one half of one percent more productive each week. One half of one percent becomes two percent each month and 26% more productive each year. With compounding, you will be doubling your overall productivity and performance every 2.7 years. In the next 10 years you will be 1004% more productive (and successful) than you are now.
This concept is called the Law of Accumulation. It is the primary reason people become successful. If you study the highly successful people in this world you will find that they have their own personal plan for continual development.
Make a decision, right now, to become a 1000% person and cancer registrar! Commit yourself to developing the “whole person” and creating your plan for continual professional development. Read, listen to programs, take additional courses (in fact, look at our Registry Mindset continuing education courses on this website – click on the “register” menu option to learn more)! One thing I know for sure, if you follow this process you will transform your life and be a happier, more successful cancer registrar than ever before!
Be patient. Success does not come overnight and changes to our lives take time. Just focus on becoming a bit better at something you do each day and your future will be bright and rewarding!
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Michele Webb, creator of www.RegistryMindset.com, is a nationally recognized, certified, cancer registrar who is committed to Cancer Registry success and leadership. She helps cancer registrars achieve their dreams as a coach, mentor, motivational speaker and author. You have permission to repost this article as long as you do not alter it in any way, give a link back to this page, and give credit to the author and this website.
