Meet a Member: “Don’t be stagnant, in your career or life!”

September 4, 2019

CDI Blog – Volume 12, Issue 114

 

Alasha L. Hunt, RN, RT(R) CT, joined the CDI professional a little more than a year ago and works as a CDI specialist at Garrett Regional Medical Center in Oakland, Maryland. Though it’s more than three hours away, she plans to attend the annual Maryland ACDIS local chapter conference on Saturday, September 20, at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Towson.

ACDIS Blog: What did you do before entering CDI?
Hunt: Before CDI, I worked in radiology doing CAT Scans, X-rays, as well as mammography. I went back to school while continuing to work in radiology. When I finished school, I worked on the intensive care unit and then in the OR as a nurse circulator specializing in orthopedics. I went on to fill the position as our hospital’s only CDI specialist.

ACDIS Blog: Why did you get into this line of work?
Hunt: I got into this line of work because I wanted to make a difference on a larger scale. My hope is to further engage physicians by helping them to enhance their documentation. With this documentation enhancement, I am really trying to help them pick up on those “missing” tidbits of documentation and hope that it makes a positive difference in the patient’s plan of care. The medical field and technology are changing too fast; treatment options available today are constantly improving. I want to be a part of educating physicians, so they want to use the most up-to-date data in diagnosing and treating patients.

ACDIS Blog: What has been your biggest challenge?
Hunt: My biggest challenge has been going from a position where I was constantly on my feet, running here and there, helping patients/physicians/family members with what they needed, to working a job where I have to “sit” and read charts for a big part of the day. I am a very physical person and movement has always been a large and essential part of my life in work and at home.

ACDIS Blog: What has been your biggest reward?
Hunt: My biggest reward has been helping the patients. There have been occasions where I have caught missing diagnoses (especially in labs) that I was able to discuss with the nurses or physicians, and because of this, the patients were treated appropriately. For example, positive blood cultures, urinalysis, etc.