RE: simple question

[Brenda Chance]

Everything everyone has said is too true.  Watching the MDS process evolve since 1990, it has been the most challenging, changing aspect of my career.  I love being a MDS Coordinator and doubt that I would be happy doing anything else.  This process challenges you mentally in so many ways that I cannot even begin to name them all.  I know that it has made me a better nurse- more able to pick up on changes in residents and the reasons why.  The Nose is right – it is a career rather than a job.  It gets in your blood and you can’t let it go.  You have to figure it all out – even if it means staying until the wee hours of the morning at times.    Hang in there, Katie.  Read the manual.  Ask questions. Go to seminars.  Watch the process evolve and become engrained in your blood as well.  I promise you will love it some days and hate it the others, but, you can never leave it alone.   Brenda W. Chance, RN, RAC-C MDS Coordinator     CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, November 07, 2003 3:27 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: simple question   You are so right!  I started this journey 6 months ago…MDS coordinator.  I was clueless about the job but hey …day time hours….no holidays…I thought I would try it until “something else comes along”…well somehow between then and now I am hooked!  This isn’t just a job, it is a career that demands striving for excellence and a huge support group…thanks everyone.   -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Alan Perttola Sent: Friday, November 07, 2003 11:27 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: simple question   Katie: Thinking about Nose's comment "try not to look at the position as a job...but rather as a career". Attended a very energizing presentation by Kelsey Shwartz (sp?)(sorry Kelsey if I spelled it wrong) which celebrated the MDS coordinator role and caused me to think about my career. I always describe myself as an MDS coordinator not someone working as a coordinator for a while until something else comes along. I wonder how many of us feel like this? Maybe that commitment makes us proficient at assessing and it is probably the reason we all love learning all there is to learn here on the listserv. Good luck  Katie. Diane Perttola RN,C, CMC Marywood Nursing Care Center in Livonia MI ----- Original Message ----- From: dfrias To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, November 05, 2003 8:32 PM Subject: Re: simple question   Welcome Katie! I think the best place for you to start is the RAI Manual...do you have one?   Also, it will be very important for you to check out (and if possible join) AANAC's membership.   Tell us...how much training you have had in the process? When did you start? How many beds are you responsible for? What sections do you complete?   Yes, you did ask a basic question...but we are all basic to some extent...as the regulations are always changing or being clarified.  So feel free to ask basic questions...infact, we welcome them!  You are a brave person to write...others like to lurk....so you may be asking a question that others are thinking about.    I won't bore you and others with the answers as I am sure the questions are being answered as I write this.   A bit of advise.... Don't try to be a perfectionist you will disappoint yourself.  Always, know you will always be learning regardless of the seminars, conventions and articles...no one has it all!  Which is the reason you can feel free to ask the questions on this listserver...someone out there may have part of an answer and others will expound of that answer...this is all part of growing with the MDS.  Oh one last thing...try not to look at the position as a job...but rather as a career I do believe you will find much more rewarding.   Good Luck, The Nose     ----- Original Message ----- From: katie fox To: aanac Sent: Wednesday, November 05, 2003 6:54 PM Subject: simple question   Hi I am very new to the whole MDS process and am trying to learn everything at once.   I am the only one in this area that does this job, so I am learning a lot from everyone's emails.  (thank you) I have a very simple question-- What is the time frame for me to complete the MDS after the ARD?  And how long for me to transmit?  Forgive me for the basic question.   Katie Fox, RN Seaview Nursing and Rehabilitation Facility St. Thomas, Virgin Islands 340-777-3303 ext. 114