Providing Just-in-Time Support for Online Students
Below are a few ways to provide just-in-time support for our online students--via proactive, remedial, and performance-monitoring with human or automated (AI) tools supported by human mentors/experts. Any other thoughts?
• Provide an individual or online group orientation via video conferencing (Zoom, Teams, etc.) before classes start.
• Anticipate requests from students that are lag behind the first day of classes.
• Permit self-scheduling appointments for consultation with an advisor.
• Monitor and report progress daily.
• Schedule outreach at scheduled intervals throughout training regarding their program progress/status.
• Provide both technical and remedial support. And provide a corrective learning plan.
• Be willing to extend the deadlines for a few assignments, in response to the student's request. Everyone experiences a family or personal or work issue from time to time.
For other techniques, please download or read the "Improving Persistence ..." article at https://www.linkedin.com/in/walter-rodriguez-ph-d-p-e-608454/ or check: DOI:10.18848/1835-9795/CGP/v12i03/19-39
Up-skilling and Stacking Your Credentials
A wise colleague, friend & philosopher shared this Fast Company article. At the time, I commented on his posting: "Based on my experience (as both an A/E/C professional and an IT/PM/Business professor), I believe that students can find a niche by upskilling and staking skills without sacrificing their passion. The staking of credentials made a significant difference in both my professional & faculty career. As the article indicates: 'building your skill stack requires following your passion, and it can help you move up the corporate ladder.' Further, the articles say: 'if you want to be unique at (a) broad level, you need to combine skills that nobody else has combined before.' Finally, 'following your passions is super important because most people don't have passions around just one topic. The combination is what makes you unique.' Also, I have seen how my graduates have been able to match and upwardly integrate their skill sets. If you have excellent soft skills, seek to pursue technology micro-certifications and other credentials from your local university. This approach might very well position you for your next job!" Walter Rodriguez, PhD, PE
On Being Ahead of the Curve in Times of Disruption
Some public institutions have been ahead of the online-education curve and at the forefront of responsive curricula! Like Coursewell, FGCU, UMGC, WGU, and others, they didn't have to make any significant changes in their course delivery and student-support systems.
Lesson: In both academia and industry, we must have the foresight, preparedness, and readiness to serve our students and staff in times of disruption--from hurricanes and earthquakes to pandemics and automation.
How? By designing and developing relevant curricula. And, more importantly, by developing state-of-the-art student-support and course delivery systems that respond to the impending future and the individual needs of our students.
We are finding that AI machine learning will have a tremendous impact on everything we do. And our students and graduates must be ready to "collaborate" with AI systems and continuously learn while on the job.
If the university is not offering a particular course, students must be proactive and ready to learn on their own by seeking online programs.
My new article, co-authored with Dr. Patricia Angle, titled "Can Machine Learning Enhance Human Learning?" addresses that need.
Be safe, and keep the good work!
Walter Rodriguez, PhD, PE
Engaging Remote Learners: Student Persistence
How can we improve students’ persistence & retention? We can improve students’ persistence in schools and colleges by analyzing the factors that cause students to start missing assignment-deadlines. And, more importantly, by providing quick, just-in-time, proactive support before the problem worsens.
Overall, graduation and retention issues can stem from several different factors. These factors include lack of adequate academic preparation; personal problems; work-study scheduling; and financial challenges, among many other issues. Below, I discuss some sample issues and practical solutions for online, remote learners, as well as for the student population in general.
Nowadays, most schools use Learning Management Systems (LMS) to support most, if not all, of their course offerings. Even if these courses are taught fully on-campus or in hybrid, blended or flipped (i.e., where students study and engage with the online instructional resources and then attend real-life on-campus sessions to work on individual or, better yet, collaborative activities to deepen the students’ understanding of the content).
One online solution could consist in tracking, identifying and implementing more opportunities for students at-risk of dropping out—including proactive online mentoring and tutoring---based on real-time data derived from the LMS and predictive analytics. These LMS systems record and track every single student outcome, quiz, exams, project and forum discussion. So, faculty can easily identify students that might be struggling in their classes by simply displaying their electronic grade book on the LMS. When they discover anomalies, they can generate an electronic message alerting the student of missing assignments or projects. The first author has used this technique with great results. And, surprisingly, the students in the class have provided evidence that they appreciate the early intervention (within the allowed ethical, privacy, security framework provided by the systems’ tools).
Issues and Solutions for Preventing Dropouts
Academic Preparation
Financial Resources
Work-Study Balance
Problem
Inadequate preparation for the rigor of college, either due to poor high school education or difficulties adjusting to the college workload.
Students and their families may not be able to afford to pay for tuition and books.
Many students are unable to regulate and balance work, life, fun, and study into their schedules. Students may not possess basic time-management skills or are simply working long hours (part-time or even full-time.)
Solution
Offer online tutoring- mentoring (provided by work-study students or retirees); create and offer personalized, and alternative assignments; require to complete prerequisites before each difficult assignment; and offer online/mobile prep learning opportunities for students that may be identified as at-risk.
Increase financial assistance and initiate micro-financing accessible to students from low income families or provide mini-scholarships for work-study students.
Provide online/mobile time management tools and just-in-time tutorials. Also, an interactive application that can assist students manage their time more effectively.
Track and intervene, based on timely data about the students’ progress, performance and outcomes.
Currently, many institutions with low-retention rates do not offer online tutoring and mentoring services for at-risk students, while they might already be providing mentorship programs for athletes and honor students. That is, not all students have access to or are aware of opportunities to have an online mentor. Online tutoring and mentoring can lead to a better feeling of belonging for students. In a study performed by Colvin and Ashman (2010), it was found that peer mentoring was a successful way to make students feel a sense of belonging (Colvin & Ashman, 2010). Peer mentoring was determined to be a motivating factor for students to stay and succeed at a university. In addition, tutoring is an excellent way for students to seek out help from other students who have already taken courses. Having a peer tutor helps students understand topics explained at their level. Both online peer mentoring and tutoring may be delivered cost-free (or minimal cost), as the tutors and mentors might already be compensated with service learning hours, for instance. And more work-study students might be able to participate from anywhere, anytime (even on weekends and evenings).
Whenever possible, university foundations may also help to implement further scholarships and financial assistance for students that are struggling to meet tuition rates. Many schools offer scholarships to students who excel in academics even when those students are less likely to drop out. But students who are struggling academically pose the larger impact on retention and graduation rates. Providing micro-financing tools for tuition payments and textbooks might be developed by partnering with private corporations or non-governmental organizations.
For those students who struggle with academics, the online mentors/tutors previously mentioned could help them submit applications for assistantships. Financial aid is already offered for students who cannot afford college by the university and by the state. Universities should simply make students more aware of the aid that is available and consider partnering with private companies to provide micro-financing when students are unable to qualify for current aid. More importantly, faculty could choose to utilize more open-source content. Rather than requiring expensive textbooks, professors can use online open-source textbooks and instructional materials. This would save students hundreds of dollars per semester and lead to overall improved student persistence and well-being.
TRIO (2018) Student Support Services is a federal outreach program designed to identify and provide services for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds and offers many services including academic and career advising, tutoring, peer coaching, workshops, summer bridge programs, and computer lab to name a few. When students are accepted at a university as their college of choice, they receive an email from TRIO SSS stating that they could apply for the program. To be a part of TRIO SSS and use their service one has to either be a first-generation college student, be considered to have low income or have a disability. TRIO student support services include financial literacy, and financial workshops and some students receive a scholarship. The required advising meetings are personal, and the advisors are all equipped with knowledge of the university and are able to answer any questions. Further, they keep notes of the students on the computers and have access to the students’ grades.
Since TRIO SSS is federally funded program, statistics are gathered often, and a report showing the completion rate for student support service participants seeking bachelor’s degrees who were full-time, first-time first-year students at four-year institutions went from 42 percent to 51 percent (Ginder et al. 2015). This increase may not seem significant but TRIO SSS supported 103,691 students at four-year institutions and 101,065 students at two-year institutions, and the fact that these students even through adversity are able to graduate is excellent. With further studies in the program, there should be advancements in continuing to increase the percentage of graduates. Could a similar program be implemented online for all at-risk students?
With adequate funding, a similar program could be implemented online. But the school would have to find an automated way to identify students that fall into the at-risk category (i.e., the danger of potentially dropping out). Fortunately, as mentioned earlier, universities are already using big data and predictive analytics to analyze large amounts of data from former students’ records in order to identify those current students, many from low-income families, who seemed most likely to drop out of school. Although not a simple project, this could be implemented at scale by developing a machine-learning/deep-learning algorithm developed for this purpose. Of course, academic counselors might need to be retrained in order to evaluate their students and implement interventions. Proactive counselor meetings should be required every semester so that the students’ well-being is evaluated in addition to their curriculum pathway.
Of course, the new system would require personnel changes across the university. Since each department at the university may be affected by the others throughout the process, clear communication between stakeholders is essential. As shown in Figure 2, whoever makes executive decisions, usually, the President, Provost or Vice-President for Enrollment Management would have to initiate a restructuring or process re-engineering or develop the new system. Then the appropriate software would need to be developed or procured followed by extensive training. The software would be a large initial outlay of funds. But the cost may be recouped by the resulting increase the graduation rates since many schools are receiving performance-based funding.
Walter Rodriguez, PhD, PE
Faculty of Record and Founding Director
Coursewell.com
walter@coursewell.com
* Based on: Rodriguez, W., Bass, T., Souza, D., Lynch, J., Lystad, M., White, A. (2019). Ubiquitous Learning: Improving Persistence via Student-Support Applications. Ubiquitous Learning: An International Journal, 12(3), 19-39.
Additional Sources:
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Beckmann, E. A. 2010. “Learners on the move: Mobile modalities in development studies.” Distance Education, 31(2): 159–173.
Benson, V., and Morgan, S. 2013. “Student experience and ubiquitous learning in higher education: impact of wireless and cloud applications.” Creative Education, 4 (8a): 1–5.
Bland, T. 2016. “FGCU’s Graduation Falls, Board Disappointed.” The News-Press. April 19. https://www.news-press.com/story/news/education/2016/04/18/fgcus-graduation-rate-falls-board-disappointed/83082730/
Boden, G. T. 2012. “Retention and graduation rates: Insights from an extended longitudinal view.” Journal of College Student Retention, 13(2): 179–203. http://ezproxy.fgcu.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/885727626?accountid=10919
Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC). 2013. “CIC Online Learning Collaboration: A Vision and Framework.” Champaign, Illinois 61820. http://www.cic.net
Chen, Rong. 2012. “Institutional Characteristics and College Student Dropout Risks: A Multilevel Event History Analysis.” Research in Higher Education 53(5): 487–505. Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11162-011-9241-4
Chronicle of Higher Education. 2018. “The Future of Learning: How Colleges Can Transform the Educational Experience.” https://store.chronicle.com/products/the-future-of-learning-how-colleges-can-transform-the-educational-experience
College Factual. 2018. “Florida Gulf Coast University Graduation & Retention.” March 18. https://www.collegefactual.com/colleges/florida-gulf-coast-university/academic-life/graduation-and-retention/#chart-graduation-rate-first-full
Colvin, J., and Ashman, M. 2010. Roles, Risks, and Benefits of Peer Mentoring Relationships in Higher Education. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 18(2): 121–134. DOI: 10.1080/13611261003678879
DeNicco, J., Fogg, N., and Harrington, P. 2014. "Factors of One-Year College Retention in a Public State College System." Center for Civic Innovation. December 31. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1056244.
Faas, C., Benson, M.J., Kaestle, C.E., and Savla, J. 2017. “Socioeconomic
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Fozdar BI, and Kumar LS. 2017. Mobile learning and student retention. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning. 8(2):1–8.
Ginder, S.A., Kelly-Reid, J.E., and Mann, F.B. 2015. “Graduation Rates for
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Haynie, D. 2015. “Experts Debate Graduation Rates for Online Students.” https://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/articles/2015/01/30/experts-debate-graduation-rates-for-online-students
Herrera, S. G., Morales, A. R., Holmes, M. A., and Dawn, H. T. 2012. “From remediation to acceleration: Recruiting, retaining, and graduating future culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) educators.” Journal of College Student Retention. 13(2): 229–250. http://ezproxy.fgcu.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/885727470?accountid=10919
Himma, K. E. 2007. “Foundational Issues in Information Ethics.” Library Hi Tech 25 (1): 79–94. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/07378830710735876
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Mashburn, A.J. 2001. “A Psychological Process of College Student Dropout.” Journal of College Student Retention 2(3): 173–190. http://ezproxy.fgcu.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/196728231?accountid=10919
McMurtrie, B. 2018. “The Future of Learning: How Colleges Can Transform the Educational Experience.” Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle.com/
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7 Career Skills You Need to Succeed, in Times of Disruption. And How to Develop Those Career Skills.
by Walter Rodriguez, PhD, PE
Admittedly, for the last five decades, I have been studying self-help books --- as a way to improve both myself and my teaching and entrepreneurship career. In reading those books, I have learned "critical success factors (CSF) and Key Performance Indicators (KPI)" as well as the career skills necessary to succeed in both life and business.
From teaching and interacting with students at a 2-year public community college early in my career; to teaching and research at top graduate schools for several decades, I have learned seven (7) key career skills we need in order to succeed in the information-age. Better yet, I also learned how to develop and teach those critical skills to my students. Below are the 7 key career skill that are essential to our success:
1. Confidence - According to Dr. Ivan Joseph, confidence (or rather, self-confidence) is "the ability to believe in yourself to accomplish any task, no matter the odds, no matter the difficulties, no matter the adversity." Fortunately, self-confidence is a "learn-able" skill. You may develop confidence through consistent participation in sports or hobbies or anything you can become good at or passionate about to persist despite challenges. Reason: Building confidence takes "repetition, repetition, repetition." For instance, if you like to learn how to shoot a 3-pointer, you practice consistently using the 3-point technique. [This is related to what Malcolm Gladwell's calls the "10,000-hour" rule --- which we will discuss in Skill # 7 below).]
2. Collaboration is the ability to "work together to a common purpose to achieve business benefit." Anya Kamentez's "How to Raise a Brilliant Child, According to Science" states that "collaboration is everything from getting along with others to controlling your impulses so you can get along and not kick someone else off the swing." Yes, she is referring to kids, but haven't you observed and become frustrated by adults or coworkers or friends behaving a similar manner? I have experienced this at all levels during my long career (but I better stop there before I get in trouble.)
3. Communication includes exchanging data, information, knowledge and wisdom in both verbal and visual form. In the information age, learning how to use productivity office software (spreadsheet and presentation tools) is almost as relevant as: speaking, writing, reading and, more importantly, listening. In fact, listening is an absolutely essential ability to building long-lasting relationships, as further discussed in Skill # 6 below.
4. Systems Thinking (and critical thinking) involves the use of framework and models. This requires a full blog article. But, the video below is a great start!
5. Creative Innovation is absolutely essential to our career growth and development. It is not "the left-brain/right-brain binary that we've come to believe."Fortunately, creative innovation can be learned, since it's essentially a process. It's about being willing to explore tens or hundred or thousands of ideas that may ultimately fail. It involves being willing to seek solutions, after having failed and failed until you find a working idea.
6. Reading peoples's emotions is a key to enduring relationships and successful negotiations, according to Roger Fisher and Daniel Shapiro ["Beyond Reason: Using Emotions as You Negotiate"]. For instance, "expressing appreciation," that is, finding and showing value in what others say, "think, feel, or do" is a powerful tool. If you meet what seem to be a seemingly stressed-out colleague, ask: What do you think your colleague is thinking? Is it better to leave him alone, or ask him/her if everything is okay? or try to identify what worries him or her, based on what you know about this person and his/her family? How do you think they feel, and will it be better to wait and comeback later?
7. Specialty Content Knowledge - The last (but essential) career skill is the specialty content knowledge; that is, being an expert in your selected career. According to Malcolm Gladwell, it takes "10,000 hours of practice to achieve mastery in a field."Surprisingly, "natural talent" is not as important--and that's good news for the rest of us. Content knowledge building on the other six skills. Initially, when you start learning a difficult or tedious subject, you/we may feel inclined to abandon. But, ask yourself: How come many other folks in this field really like it. The answer is that they persisted until they became comfortable with the subject and finally love it. A career is like marriage or long-term friendships, you have to be patient and work at it every day, persistently.
Job Preparation and Certification Training Programs Deliver Good Jobs
The Christian Science Monitor (Shekhtman, L., 2016) indicates that "a growing body of evidence is showing promising career results for people who train in moderately technical skills that employers in manufacturing, IT, and healthcare say they desperately need."
Job preparation and career certification training in computer, technical and business skills, particularly, in IT and healthcare is an efficient and effective way to get ready for a good job. Reason: There are not enough technically-skilled workers to fill the many jobs available in the marketplace.
That’s why about half of the states are sponsoring training programs that bridge the knowledge and skills gaps in the local labor markets. This approach is gaining popularity at the regional, national and state level. But these programs are very expensive and cumbersome to manage.
In response to the skill-gap need, Florida Gulf Coast University’s Institute for Technological Innovation has developed a low-cost ($100/year) job preparation and career certification program in partnership with business and industry. This program provides online computer, technical and business skills training and may be viewed on a mobile device or computer from anywhere, anytime. The objective is to reach as many students and other community participants as possible by providing accessible and inexpensive training--including video lessons and self-assessments.
References
ASEE (2016). “ED Announces Pilot Allowing Financial Aid to Innovative Coursework Partnerships.” American Society for Engineering Education. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
Shekhtman, L., (2016). "Training programs promise good jobs without college degrees. Can they deliver?" Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
"Job Training Works." But Can It Also Help Retain At-Risk Students?
A recent article in the New York Times titled "Job Training Works. So Why Not Do More?" applauds the success of in-demand career certification training programs, such as Information Technology certification in computers and networking (i.e., CompTIA A+ and Network+), among several others.
The article focuses on the merits of a "Women in Technology" job-training program sponsored by a non-profit organization in New York. The success of job-training programs has been further replicated and validated by WorkAdvance --where a variety of organizations created experimental in-demand training programs spanning from IT to healthcare. This real-life "experiment" demonstrated that job-training participants were able to increase earnings. Further, many participants felt very hopeful about their career path and future earning potential.
So, Job Training Works. But, as the article asks: why not do more?
Job or career training has also been used very effectively to retain employees in their current jobs or to promote employees within their firm. Employees value these types of on-the-job-training as much as their salary & benefits. And employers value the industry-based certification training credentials that participants obtain. So, everyone wins.
But, now, can career training programs also help retain and persistently engage students? In my experience leading and offering in-demand career training, sponsored by the Department of Defense, National Science Foundation and private foundations, I have witness how these types of job-related, practical training, can improve student retention---even when these extracurricular programs are not generally being regarded as a genuine academic pursuit for faculty.
During the last twenty years, I/we have been incorporating practical training exercises in my online business courses at Florida Gulf Coast University (from CompTIA A+ and Excel training to e-commerce and webpage development exercises) with great success. Essentially, close to 100% of the participants and students have passed our courses with at least a C+ average and the general class average has been around B+.
I believe it's time to try this practical approach with the general student population, particularly with at-risk students (or courses, where their is a high dropout rate.) In general, I have found that we can retain students by using the following strategies:
- Use engaging activities and exercises that mimic real-life (and involve their peers)
- Focus on in-demand courses and programs related to what (at-risk) students do well
- Provide pre-tests for the content or knowledge area to be discussed as well as tests and post-tests, after students have reviewed the materials and obtained feedback, respectively
- Monitor students' progress using technology (such as, Learning Management Systems' analytics)
- As the system analyzes and uncovers a problem (i.e., missing tests or low performance), seek early intervention (i.e., what's up?; why did you missed the pre-test?)
- Provide in-demand practical skills that at-risk students feel they can use to find a future job and improve their financial situation. Relevance is key!
- Implement individualized, self-paced career training experiences and programs in the student's area of interest.
- If a student is going to drop (or it's being forced to withdraw for a semester or year, due to low grades), provide an alternative short career path, for instance, a one-semester career certification training program. It's a very practical and inexpensive way to keep at-risk students engaged and hopeful about their futures!
Medical Administration & IT Careers: Health Informatics Training
Contact: Walter Rodriguez, PhD, PE at wrodrigz@fgcu.edu
Target Audience: Healthcare and administration professionals looking to understand health care information systems.
Tuition: $4000
Financial Assistance: Funding for this program would come directly from participants through tuition. Check if your employer is offering tuition assistance to employees interested in this training.
Duration: 16 Weeks
Online, Self-Paced Modules:
Module 1: Understanding EMR/HER; AHIMA focus geared specifically toward electronic medical records and technology; Health Information Management (HIM) practices being replaced by technology.
Module 2: Understanding the interdependency of Revenue Cycle Informatics on Clinical Informatics and Clinical Care.
Module 3: Differences between Health Informatics requirements for the Hospital, Outpatient, and Ambulatory (Physician Office) settings.
Module 4: Considering deployment methods; HIM/HIS practically applied in the LMHS work environment.
Module 5: Healthcare IT (EHR, single sign-on, meaningful use, PCMH, joint commission, CPOE)
Module 6: Key Topics and Assignments from the textbook below.
Textbook:
Wager, K.A., Health Care Information Systems: A Practical Approach for Health Care Management 3rd Edition. Participants will directly purchase or rent the textbook at http://www.amazon.com/Health-Care-Information-Systems-Management/dp/1118173538/ref=pd_sim_14_6?ie=UTF8&dpID=51AkSEdY4JL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR130%2C160_&refRID=1GYQVR9HSVM33GNAZ9TA
Medical Administration Careers: Medical Scribes Can Learn About Sepsis and SIRS by Watching Videos and Discussing Scenarios
Medical Scribes can learn medical terminology and familiarize themselves with medical procedures by watching videos and discussing scenarios like the one below.
By Walter Rodriguez, PhD and Valerie Weiss, MD
“Sepsis and SIRS are severe conditions that require interventions to counteract. If not treated properly, then multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) and death may occur.””
Lesson: What is Sepsis? Sepsis is the presence in tissues of harmful bacteria and their toxins, typically through infection of a wound (Ref. https://vimeo.com/129916157). Check also: SIRS
Scenario
Pedro Ramirez is a 67-year old retired veteran who had a routine prostate biopsy in an outpatient hospital facility on Thursday. He was released in the late afternoon and went home with his wife, Gladys. Pedro had a heavy dinner and watched TV with Gladys in their family room. Pedro complained of feeling “crummy” but nothing that a little rest couldn’t fix. Gladys went to bed at 9:30 p.m. leaving him alone. When she awoke at 6:00 a.m. on Friday, and he wasn’t in bed beside her, she went downstairs and found him lying on the family room floor. He was extremely drowsy, shivering, and had urinated on himself.
Gladys called 911. The local EMS arrived and asked his wife what happened. She told them about the prostate biopsy, and that he was fine before she went to bed. She reported that Pedro had taken pre-operative antibiotics, but she didn’t know the name of the antibiotic or dosage. She wasn’t sure which medications he took regularly, as there were many bottles on his dresser.
“Post-operative infection is a broad term which applies to several types of infections a patient can experience as a consequence of undergoing surgery.””
Symptoms of Sepsis
Pedro was drifting in and out of consciousness and was only able to answer the question pertaining to his name. He was taken by ambulance to the local hospital (different than the hospital affiliated with the outpatient facility). The EMS professionals told Gladys to get dressed and meet them at the hospital. Once in the ER, the attending nurse tried to get some pertinent information from Pedro. Unfortunately, all he recalled was his biopsy. Pedro’s vital signs showed:
Temperature of 102.5 degrees F
Blood pressure 88/68 mmHg
Pulse of 122 beats per minute
Respiration rate of 32 breaths per minute
His blood pressure was dropping--he was going into shock.
Coordination of care
Gladys arrived and was told that her husband would be fine; she did not need to worry. However, she was unable to provide any more insight or a list of his meds. She did not know his baseline vital signs. It was Pedro’s first ER experience in this hospital so he had no prior records on file. The ER doctors determined he was in septic shock and once stabilized would be moved to a critical care unit for recovery. Once stabilized, Pedro was able to provide a list of his meds to the nurses. The hospitalist came to see Pedro who said he would contact his primary care physician (PCP) to provide an update. During the next two days (the weekend), numerous tests were administered to Pedro to test for the function of his heart, kidney, liver, etc.
The hospital staff was unable to gain his medical records from the outpatient facility where the prostate biopsy was performed because it was done in another hospital system. On Monday, they were considering a pacemaker because his heart rate was so low. Frustrated by all of the uncertainty, his wife Gladys called the PCP and asked why she wasn’t involved. Dr. de' Medicis, the PCP, said the hospitalist never notified her that her patient of 15 years was in the hospital. She also told Gladys that Pedro had a very low resting heart rate when well and that his current heart rate was normal! At that moment, Dr. de' Medecis (PCP) stepped in and coordinated Pedro’s care with the hospital.
Discussion Questions:
1. How would Electronic Medical Records (EMR) and Electronic Health Records (EHR) help in the above scenario?
2. How would a Medical Scribe assist the Hospitalist and/or the PCP in this scenario?
Healthcare Jobs: Understanding the Difference between Medical Scribes, Medical Transcriptionists, and Medical Billers & Coders
“A medical scribe partners with the physician to perform documentation in the electronic health record.””
By Valerie Weiss, MD
The role of a Medical Scribe
The medical scribe’s primary role is the generation and maintenance of the patient’s medical record, which is created under the supervision of the physician. The medical scribe shadows the physician and documents the patient’s story through the physician’s interaction with the patient. The scribe will also document any procedures performed and the results of any laboratory studies. Scribes document the roadmap of the patient while under the direct care of the physician. A well-written medical record will result in smoother claims processing and provides a medico-legal resource as to the care provided. Because the medical scribe’s role is clinically-focused on observing and documenting the patient’s encounter, many scribes use this invaluable experience as a stepping-stone to further their own education in the health arena.
“Medical scribes become well versed in Medical Terminology as well as Anatomy and Physiology.””
The role of a Medical Transcriptionist
In contrast, a medical transcriptionist, while also in the healthcare field, does not see the patient alongside the physician. Typically, the medical transcriptionist works in a quiet office setting removed from the workflow of seeing patients. The medical transcriptionist’s job is to listen to a physician’s voice dictation and convert that into a written report. A growing trend in medicine is for a physician to utilize voice recognition technology while dictating. The software will convert the physician’s spoken word into a written record. Often, some of the dictation is lost in translation or interpreted incorrectly by the software. A medical transcriptionist’s role, in this case, is to review and edit these medical documents.
The role of a Medical Biller
Even though medical billing and coding are often lumped together, they are actually two distinct jobs. Essentially, a medical biller is a healthcare worker who is tasked with making sure everyone is billed correctly. A medical biller may talk to patients as well as health insurance companies to make sure all invoices are paid correctly and in a timely manner. A medical biller needs to understand coding language and how to read medical invoices.
The role of a Medical Coder
In contrast to a medical biller, a medical coder, does not have communication with the patient or insurance company. The medical coder spends time assessing the medical chart to make sure it is coded with the correct medical codes. Coders must be accurate. Medical coders employ the International Classification of Diseases or ICD. The World Health Organization periodically upgrades the ICD. The current model being used is ICD-10.