Leadership | 02.08.21
Mentorship Is Education: Turning Questions Into a Learning Tool
By Edie G. Cole
NAMSS offers many educational opportunities, and connecting with a mentor via the Mentorship Program is one of them. Mentors are more than just friendly faces in your profession — they are a valuable source of knowledge and experience to help you grow and succeed in your career. Here, Edie Cole shares how her mentor, Chris Hinton, prioritizes the value of education to help Cole grow in her career.
We live in a convenient time where all we need to do is ask Google or Alexa something, and we have answers to our questions. Well, most of the time. The work of an MSP is vast, and finding direct answers is not easy. The NAMSS Mentorship Program launched by NAMSS is so valuable. Being able to partner with someone who has knowledge and experience to share truly becomes immeasurable. NAMSS gives you the opportunity to submit your profile and evaluate the mentors to help you find a great match. There are some great mentor resources out there, and we need to use them.
My mentor, Chris Hinton, brings me so much encouragement as well as knowledge. She is always willing to answer my urgent questions. Chris tries to turn my questions into a learning tool. As you know, every accreditation has their own requirements and not all are the same. She will help me find my answer and dissect it down to vast majority and then to my own facility’s regulations. I think it is important for a mentor to be a teacher as well as a friend. We need to learn from those who have experienced this world. Just providing an answer is not good enough. We need to be taught how to find that answer and understand the potential impacts of misinterpreting what we find. A mentor can provide that.
Most recently, she has been assisting me in studying for my CPCS exam. Chris and I learn in very similar styles, so we get along very well, and I understand her viewpoints and recommendations. We sit and discuss the topics I need to become more familiar with and also apply them directly to my daily job. I had the extreme pleasure to get to work with Chris for a very short time. She filled in through her contract job to assist with credentialing. I am the medical staff coordinator. Never once did she make me feel like I was in over my head. Her guidance was steady and sure, all with smiles and laughter. Anyone who works with Chris understands that. Those who look to her in the Mentorship Program will enjoy her and appreciate her. I hope we continue after my study journey through CPCS and CPMSM certifications as friends, colleagues, and a resource of endless information.
Chris has been involved in the medical staff world in every role there is. That knowledge is very well rounded. If she does not have the immediate answer, she knows how to find it and shares those resources with me. Google and Alexa do not have all of the answers, but Chris does or can find them. I thank NAMSS for providing this opportunity to those of us who need that one go-to person for help and assistance. I encourage anyone involved in the MSP world to find a mentor. We all need someone at our disposal to laugh with, grumble with, and learn with. Sign up for a mentor and learn very quickly how valuable this program is and can become.
Are you interested in mentorship? Find or become a mentor with the NAMSS Mentorship Program. Looking for more educational opportunities? Register for a course during NAMSS Education Month, starting this March.
Edie G. Cole is a medical staff coordinator for Samaritan Healthcare in Moses Lake, Washington.