Members Only | 01.01.19
NAMSS History: Going the Distance
By Kim Pakney, MAM, CPCS, CPMSM
In 1971, Charlotte Cochran and Joan Covell, both from California, decided to try and begin an organization called the Medical Staff Secretaries Association (MSSA), a name quite relevant at the time for the positions held. Not long after its founding, the MSSA became the National Association of Medical Staff Services (NAMSS) we know today.
These brave women decided to do something about this unique job. When the founders started their careers, medical staff services was just for hospitals. It’s now also used for managed care, insurance carriers, group practices, and so much more. Almost 50 years later, you might hear us complain that we don’t get the recognition we deserve, but the tides have truly changed for the better. The respect they sought after 48 years ago has not only been earned, but it continues to grow. We now have vice presidents, senior directors, health system directors, regional directors, managers, credentialing coordinators, medical staff coordinators, and more. No matter how progressive we have become, there is still a multitude of ways in which the MSP role, and perception thereof, needs to evolve. Some MSPs are still labeled “secretaries,” while other departments have progressed more quickly. I wonder if those lovely founding ladies knew what they were embarking on all those years ago and if they would have believed it today. They were young when they started, and they got to see their organization grow and change over time and witness what NAMSS has become. Unfortunately, we lost Charlotte two years ago, but Joan is still with us and sees the fruits of their labor. We are fortunate that Charlotte had the opportunity to see the outcomes, too.
As I have educated myself over the years, I remember Susan B. Anthony and the brave ladies who fought for women’s rights to vote, just over 100 years ago. That’s not a long time for a right we take for granted today. These were the leaders of the 20th century who dared to dream and stepped out into the spotlight to move humanity forward. We never know who will take that big step to move the country — and sometimes the world — forward. For us at NAMSS, it was Charlotte and Joan who started the journey to lead us where we are today. They started it, but so many amazing men and women have continued to go the distance for our profession.
As we move into the next 50 years, NAMSS leadership thought it was important to do a series of articles on the history of our organization. We are calling it “Going the Distance,” as later this year, our 43rd Educational Conference and Exhibition is in Philadelphia, home of the Rocky Balboa statue, and we are doing just that. Who can forget that iconic scene! In the six editions of Synergy this year, we are going to help you understand our history one decade at a time. By the time you arrive in Philadelphia, you’ll have a pretty great idea of where we came from.
I was asked to help with this series of articles because six years ago, I was a director at large on the NAMSS Board of Directors. I headed a task force with several of our past presidents to see how we could begin to preserve our history in a more formal way. At the time, we just had a list of past presidents with no pictures on the website. Having served in various volunteer positions, I consider myself an active and in‑tune NAMSS member, and I believe that our history should be preserved and those who helped us get where we are today should be honored.
If you have not yet seen it, that little ad hoc committee on history helped NAMSS create the NAMSS Interactive History. You can access the NAMSS Interactive History here.
The NAMSS Interactive History shows many snippets of our key events going back to 1971. If you look at the last decade, NAMSS’ headquarters in Washington, D.C., is doing an excellent job of annually recording the exciting and progressive things happening at NAMSS. This year, part of my project is to expand on the NAMSS Interactive History in Synergy. These articles will provide recordings of firsts for the organization and will highlight the battles that, although progressing, we are still fighting today. Some of those battles include higher pay, nicer titles, and acknowledgment of the vast services we provide. Even today, we are fighting for better recognition of the work we do.
I remember when I served as the chair of the Certification Commission, I was disturbed that I had no listing of past chairs to refer to, as there are times you could use advice. Instead, at times I had conversations with people who would say they once sat on that committee or chaired it. I was sad not to know this. How about other committees and their past leaders? I suspect I am not the only one who feels this way. One time, I was in an elevator with a past president and asked, “You look really familiar. Do I know you?” After she told me she was a past president, I was embarrassed! Why didn’t I know who this rock star, who had once led our fine organization, was? I should have been honored to be in the elevator with her, not wondering why I knew her. I should have been able to say, “I rode the elevator with a NAMSS past president!” I vowed never again.
Now, you can find a list of all our past presidents, their pictures, and when they served. Look at this list to know who these incredible volunteer leaders are. They have given valuable time to keep us moving in the right direction and uphold the dream of two lovely ladies who started it all 48 years ago. We’ve come a long way, and we will continue to go the distance.
In closing, I think we all jokingly say we got into this job by accident. We were a temp who stayed, we had a leader recognize a talent in us and think we would be the right person to figure out this credentialing piece, or perhaps we just fell into it. Once upon a time, no one ever said, “I want to be a medical staff leader when I grow up.” But after 50 years, that is no longer true. I personally know two people whose mothers were in the profession, so they followed in their footsteps. I think that is pretty cool. After all this time, we’ve really come a long way!
This year, join me in each issue of Synergy for a look at our fascinating past and where we are today. It’s important to know where we came from, but we must also look to the future. Discover what lies ahead for NAMSS in the final issue of 2019.
This article appeared in the January/February 2019 issue of Synergy.
Kim Pakney, MAM, CPCS, CPMSM, has worked in hospitals and now as an independent consultant for over 20 years. Kim spent much of that time in Alaska, only returning to the lower 48 in August 2013. Kim enjoys spending time with her family, traveling for work and pleasure, and is an avid reader and scrapbooker.