Let’s get Medical Staff Services Awareness Week off to a running start!

As I’m sure many of you are aware, Medical Staff Services Awareness Week is November 1-7. To get the celebrations off to a bang, I thought I’d ask some MSPs what this upcoming week means to them and how being an MSP has shaped their lives. Here’s what Kathleen Tafel, medical staff services consultant and former manager, medical staff services at Ellis Hospital in Schenectady, NY had to say:
 
I came to the world of credentialing through the good fortune of an interview with two individuals: the director of medical affairs and the chief medical officer. They assessed a myriad of talents, both hard and soft (computer skills, medical terminology, meeting organization, supervisory and leadership, committee participation and leadership) and matched them to the skill-set they were looking for to fulfill the manager position for Medical Staff Services. 

I will always be grateful to them for their ability to match my talents to the position.  Medical staff services was a new field for me at that time, and their assessment of my talents provided me an opportunity do a second interview with the chief of staff, vice chief of staff, the chief executive officer, and the chair of the credentials committee. 

As an MSP, I’ve honed my talent for interpreting standards, laws, and regulations that affect practitioners and developing procedures and protocols that frame the process of credentialing to meet those parameters. Working in the field of credentialing helps one to find their personal niche. For some it might be organization and time frames, developing credentialing frameworks that meet regulations, researching, or supporting meetings.
 
Working as an MSP is engaging and stimulating because you are interacting with every level of the organization for which you work. You are part of something that affects an entire community. You have a vested interest in how well the work is done because in most instances, you too, are residing in that community and may have occasion to seek the services of the very individuals you and your credentialing crew have credentialed.
 
Congratulations to each and every individual who has a role in the credentialing process!  Medical Staff Services week tips its hat to each of you for a job well done!