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profile: 2003 Registrar
of the Year
Kenneth R. Mullin, Underwood-Memorial
Hospital |
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Customer Snapshot |
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In the fall of 1999, Underwood-Memorial Hospital was two years
behind in reporting cases to the state registry and actively
looking for a tumor registrar when Kenneth Mullin walked through
the door looking for part-time work. Although he had no registry
experience, he accepted the challenge of a full-time position
while he continued his consulting work at the Veterinary
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
Reinvigorating the Registry
With the help of the IMPAC system and several part-time
abstractors, Mullin began inputting data. Within six months,
Mullin and his team had cleaned up the backlog and began working
on the current records. According to his manager, Bonnie Zahn,
RHIA, “at this point, the facility could no longer justify the
part-time employees and Ken was on his own.” He quickly rose to
the challenge and developed a system for organizing and
monitoring new cases. “Ken also began following up on patients
whose abstracts had not been updated for two years or more – all
while studying for his CTR exam, which he passed in March 2001,”
she explained.
Trouble-shooting with IMPAC
The beginning was not without its challenges though. Mullin had
to rely on IMPAC’s technical support to get him up and running.
“I wouldn’t underestimate the tremendous support I received from
IMPAC. It’s the best customer support I’ve ever received from a
software or hardware vendor,” he said.
A Natural Leader
Mullin’s experience grew over time as he attended
state-sponsored workshops and national association meetings. On
his first trip to the National Association of Cancer Registrars
(NCRA) and the state meeting, he returned as the assistant
editor for The Connection, the NCRA newsletter, and a member of
the state meeting’s education committee. “Ken has been
instrumental in garnering honors for our facility,” explained
Zahn. Underwood-Memorial Hospital has won an award for “Timely
and Complete Reporting of Cancer Cases” for two consecutive
years.
A Rewarding Career
“What I love about being a tumor registrar is that you never do
the same thing twice. Every case is different and every day is
different,” said Mullin. “Plus, I enjoy statistics and doing
reports. With IMPAC, I am able to generate reports on a monthly
basis that give the cancer committee a better scope of our
hospital’s performance working with cancer patients,” he said.
In his spare time, Mullin continues his consulting job at the
Veterinary Hospital. He is also a published fiction writer and a
trainee in the Weight Watcher Leadership Program. |
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