Carol Mulheim, OCRA President
As I read this memo on “Just ‘What is’ A Cancer Registrar“, I smiled and chuckled and realized each little notation was spot on. I have been in the Registry field since 1987, and yes there have been many changes, from Staging Manuals, ICD-9 to ICD-10, ROADS to FORDS, ACOS survey requirements, and on and on and on…
People in the Cancer Registry field are a breed all our own, in many different ways. We do adapt, we may fight it, but we accept changes in the end. Sometimes we do not think we know all that much, until you really start to ponder or someone asks you a question about a cancer then you realize you have just talked for 15 minutes on one subject. Yes, sometimes we know way too much! We all must like putting puzzles together. We do it every day at work, and we are not satisfied until all the pieces are together and they tell the whole story. And we will keep searching for data no matter what until we achieve completion of the puzzle and our abstract.
Errors – we all make errors. Some of us are a little more obsessive with the errors, and we want to make sure it truly is an error before we admit it. That is good, because we are learning and the learning never STOPS… Our profession does not permit us to stop learning as they keep changing the rules, staging, tests, adding new tests, new results, and on and on and on…
We have a language all our own, and I know you are agreeing with me right now. I can make my husband’s head spin when there are 2 or more registrars around and we are talking work. We have a code or abbreviation for everything, site, histology, ER, PR, HER-2, Onco DX – say what… and we know exactly what each other is referring too.
With Cancer Registrars Week approaching, look at this little memo on:
Just “what is” a Cancer Registrar
I am blessed to be a part of a wonderful group of Professionals and to be President of the Ohio Cancer Registrars Association. Please be proud of your profession and the work you do.
Sincerely,
Carol A. Mulheim, CTR
President – OCRA 2016-2018
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