Monday, October 29, 2012

Mentoring and Learning



Were you fortunate enough to have a mentor somewhere along your career path?  I find that within neurodiagnostic technology, mentoring is a great way to help give a boost to someone who is trying to prepare for a Board Exam or learn a new modality.  Many technologists work in rural areas or in a one-person lab and they feel isolated and alone and have no one to go to with questions.  I get those kind of calls every day!  ASET used to have a formal mentor program to try to connect those who needed to learn, with those willing to coach.  Although we do not formally offer this program any more, I do try to find help for people who really need it.  You might wonder why the mentor program was dropped.  I found that it was extremely difficult to find a qualified person to serve as a mentor for a specific tech who needed help, mostly due to the geographic challenges.  The techs wanted mentors they could visit in person, and that was next to impossible to find.
I had a very special mentor, early in life who inspired me and gave me confidence, my grandmother, whom I called “Nana”.  She was born in Eastport, Maine in 1898, one of seven children in a fairly poor family.  But she really could cook!  Most of the time she did so without a written recipe.   She taught me how to cook at a very early age.  I remember being small enough, maybe six or seven, when I stood on a stool in front of the stove while she made a fish chowder.  She showed me how it should look, and when to add ingredients.  I have made chowders ever since, fish and clam chowders that get rave reviews from guests.  So, I decided to enter a Chowder Competition here in Boothbay.  I was competing with about 20 restaurant chefs.  I did O.K. and had loads of fun but did not win, place or show.  But I learned a lot that I can use when I try again next year.  Here is a picture of me as “Fish Chowder Faye”.

  On a sad note, this historic ship, the Bounty, a replica used for the movie and for other films such as Pirates of the Caribbean, was being repaired at the shipyard where the chowderfest took place in Boothbay Harbor and I took this picture. 

This ship just left Maine and sailed South, and was lost at sea off of Cape Hatteras, due to Hurricane Sandy.  Most of the crew were rescued, two are lost.

Back to the mentoring:  You too have important skills and knowledge that you can share with others.  Please reach out to techs that you know and offer to help them prepare for exams or learn new skills, from IONM to lab management!  Your contribution will help build our profession and our work force.  My next entry will include more about lab management, as I have questions for all of you pertaining to your needs in this area.

Monday, October 1, 2012

What is up in 2013? EEG, LTM and ICU Monitoring and Nerve Conduction Educational Schedule


I am packing my bags for Phoenix this week, to manage the ASET Fall Seminar Courses, and our local host is the Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center.  We will be offering two courses concurrently:  “Essentials and Updates in EEG Technology” and “Advanced LTM and ICU Monitoring”.   We have 16 staff nurses from the Phoenix area who are planning to attend our LTM/ICU course.  It is nice to know that we have the respect of the medical community as the experts on continuous EEG monitoring!  Our EEG course is designed to cover all the subjects that you can expect to find in the ABRET part I and part II exams.  People have asked if the content of the ABRET EEG exam will change when the oral exam is phased out in 2013.  ABRET has reassured us that the content will be the same, only the way the exam is given will be changing.
I thought my readers might like to know what the ASET Educational Calendar will be for 2013.  I have just finalized the 2013 ASET Spring and Fall Seminar dates and locations.   ASET has also been invited to host a one day course at the 2013 American Epilepsy Society annual conference in Washington D.C.!  This is a first for us!  The content will cover all technical aspects of LTM and ICU monitoring, and our expected audience will include physicians and nurses, as well as technologists.
 So, please mark your calendars and try to attend one of these great events!

2013 ASET Spring Seminar Courses:  April 6-7, at the Mayo Clinic Campus
in Jacksonville, FL
Excelling in EEG (2 days)
Comprehensive LTM and ICU Monitoring (2 days)
2013 ASET Annual Conference:  Aug. 1-3, at the Peppermill Resort in Reno, NV (3 days)
2013 ASET Fall Seminar Courses, Oct. 5-6, Indiana University Campus, Neuroscience Center,
 Indianapolis, IN
Excelling in EEG (2 days)
NCS Learning Lab (2 days)
ICU Monitoring and Neurotelemetry (Oct 5th only)

ASET Course at the AES conference in Washington D.C., Sunday, Dec. 8th
Technical Aspects of LTM and ICU Monitoring

Please note:  I will be out of my office from Wed. Oct. 3 through Mon. Oct. 8th for my trip to Phoenix.  Looking forward to revisiting summer!  It has been 40 degr
degrees here at night, 60 degrees during the day, and now I will get to experience 100 degree heat!