Jerry Fahrni

Category: Uncategorized

  • Quick hit: Don’t over-specialize within HIT

    During the implementation phase of an important project you never want to hear someone say “oh, <insert name here> is the only one that can do that and they’re gone until Monday.” Doh!

    Just a friendly piece of advice: no company larger than one employee should have individuals that are so specialized that no one else can do their job in a pinch. People, especially in the healthcare information technology (HIT) field, should be crossed trained appropriately so that things like this don’t happen. Not everyone will be as good as the person that “owns” the process, but it’s better than getting caught with your pants down around your ankles. Understand my meaning? I’m just sayin’.

  • Quick Hit – The Monkey Theory

    Several years ago a member of pharmacy leadership at the hospital I was working for told a bunch of pharmacists, me included, that he could get a monkey to do our job. The statement became a running joke in the department as the pharmacists began bringing in monkey stuffed animals, monkey pencil toppers and putting up wanted posters with photos of monkeys offering a reward for information.

    As funny and insulting as the statement was, there was a hint of truth to it based on what my job duties were at the time. The “monkey statement”, as it was known, led to me re-evaluating my position there and ultimately to a job change.

    So what is the monkey theory? Well, it boils down to this; if you can teach someone to do something in a couple of hours without any prior experience or critical thinking involved then that task falls under the monkey theory. Everyone knows what I’m talking about and every job has monkey related tasks.

    I held several manual labor jobs prior to entering pharmacy school. In fact, those jobs are what made me decide to go back to school in the first place. I worked in a lumber yard, a machine shop that built flood gates for dams, as a nobody in the military and as a night watchman. Strange, but the jobs in the lumber yard and machine shop didn’t really qualify as part of the monkey theory. Both jobs required certain physical skills that many people don’t have. There was also some strange gratification gained from doing hard, physical labor day in and day out.

    Pardon me, I am reminiscing. Back to the monkey theory. What duties qualify under the rules of the monkey theory? They’re easy to figure out, just give it some thought.

    Now the big question, what percentage of monkey work is acceptable to a pharmacist? Good question, and most likely a personal choice. I’ve met pharmacists that like the “monkey work” and I’ve also met pharmacists that hate the “monkey work”. Everything is a give and take. How much are you willing to take?

    Think about it.

  • The 10,000-hour rule to becoming an expert

    Non-Clinical Medical Jobs: “According to this article on TheLadders.com: “It takes 10,000 hours of dedicated effort to become an expert performer in any field.”

    Dan Coughlin from The Coughlin Company attributes the conclusion above to the best-selling books “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell and “Talent is Overrated” by Geoff Colvin as well as the new hit TV comedy series, Modern Family. Dan writes about his personal experiences as a consultant for 12 years and he says: “From these sources as well as my own 12 years of consulting work, I have found that the key to great performance can be summarized in three words: thought-filled practice. That comprises executing a simulation of the actual performance while consciously observing the outcome.” Dan outlines the following “six steps of thought-filled practice:”

    • Select a role for which you have passion and strengths.
    • Identify the five critical aspects of that role.
    • Create simulations of the actual performance that let you focus on improving one or more of the role’s critical aspects.
    • Gain relevant, timely feedback on the simulated performance from a skilled observer .
    • Consider the feedback and make adjustments.
    • Repeat steps three to five for 10,000 hours.”

    Bummer, I’m about 8,000 hours shy of becoming an expert in my field. Guess I have some work to do.

  • Year end thoughts for 2009

    2009 brought many new and exciting changes not only in my personal life, but in the world of pharmacy and technology as well. I’ve learned many new things, gained some skills previously absent from my armamentarium, met some great new people, discovered the “real” internet for the first time, traveled more than ever before, discovered I don’t know diddly squat about a great many things, and am more excited about the next year than I can remember in recent history.

    Below is a list of opinions about a great many things that I have seen and done over the past year. Some are pharmacy related, some are technology related, some are personal, and some are just random thoughts.
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  • Top 10 most read CE activities for Pharmacists in 2009

    MedscapeCME/CE has compiled a list of the top 10 most read CE activities by Pharmacists in 2009.

    1. Avoiding Medication Errors in Psychiatry – 1.00 knowledge-based ACPE (0.100 CEUs)

    2. Avoiding Errors Associated With Insulin Therapy – 1.25 knowledge-based ACPE (0.125 CEUs)

    3. FAQs in the Modern Management of Gout – 1.00 knowledge-based ACPE (0.100 CEUs)

    4. Fast Facts in Gout – 1.00 knowledge-based ACPE (0.100 CEUs)

    5. A Home-Bound 65-Year-Old Woman With Chronic Constipation – 1.50 knowledge-based ACPE (0.150 CEUs)

    6. Special Considerations for Potential Adverse Drug Events and Medication Errors in the Pediatric Population – 1.25 knowledge-based ACPE (0.125 CEUs)

    7. Evaluation and Treatment of Patients With Atrial Fibrillation – 1.00 knowledge-based ACPE (0.100 CEUs)

    8. Implementing Changing Guidelines on Adult Immunizations: An Expert Interview With Gregory A. Poland, MD, MACP – 0.50 knowledge-based ACPE (0.050 CEUs)

    9. Managing MRSA in the Community Practice Setting – 0.50 knowledge-based ACPE (0.050 CEUs)

    10. The Science of Acid Control — Therapeutic Implications – 0.50 knowledge-based ACPE (0.050 CEUs)

    Posted via email from fahrni’s posterous

  • Merry Christmas

    And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch of their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.

    Luke 2:8-11

  • Quick Hit – What makes someone an expert?

    mrknowitallI’ve often asked myself this question as I tend to deal with “experts” in various fields from both the pharmacy and IT world. I’ve met several individuals over my short 12 year career that I wouldn’t give two cents for their opinion, but somehow they’ve been crowned an expert in their field. I find it interesting that some people refuse to challenge an expert for fear of some unforeseen negative consequence. Haven’t you ever listen to someone else’s opinion on something and think to yourself “that doesn’t sound right”, but were afraid to open your mouth and say something? Of course you have. We all have. I fell into the trap myself several weeks ago. I started following someone on Twitter because of who they were supposed to be; an expert in the world of cutting edge technology. What I found was a string of opinions that I got tired of reading secondary to their short-sided viewpoint. This particular individual would quickly dismiss other opinions as irrelevant and mock those that offered conflicting views. I found the person to be not only full of himself, but full of crap as well. I grew tired of the message, finally woke up and hit “unfollow”; done deal. I wish it was always that easy.

    So, back to my original query: who pinned the expert badge on this person? Do experts become experts because people refuse to challenge them? Does it have to do with level of education, school attended, profession, genetics, or [insert reason of choice here]? Who knows, maybe it’s a combination of everything. I can tell you from personal experience that titles and education are meaningless when it comes to raw intelligence and common sense. I work with people every day that aren’t experts in anything per se, but I trust their opinion on matters of great importance. I prefer to discuss issues with intelligent people and arrive at my own conclusions instead of getting bullied into someone else’s view. Then again maybe that’s just me.

  • Quick hit – what value do you place on experience?

    It’s been a bad week for me in terms of hospital systems giving me problems. We’ve had issues with our electronic document management system, our Pyxis system and the nursing interface with pharmacy; lots of late nights and early mornings. Who knows, maybe it has something to do with the full moon coming up tomorrow.

    Anyway, during a particularly sticky time with Pyxis I was fortunate enough to get in contact with someone who had experienced the problem before. Instead of causing me numerous hours of troubleshooting, I was on my way home only two hours later than normal.

    This brings up and interesting question, what value do you place on experienced staff? I’m of the opinion that experienced people are extremely valuable to any organization. I look at all the bright faces of the new pharmacists we hire and can’t believe I was ever that green. They’re intelligent and hardworking, but lack certain skills that can only be developed by working as a pharmacist over several years.

    I’ve always wondered what it would be like to offer pharmacists sabbaticals similar to those offered to professors at many universities. You know, find facilities across the country that are doing something better than you and trade pharmacists for a period of perhaps three months.

    There is always a better way to do things and the only way to pick up this information is to experience it for your self. I, for one, get bored easily and like to experience new things. There are several facilities that I would like to spend some time at learning new ways to use our technology. Who knows, I may have something to offer them in exchange. It’s just a thought.

  • What tablet PC information did I miss? [Week of October 4th]

    I’m constantly trolling the internet for information on tablet PCs. What can I say, I’m addicted. And believe me, there’s was no shortage of stuff to read this week. Reports of the death of the tablet PC have been greatly exaggerated. I was going to add these thoughts to the “What’d I miss” post from yesterday, but it was just too much information. Anyway, here’s some tablet PC stuff I found interesting this week.
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  • “What’d I miss?” – Week of September 27th

    As usual there were a lot of things that happened during the week, and not all of it was pharmacy or technology related. Here’s a quick look at some of the stuff I found interesting.
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