Heed the 1̶5̶ 10 Commandments of Charting

Today’s post will be a lighthearted, pun-filled reimagination of the 10 Commandments as they pertain to charting.

It goes without saying, but I am not a religious scholar.

However, I do know a thing or two about charting.

Oh, and apologies ahead of time for my olde English.

From Within a Basement, Not Atop a Mountain

I wish I could say that I was inspired to write today’s post after re-watching History of the World: Part 1.

Alas, no such luck.

(At least, I was able to reference it in the title!)

I’ll first list out the 10 charting commandments within the image below and then subsequently briefly describe them.

#1: Thou shalt have no identity before “me.”

You are so much more than a “doctor”—don’t wrap up your entire identity in your work.

You wear many hats, and doctor is just one of them.

You are innately and inherently worthy. Your worth is not determined by your “utility” as a physician, or anything else for that matter.

Your worth is solely determined by that fact that you exist. It is an inalienable part of your existence.

So put yourself first as you, your whole self.

#2: Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven EHR.

This one’s a stretch, but I’ll roll with it.

Don’t spend so much time with your electronic health record (EHR) whereby others come to believe you worship at the altar of the EHR.

Or, perhaps a more apropos interpretation would be to not let the EHR become a false idol, attaining a status separate (and greater) from what it actually is.

Your work and EHR will not love you back, no matter how much you put into them.

#3: Thou shalt not take thy wellbeing in vain.

Seriously, just don’t.

And I mean, all facets of it—your physical, mental, social, etc., wellbeing.

Why?

1. Seeing as you’re innately worthy, you deserve to take care of yourself.

2. You can only best serve your patients when you’re taken care of.

#4: Remember Saturday and Sunday, to keep for rest and fun.

You need a break from work to recuperate and recharge.

You can’t sustain yourself running a continuous mental marathon, even if you’re behind and have a backlog of charting.

Resting and taking time for yourself will make you more efficient when you return to the work you have to do.

And remember: rest is not a reward for finishing.

It’s a critical part and ongoing part of the journey.

#5: Honor thy family and friends (and show the eff up).

Unless you’re truly a lone wolf, then your wellbeing impacts more than just you.

It impacts those who depend on you as well as those who are (or choose to be) a part of your life.

There will always be more work to do, so you have to be intentional about carving out time for those around you.

And try to show up undistracted and unburdened by work.

Your family and friends deserve the best version of you, too.

#6: Thou shalt not kill thyself charting.

I’ll keep this one short.

No one on their death bed said “If only I could have charted more….”

#7: Thou shalt not commit adultery on thy partner . . . with thy EHR.

Stop sneaking out of bed at night to chart into the wee hours of the morning.

Or the more common watching a movie with them while typing away in your EHR.

See #5 above.

#8: Thou shalt not steal glances at thy work laptop when at home.

Leave your work laptop in your workbag.

Better yet, leave it at work (unless you’re on call, etc.).

#9: Thou shalt not bear false witness against thyself (ergo, banish ye imposterism).

Imposterism comes from social conditioning and denigrating internal dialogue.

It tends to affect incredibly capable and successful people—that is: you!

In medicine, it’s almost a rite of passage.

Organizational psychologist, Dr. Adam Grant, succinctly sums up the paradox of imposterism:
“– Others believe in you
– You don’t believe in yourself
– Yet you believe yourself instead of them
If you doubt yourself, shouldn’t you also doubt your judgment of yourself?”

You deserve to be here, in the arena of medicine.

So just drop that nonsense right now!

#10: Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s life . . . but thou probably should have gone into engineering instead (just sayin’).

Or become a lawyer.

Well, that’s all I have for you because…

Mel Brooks Moses GIFfrom Mel Brooks GIFs

What do you think of these 10 Commandments of Charting? Have a favorite? Does one in particular hit close to home? Let me know in the comments below.

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