Carla Edwards serves in the position of Project Director for the Oncology Services Division. Carla is tasked with overseeing and directing hospital based projects including both CoC accredited programs and those hospitals only reporting to the central registry. Carla also directs registry operations for those programs. Additionally, Carla will serve as a mentor and resource to both existing and new project managers and project specialists. She presently resides in Texarkana, Arkansas with husband Don, daughters Allie (7), Addison (3) and stepson Hunter (16).
Carla began working for Registry Partners in February 2006 as a project Certified Tumor Registrar. She was promoted to Quality Control Specialist in January, 2009 followed by Project Manager in August, 2009 where she has managed both accredited and non-accredited hospital based projects and project support staff.
Prior to joining Registry Partners, Inc., Carla attended University of Arkansas at Hope where she earned her Associate of Applied Science Degree in May of 2003 with an emphasis in Health Information Management prior to earning her national certification as a Certified Tumor Registrar (CTR), in 2004. She began her career in the Oncology field in 2001 at UAMS/AHECSW (University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Area Health Education Centers Southwest) in Texarkana, Arkansas as a cancer registry abstractor. She furthered her career as Cancer Registrar for Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, before accepting a cancer registry consulting/coordinator role with a cancer registry consulting firm.
Q&A with Carla Edwards:
What do you like about being a consultant?
The variety of work as a consultant keeps it interesting! As a consultant, you get to experience different facilities that all do things a little differently. I love that I can take what I learned from one and share with another. Whether it’s abstracting, case finding, follow up, data request, state reporting, cancer committee, CoC accreditation or NAPBC accreditation, each experience allows me to learn more and as a result have more to offer our clients.
Do you meet interesting people with your job?
Yes! It is amazing all the different people and personalities that you meet as a consultant. One of the challenges as a consultant is learning to adapt to each person’s different personality. Whether it is the administrator at the hospital or a CTR, each needs be understood to develop a good working relationship.
The most interesting person I meet was a CTR that lived in Costa Rica. Her and her husband both had good jobs in California but they decided to move for a simpler life. They were both surfers so they loved Costa Rica. Every summer, the CTR would come back to the United States and work as a consultant for a few months to earn enough money for the year. I loved hearing her stories and the difference in their lifestyle compared to the “American dream”.
What is your typical work week like?
Every week is a little different for me. I try to start my day early before anyone else is awake. It’s amazing how much you can get done in the early morning hours! Then, I stop to do our morning routine to get my 7 year old and 3 year old ready and off to school. I resume working around 8:30am until it is time to pick them up from school at 3pm. During that time, I schedule any conference calls or meetings that are needed. Every day is different. Some days I work independently with very little interaction with clients or coworkers. Other days are filled with meetings via phone or webcam. Most weeks, I have something come up that keeps me from working a full 40hrs on Monday through Friday. So, I usually finish up any remaining time on Sunday evenings