In 2003 I left the publishing company to work for a small electronic health records company.

They were using Dragon Dictate, then a very big deal, paired with customized templates in a software program that saved physicians thousands of dollars on transcription by allowing them to talk directly into their chart notes.

The owners saw I had a knack for working with the physicians and soon allowed to offer support. Then, training. Soon I was remotely installing software and chatting with licensed physicians all over the country. I customized templates, solved problems, and got teams up and running.

I noticed that the same problems would come up regardless of specialty. At the time we had a very thin manual that was text-heavy. I had a background in writing and design so I decided to give it a go.

I worked between phone calls. Within a few weeks, I had rewritten our user manual. It was a comprehensive document with illustrated step-by-step directions.

The new manual was accepted and distributed to all new clients. As I had hoped, some common frustrations were reduced. This lead to me updating the manual for each of our releases and updates.

I worked with them for a while and enjoyed the combination of creativity and analytical problem-solving skills. Soon, though, I graduated from massage school and embarked on a career that was more lucrative.