Meet Donna Nayduch. Donna is a Trauma Program Director for Samstaff.
How long have you been using AIS?
I’ve been using AIS since 1987.
What inspired you to obtain CAISS credentials?
As AIS faculty since 2000, earning the CAISS credential was an expectation as well as a way to demonstrate the credential’s importance. It’s good for faculty to lead by example.
What are your main areas of interest in the field of injury scoring?
I wouldn’t say I have one main area of ; I really enjoy everything about the process! For me, injury coding is like a game; examine the chart, find the injury list, and code the best detail to achieve the optimal Injury Severity Score (ISS) to describe the patient. I enjoy coding accurately and thoroughly.
What do you find most rewarding about working in this field?
The trauma registry is the complete snapshot of the patient's story, and the coding completes that. As faculty, the rewarding part is watching the students start out wide-eyed and worried and, after some experience, everything clicks, and they show understanding — that's when you know you have done your job and prepared them to go on their way.
As AIS Content Committee Co-chair, I find the goal of working on the next version for completeness, clarity, and new additions deeply rewarding. We're looking forward to evaluating AIS15 now that a full year of data use has been submitted.
Beyond the work itself, collaborating with AAAM members across specialties who offer varied perspectives on injury is invaluable and rewarding in and of itself.
What do you hope to accomplish while on the AIS Certification Board?
I believe the AIS Certification Board and the work the board does to create and maintain CAISS is one of the best boards with which I have been involved. The board elevates the trauma registrar position and highlights the importance of coding for the trauma patient.
What’s something about you (a fun fact) that not many people know?
I am an accomplished hula dancer who graduated in 2007 in Hawai'i. I have continued to dance with my hula sister in California for a total of 23 years now. And what most people do know, I run with wolves and swim with whales (or any cetacean actually).
How do you think the field is changing, and what trends do you see coming up on the horizon?
The key change coming is the use of AI. At this point, AI is not capable of thinking like a human and may not have the ability to apply the rules to choose the right code. With the movement toward AI, however, AIS will need to adapt as well as protect the proprietary nature of the codes while remaining relevant.
What advice would you give to someone interested in CAISS credentials?
My advice is to code for at least two years without using the software, but manually. Read the front of the dictionary, anatomy, and appendices. At least once a week code a critical chart by hand. And if you’re debating whether or not to pursue CAISS credentials, don’t hesitate, just do it.
What’s one thing – either field-related or not – you learned in the last month?
I create epoxy resin art, and I just learned how to master resin ocean waves, which was very exciting.
Is there anything else you would like to share with your colleagues?
It has been an honor to work with trauma patients for 43 years and AIS code for the last 39 years. What we do every day saves lives and improves daily trauma care.