7 Quick Takes Friday: Where I Talk About Healthcare

 

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Some of you may know that I work in healthcare. Lately, I have been a little stressed out about the MANY government regulations and incentive programs that I will have to lead our organization in implementing this year. It really is overwhelming, but I had the opportunity to go to a conference last week with other practice managers and was lucky to have met some great people. We have been in contact and I look forward to future networking with them. For support and advice and just plain to vent to people who know what I am talking about. It relieved some of my stresses, but the fact is that all the work still needs to be done.

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Do me a favor, when you visit your doctor, keep in mind that all they really want to do is take care of you and your families. I know the perception is that doctors just want to make a buck, but in my experience, they have worked really hard to gain the skills needed to provider good quality care. At one time, they were rewarded for their hard work with great incomes like a lot of other professionals are. That has changed. I’m not saying doctors don’t make good money, but the reality is that the government has put so many requirements and regulations and programs into place that they have to participate in or their payments get cut. It has actually made it really difficult for them to focus on patient care when they are trying to remember if they selected the correct code, if they checked the right box in the electronic medical record or if they made sure to ask you what language you prefer and for God’s sake do not forget to send that prescription electronically, lest it count against them. Don’t get me wrong I think having programs that do look out for patient care and the quality of the care they are getting is important. But the enormity of and the amount of regulations and programs is just a bit overwhelming.

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There is a blog I read called Kevin MD. Dr. Kevin posts many blog posts that he writes, but also many guest posts by other physicians. Every now and then I find one that captures my attention. There are some really great, caring, and compassionate physicians out there. I thought I would share a couple recent posts that I liked.

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This first one is titled “The greatest miracle a physician is privileged to be a part of”. It is a beautiful story of how “A Country Doctor” is reminded of the miracle of pregnancy and child birth. I hope you enjoy it.

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This second one is post by a physician who began to understand what it is like for patients when they are faced with medical issues. She sees that there so much confusion and uncertainty in the middle of life changing illnesses. It humbled her and she has dedicated her blog to helping people understand how hospitals work, and what can be done for a better patient experience by everyone in healthcare. It is titled "Recognize the blessings that you previous overlooked".  The author blogs at "In White Ink".

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This one is really good and accurately reflects what we see every day at our practices. I have read other posts by Dr. Rob Lamberts before, he is an interesting guy. He blogs at "Musings of a Distractible Mind". Anyway, this post is about empathy and how he recognized how patients react and describe pain based on how they have been treated before.

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It wasn’t my intention to do a whole 7 takes on healthcare, but I might as well finish it off since I’m at #7. I am certainly not a politician, and I won’t pretend to know much of the ins and outs of the Affordable Care Act (AKA: Obamacare), but what I do know is that the simple fact that all people deserve healthcare, is not solved by the creation of health insurance programs. Having health insurance and getting healthcare are two completely different things. I’m not a fan.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

7 Quick Takes Friday

 

Linking up with Jen and the gang over at Conversion Diary for this weeks Quick Takes. 

 

Here we go...

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Did you see this video this week? What an amazing kid that gave up his ball for the other kid. He did something selfless for another, and his parents, I’m sure, are proud of the kindness that they have instilled in their child.
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/giants-fan-gives-baseball-to-crying-diamondbacks-fan-090313

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Thursday this week was the first day of school for our kiddos. Hunter was kind of excited and kind of disappointed that summer was over. He had worried that he wouldn't sleep much the night before, but he slept just fine. Unlike last year, I don’t think he got a total of 2 hours sleep the night before school started.

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So, I have completed the first week in my new position. The week was basically a ‘data load’. I just tried to wrap my head around all of the things that are going on and get myself acquainted with my new responsibilities. It was a lot, but not to overwhelming. Let’s see how next week goes. 

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I learned to can tomatoes on Monday. It had been something I had wanted to do for a long time and just never took the time. My husband’s aunt graciously came over and gave me the live tutorial. I am thankful to know how, and since we planted a garden for the first time this year, I now have something to do with all those tomatoes. It really was something special to me to learn. I really had a great feeling of accomplishment.

 

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I’ve been able to keep up with the Blogtember challenge this week. I wouldn’t say they were all high quality blog posts, but I’m confident that a few of them will turn out that way.

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Pumpkin coffee is back at Dunkin Donuts!  My favorite!  Had my first cup today, but can't wait until the pumpkin spice creamer is out in the stores so I don't have to buy it at DD.

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 Ohhhhhh, quick take #7....what to say...what to say...How about "Have a great weekend!"

 

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!
 

7 Quick Takes Friday

Here we go...

 

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Last weekend we had an office cookout. All of us and our families were welcomed to the homestead of another staff member. The kids enjoyed the farm animals and almost everyone enjoyed riding Daisy. She is a great horse that put up with being led around the yard with toddlers on her back to being taken for a full trail ride by an adult and the a few more people decided they would take a ride too. It was a beautiful day with delicious food and great conversation. It was a really nice time to get together with everyone outside of the office.

My Hunter taking a ride on Daisy.



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I came across this short article the other day. It says a lot about the value of every life. It is called “When sparrows fall: A tribute to a baby girl". You can read it here, I highly recommend it.

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Lately my son has surprised me with tidbits of thoughts he is having. This sort of thing is usually the funniest when your kids are toddlers, but when they are 14 I guess you just don’t expect it as much. Anyway, at the county fair, while eating deep fried Oreo’s, he says “these are like the opposite of baptism, they are so good they are sinful”.

Then the other night he comes out of his room and asks to get on my computer. He then pulls up a Youtube video that is the theme song from the video game “Civilization IV”. The song is titled “Baba Yetu”. So he plays it and then says guess what it is? It’s “The Lord’s Prayer” sung in Swahili. He knew I would appreciate it and decided to show me, I’m so glad he did, it really is beautiful.

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Did you see Anderson Coopers interview with Antoinette Tuff? She is the lady that talked down the Georgia school shooter last week. What she did was amazing and she is completely up front that God did it through her. Her words “God has a way of showing you what’s in you”. What an amazing witness her story is! This is a small clip from the interview. 

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School starts next week. Hunter says “I think I’m excited but I know it won’t last long”. It seems like only a few weeks ago when I was posting about all his end of year activities. Summer goes by way to fast.

Anyway, I did his school supply shopping today. And I hate it. Maybe everyone hates it, but it is just crazy. First of all, the stores put the supplies out with great prices at least a month ago. The problem is you don’t get the list of what your kids need until the week before school starts. So by the time you can go fight through the masses to find the right size binders and the correct color of folders, everything has been picked through, half of everything doesn’t have a price on it, and most of what is left is the most expensive of it all.

Now, I guess the solution is to pick up what you think your kid might need as soon as the stores have it out, the problem with that is the lists are specific and different by teacher and grade that you don’t really know what to get. For example, you probably can’t go wrong if you buy pens, pencils and notebook paper, right? But if you try to buy binders you definitely won’t be getting the right size. One subject needs a 1 inch binder, another a 3 inch, and on and on. And I certainly don’t need heavy duty, sure kids are rough on their stuff but they are going to destroy it anyway, so I would rather just get the economy priced one. Sorry for the rant, but I am cheap economic, and it is drives me crazy to not be able to get the best deal.

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I have decided that I would take on another blogging challenge. (Do you remember the 7 Posts in 7 Days challenge?) Well this one was brought to my attention by a sweet blogger that I recently discovered. Her name is Nay and she is just adorable, and she is so real, she just makes you feel good when you read her posts. She blogs over at coffee-n-ink. 

The Blogtember Challenge is hosted by Jenni at “Story of my Life”. The challenge is to blog a total of 20 days in September (you get Labor Day and weekends off) and she gives you a topic for each day of the challenge. That is what clinched it for me. So be on the lookout for many posts coming from me in September! 

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This has been an exciting week for me at work. I took a new position. It is really a promotion and I am excited. I have a lot of ideas and can’t wait to get started. It means a lot of changes and that is always hard, but I am up for the challenge and hope I can make a difference. Keep me in your prayers, I may need them.

 

Have a Fun Labor Day Weekend!
For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

New Job

I started a new(ish) job last week.  I say ‘ish’ because five years ago, I did this job. I am the office manager of a physician’s office. When I left five years ago I left on good terms to take a job that was a new adventure (and it sure has been). It turned into something that I not only enjoyed doing but was very successful at.  I have never regretted leaving the office and have gained a wealth of knowledge and management skills as the five years have gone by.

Recently, I was asked to go back and be the office manager again. There are some specific problems currently in that office that I happen to be the person who is most qualified to help them through.  Unfortunately, over the last few years, this office hasn’t had the best reputation. Without getting into too much detail, there are personalities in that office that at times can be quick tempered, argumentative, and full of drama. And on top of that, the last few months have been a roller coaster ride for this office.  They have had staff members leave, hired new ones, lost managers and been through several new administrators. Due to the turnover of staff there has been a backlog of work. The existing staff has dealt with the heavy burden of keeping the office running as smoothly as possible along with training new staff.  I believe they all have been at their breaking point at some time or another over the last few months.

So when I was first approached about the prospect of going back to this office I wasn’t all that thrilled.  I was promised that once the major issues are fixed and everything was flowing more smoothly that I would have the option to make another job change. To decide what it will be that I want to do next.  So after a few conversations with some people I have a lot a respect for and doing some thinking and praying about it, I conceded that it was the right thing to do, for this office, for our organization, and for myself. 

My first day went extremely well.  And likewise, the rest of the week went extremely well.  I couldn’t have asked for a better week. I was a little surprised, because I expected the week to be full of questions and uneasiness. But instead it all went quite well. 

Looking back through some old posts that I had never finished or posted, I found this one that I had started before the prospect of this new job was even an idea on anyone’s mind:

Lately I have had rampant thoughts running around my head…among them self-doubt. Why?…That is what I keep asking myself…really, why am I letting these feelings creep in?  I really think it has to do with my job. The changes that have happened lately have left me feeling like I don’t really know where I belong or what I should be doing.

A while ago I was feeling like I was doing alright, enjoying my job.  Then things changed, I have grown so much in my faith over the last several months, which has been great, awesome, (insert all other great/awesome words here) but work changed too, for the worse.  I just didn’t care to be there anymore, and if I could figure out a way to pay the bills and hang out at Church all day I would have done it.  The only place I wanted to be all the time was Church. I needed to surround myself with people that were full of God’s joy and love.  I was just so exhausted by the constant drama at my job. Anyway, I had to take a step back and realize that I can’t just be there all the time.  I have a life to live, I have a job to do living out my vocation as a wife and mother, I have a job that I have committed to do for my employer, and I have go out and spread the gospel of the Lord.  Do I still crave being in the presence of Christ? Absolutely.  Do I want to surround myself with people that are full of joy and love? Absolutely. So I go to daily mass when I can (thank goodness the town I work in has noon mass three days a week), I try to keep the relationships active with the people who are joy and love to me, and I realize that the other parts of my day may not be what I want them to be, but they are still parts of MY day.  They are the crosses that I am being asked to carry right now, and we never know what God has in store for our future.

When I was presented with this new opportunity, I really thought I was getting into something worse.  Looking back at my thoughts just over a month ago, I’m not sure I could have been in a worse place. But yet again, God has led me to where I need to be, to where I know I should be.

 

7 Quick Takes

It's procrastinator's week over at Conversion Diary, and I am usually one of the biggest procrastinators, however this week I am actually prepared first thing Friday morning. So here they are:
 



1.   Last weekend we were able to spend most of the day with both our kids and our daughter’s boyfriend.  We spent the day traveling, eating, shopping, and laughing. We also took a pit stop to see the new rescue helicopter that was on display for a training session. (These are the kind of perks we get with my husbands job) My kids crack me up, they can make each other laugh so much.  They are five years apart in age and really have completely different personalities, but they just get each other.  It was a really nice day and I was thankful for the time with all of us away from our normal daily hustle and bustle lives. 

 

 

These photos were from a different trip, but it's the way they always act in the back seat.

 

 

2.   I am thankful for my father in law.  My dryer has been on the fritz lately (2 cycles required for each load). The subject came up during Easter dinner and on Tuesday he was at my house fixing it.  He’s such a quiet man but does what he can for us, when he can, without a big fuss.

3.   This week we had a going away luncheon for my last boss who will be moving on to bigger and better opportunities. I am saddened that I will no longer have the opportunity to work with him.  I have learned a lot in the last five years. I have learned how to recognize qualities in myself from the trust that he has put in me on several big projects. I will miss him and the encouragement he has always given me, but I do wish him all the best in his new adventure.

4.   I had a nice conversation this week with a friend who I don’t see too often anymore.  Our daughters went to school together and played several sports together but since they have graduated, we don’t see each other often.  It was nice to talk to her and catch up.

5.   We are getting our cell phones switched to Verizon this weekend and because we are switching carriers I have to get a new phone. The problem is that I am still unsure of what I want to get. I thought I had my mind made up on getting the Samsung Galaxy S3 but I have had a Blackberry for the last two years and trying to figure out if I want to stay with a Blackberry.  There are fewer options for apps for blackberry but I think it is more secure.  I don’t know what I am going to do, it will probably come down to a last minute decision, knowing me.

6.   I discovered a great new blog this week.  I am just getting to know Sybil at Peace it all Together but so far so good, you can check her out here.

7.   How did you do with your Lenten sacrifices/commitments?  I did quite well and had a spiritually charged Lent.  The only thing that I really failed at was that I wanted to finish reading C. S. Lewis’s Screwtape Letters.  I didn’t make any more progress on that than I was at pre-lent.  I did however make it the entire forty days without a bite of mac and cheese, and I read almost every day from the Lenten devotion book given to us by our parish.  I made it to daily Mass at least once every week and even a couple Masses some weeks. I attended all three Triduum services, getting my feet washed on Holy Thursday and reading the first reading at the Easter Vigil (which was my twelfth Catholic anniversary).

 

:)   One last little bit, I'm jumping in the bloglovin so please show me some love by clicking on the icon toward the top at the right. Thanks!

 

Go on over and see all the betters at Jen's!

 

Some Random Family Stuff

One of the reasons I started this blog was to keep in touch with my family that are spread out over the US and Germany.  A lot of my posts lately have been about me and my faith journey, so I thought I would post some things about the rest of my world.

Last week, Hunter was part of the high school band that got to perform at the Capital Building in Albany.  That in itself was pretty neat, but I think the highlight of the day for all of them was going to the mall afterward.  Here is the group shot:

 

 

Kayla has just pretty much been working and hanging out with her friends and her boyfriend.  She is working at Wendy's in the mall, and trying to figure out what her next steps in life will be.

 

John has been keeping busy with the fire department and work, like usual.  

 

And I have busy at work.  Lots of projects, which is probably pretty typical in health care these days.  We have all our offices up and running on the Electronic Medical Record which was no small task.  We have another doctor starting next week, but his staff has been using the EMR so the transition should be pretty smooth. We are in the beginning phases of getting our four health center recognized as Patient Centered Medical Homes.  This is a huge project that I am in charge of and am looking forward to the process.  I do well with big projects, I'm finding.

 

Anyway, that's a little update for all my family.  Sorry, nothing too major going on, but we are desperately awaiting spring weather and especially June when we get to see my sister and her family again from Germany.  So excited!!



Is It Really Only Tuesday???

So it’s only Tuesday and I am so ready for this week to be over.  At least it’s shorter because I am taking Friday off. 

Anyway, work has me overwhelmed this week.  There is a specific person that I need to interact with lately and the drama that this individual has constantly has just completely drained me.  My patience level is just gone and usually I have plenty to go around.

And then in my other new duties, I feel like the people I answer to now don’t have any idea of what I actually know and can do.  It has been a hard adjustment for me to move from reporting to someone who gave me the control to accomplish the things I needed to accomplish (with support when needed, of course).  But now I feel like every decision I make is being questioned and every question I ask is being over analyzed as to my motives.  I am hopeful that all these things will slowly ease away and I am sure that I need to take a step back and realize that I need to earn my trust with a new boss.  It’s just been a long time since I had a new boss.

In another aspect of my job, tomorrow is an exciting day for one of the health centers that I am now overseeing.  There is going to be an open house to introduce a new provider at the practice.  I am looking forward to supporting the staff as they settle into their new roles.