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adventures in health care!
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| Outlook for Medical Assistants? |
[19 Jan 2008|07:47pm] |
Greetings, folks.
I presently work as a home health aide in Sacramento, CA and have also been getting through the community college system slowly and painfully over the years.
I'm thinking down the road that I want to become a Physician Assistant, some time in the next century that it takes to finish my bachelor's degree, but I also need some kind of decent work in the meantime... my work offers no benefits and is basically drudgery that I'm finding mentally and emotionally draining. I work one-on-one with the same private consumers day in and day out.
I'm just short of a phlebotomy certification (at this point I need to take a recert course, but other than that, all I need to do is send in my hours and externship paperwork to the state board) and I have an EMT license.
But it seems like my best bet for paying my rent may be to go through a medical assistant program or something similar, esp. since I'm no more enlightened about how to actually become a phlebotomist or ER Tech than I was when I started off. I'd keep slogging through working on my eventual bachelor's degree/PA degree after I'm employed as an MA.
Is medical assisting a good way to go? Is the field growing? Is it a "bubble" (ex-dotcommer here)? Is it a good job for someone who's analytical in addition to being caring/personable? Is it suitable for someone with ADHD? Are there jobs that are heavier on clinical work and lighter on office/administrative work? Thanks to my ADHD, if office work was the only work there was, I'd be homeless.
What options are there besides working in a doctor's office (not that doctor's office is a bad thing)? Do things like public health or Planned Parenthood hire MAs? What about prisons or the state/county? Can one make MA experience dovetail into a job such as Coroner Technician? Does this count for clinical experience for PA? Do medical assisting jobs offer benefits?
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| Hillary's Universal Healthcare |
[17 Sep 2007|12:14pm] |
Hillary unveiled her new health care plan. What did everyone think about it?
from the Hillary Website
"Hillary's American Health Choices Plan covers all Americans and improves health care by lowering costs and improving quality. It speaks to American values, American families, and American jobs.
It puts the consumer in the driver's seat by offering more choices and lowering costs. If you're one of the tens of million Americans without coverage or if you don't like the coverage you have, you will have a choice of plans to pick from and that coverage will be affordable. Of course, if you like the plan you have, you can keep it."
Download the entire Health Care Plan Details HERE
myspace.com/hillaryclinton2008
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| Master of Healthcare Leadership program...spread the word! |
[12 Apr 2007|12:50pm] |
Hi, everyone! I am the Program Coordinator for the Master of Healthcare Leadership program at Park University. The program is completely online, and is a brand new program that's already making waves at the university. Don't let the online factor fool you - we have high standards for our students and our goal is to prepare the next generation of healthcare leaders (not just managers or administrators) to change the shape and form of America's healthcare industry.
If you or anyone you know would be interested in this program, please let me know!
Here's our website: and here's our blog.
PS - We also offer a fantastic Healthcare Advocacy Certificate (both professional and volunteer). See here for more details! x-posted.
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| Radiology schools? |
[29 Jan 2007|11:53am] |
This doesn't look like the most active of communityies, but I figured I'd give this a try.
I'm looking to move to the Portland, Oregon area and am interested in attending a college or university with a Radiology or Radiologic Technician program. I have a biology degree, but with something so general, it's hard to find a job. I figured I'd tack an AA on there to make me more employable.
Does anyone know of a school in that area with a program? Internet searches turn up advertizements for the most part, which are hard to sort through.
Thanks!
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[31 Oct 2006|06:51pm] |
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HEY!! This is my first post. I work @ University Medical Center In Lubbock Tx. I am a Unit Coordinator and work on the third floor and in Burn ICU.
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| Wildfire turnover |
[14 Aug 2006|12:30pm] |
This is my first time working in a medical hospital. I work in an LTAC with two units. We were part of a company that had hospitals and one or two SNFs up until March, when the whole thing got swallowed up by a huge national company with innumerable hospitals, SNFs, and rehabs.
I give this background, because I'm wondering if someone with more experience than I have in this field can tell me if the incredibly high number of resignations we've had in the past couple months is normal, or the kind of death-knell it looks like from over here.
Not even counting the nursing, rehab, and respiratory staff, and just looking at management-level and specialist positions, the turnover has been crazy. We currently have no nurse manager for either unit, no charge nurse for one unit, no weekend supervisors, no infection control nurse, no admissions director, and no head of the hospital. We've also been without a supplies person (Materials Management) and a wound nurse. We're also down one case manager.
Is this to be expected? Is this the kind of thing that happens after a change of ownership, after which the hospital steadies itself and is all right again? I'm alarmed by the way that every time someone leaves, their duties are reassigned for an unspecified 'interim' to someone to do in addition to their existing duties - so, for instance, the nurse educator was told she also had to be the wound care nurse until they found someone. Two full-time jobs seems like a bad arrangement for good patient care.
Perspectives? Should I be brushing up my resume or hanging on for the ride?
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| EMR |
[14 Aug 2006|12:03pm] |
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Today is a glorious day. I got into the office here and discovered that over the weekend, some HIMS staff had taken all the charts (20,000 or so) and put them into ~400 boxes. And now our warehouse vendor is taking all those boxes away.
No more paper charts.
Awesome.
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| Shaking hands |
[10 Aug 2006|11:57am] |
I am, currenly, the admissions coordinator in an LTAC hospital. Sometimes, though not always, I am the greeter when patients come through the door.
I haven't been doing this for very long, and I have a question, which I spelled out in my own journal at length, but briefly: is it bad manners to fail to shake hands with patients and/or their family members, when they arrive? Generally, I dislike shaking hands with anyone. I smile, I talk, I have welcoming and pleased-to-meet-you! body language, I'm very attentive to their needs and reassuring, I take them seriously, sympathise, and don't make any promises I can't keep while at the same time trying to provide comfort and security. I go and get things they need, and make sure that everything in their room is working and they know how to use it. I give them a brief sense of what to expect for the next few hours, and describe the hospital and routines very briefly, encouraging them to ask now or later if they have any questions or needs. I'm respectful. I'm friendly in a professional kind of way. I just don't shake hands.
What do you think? In the US - New England - is this going to make people feel put down, isolated, or disrespected? I can shake hands if it's necessary to complete the welcoming process. On the other hand, these folks are *sick*. THey are not well people at all. They are shaken up by recent ambulance transfer, and probably feeling awful and not sure they want to be there. In that situation, /I/ wouldn't want to shake hands, but I don't know that I'm the norm. I see other people shaking hands - the nurse manager, etc..
What do you think?
EDIT: I should say, I don't shake hands unless the other person initiates it. Then I always do, immediately.
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| Introduction... |
[04 Aug 2006|05:20am] |
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Hi all! I am a 42 year old Unit Coordinator/Monitor Tech. on a 44 bed Medical Tele/Surgical/Oncology unit with a 12 bed tele monitoring capability.
I have been an MT since 1983 and in the past have worked on a 39 bed tele unit for about 17 years and in CCU for a year on day shift.
(I found that I am not, and don't think I ever will be a day shifter) Then, I worked in a cardiologist's office for about a year doing back office work (rooming patients, taking vitals, doing 12 lead EKG's, treadmill tests, and pacemaker checks) and found out I am not cut out for the office environment, either. So now I am where I am and have been for almost five years. Hey, I guess I didn't mean to write my resume! Sorry!
But anyway, I was just looking for a place to trade stories and frustrations, and this is what I found. Thanks.
And now "A Letter to My Co-worker":
Dear RN I work with:
I just scolded you for not answering your pager not once, but twice. Once when a patient's family member was on hold and once when a doctor was on hold. Do you realize that they hang up and call back and yell at me because you didn't answer the phone? You could at least let me know you couldn't answer the phone. How many times do I have to tell you this? You are the reason people think hospitals suck. I really kinda hate you. You walk like a duck. How did you ever graduate nursing school? You are one of the most annoying people I think I have ever met. Please stop talking to me. I hate your accent. I am not your friend. We are NOT going camping. I am glad you are quitting. August 5 can't come soon enough.
F*ck off.
Love, Me
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[04 Aug 2006|12:40am] |
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Does anybody have any advice on breaking into the medical office field? I have been a CNA for over 6 years, and I just finished phlebotomy, but nobody wants to hire me b/c I don't have medical office (or phlebotomy) experience. How do you get experience if nobody will give you a chance.
I was in nsg. school for 4 semesters and had to drop out b/c of family problems. I am smart, I know a lot about the field, disease processes, ect., and I am getting better with unfamiliar clinical procedures by working on a surgical floor at the hospital PRN.
I just want a chance to prove that I am a fast learner, and that I am willing and eager to take on nearly anything. Just show me how. But nobody wants to do that, and I need some advice. Maybe it's something in my interviews that is keeping me from being hired... I really don't know.
I am also taking classes at the college to improve things that I don't know about (like billing and coding) but right now, I don't have any of that knowledge, but even if I did, it wouldn't count as experience. I feel like I am stuck all the way around, and I am considering leaving the medical field all together. Maybe go into underwater basket weaving or something. Ok, I'm just kidding about the basketweaving thing, but I am frustrated and need some helpful advice.
Thanks in advance!
Cross-posted.
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| Would any of you be interested.... |
[27 Jul 2006|11:46am] |
I started off posting this in motorcycle communities and got flamed.
Then I realized I was talking to the wrong people. The only people who know, who really truly know that the freedom of not wearing a helmet can cost you your brains, are the people who have to pick up the pieces.... the people who watch lives slip away...
A month ago my brother died from a motorcycle accident. He suffered too much head trauma to live, but his helmet provided a layer or protection. Because of his helmet we were able to have an open casket - which was important, because his friends all saw him in the hospital and we didn't want that to be the last vision they had of him, but rather in a peaceful slumber. BUT more importantly, his helmet made it possible for organ donation. Without his helmet he would have died instantly. One of his best friends, Tasha, almost got his kidney... to him, it was important to be an organ donor. Many motorcyclists feel the same way, but many of them don't protect their heads.
Even though my brother didn't live, others may be more fortunate and have been more fortunate and lived because of their helmet. If it doesn't save them, it can help to save others.
My mother and I started a petition for reinstating the Helmet law in Florida...
The short of the petition is that the law does NOT require you to wear a helmet when on a motorcycle in Florida. We want to get that law overturned.
THE PETITION.
Please sign it... pass it on to family and friends.
xposted, we need 1000 signatures
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[19 Jul 2006|12:40pm] |
Something amazing to check out if you're a health care professional, a woman living with chronic illness or you have a loved one who is: chronicbabe.com -- there's some really great stuff there!
(X-posted)
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[10 Jun 2006|10:39am] |
For those of you writing the MCAT (I know you're out there!), a new community: ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif?v=92.1) mcat_survival
It's new & it won't work unless you join & start talking, so get to it!
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[25 May 2006|02:56pm] |
Hey guys. Just found this site called www.healthsiteguide.com It's pretty cool..basically it's a free portal that lets you search for whatever health condition you want. it saves you a lot of time because you don't have to sift through hundreds of websites just to find out info on a headache. it's got forums and blogs also...check it out let me know what u think of it.
wwww.healthsiteguide.com
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| Radiology tech questions |
[12 May 2006|09:16pm] |
Howdy. I'm considering going back to school for radiology tech but I have some questions before I commit to two years of school. If anyone involved in radiology tech could answer these questions for me, I would greatly appreciate it.
1. Firstly, how much blood and guts are involved with this career?
2. What did you find the most difficult part of the training? The easiest? What did you enjoy most?
3. What does a typical work day or week look like? What are your specific duties and responsibilities?
4. What type of advancement opportunities are available (after sufficient experience, of course)? Is additional training necessary, what is that training like, how long of a program is it, etc.?
5. Not to pry too deeply, but can you give me a typical salary range? (I know it will vary based on location -- New York probably pays a whole lot more than BFE Kansas.) Does a hospital pay better versus a physician's office or a standalone imaging center?
6. What are the different specialties like? What kind of additional training is involved?
7. Is there a lot of turnover in the field? If so, any idea why?
8. Is there anything else you think I should know?
9. If any of you trained in Kansas or work in Kansas, please holler. I have more specific questions concerning some of the programs there.
I have an appointment set up to shadow someone at the local hospital as well, so I'm hoping that'll give me a good idea as well.
Thanks very much.
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| Code Orange |
[08 May 2006|11:06pm] |
So get this story... it will blow your mind:
I am working Saturday night shift on Hospice on the 4th floor. My charge nurse happened to walk down the hall of the unit next to ours. She ran back and said that there was some kind of acidic smell in the hall that made her sick and visitors, patients, and staff were getting VERY ill. We call the House Admin. (HA) and she comes to the unit. She stands around for a full 35 minutes before she decides what to do. At this point I leave our unit to walk the few feet down the HA to tell her how many empty beds we had (as a subtle hint that she needed to evacuate that unit because the patients were having severe resp. distress). Ten minutes later she still had not done anything and by this time visitors that had gone home and walked through that unit to leave were calling back and saying that they were having trouble breathing, burning of the eyes, chest pain, and headaches. We of course told them to go to the closest ER. At this time I had enough of the HA standing around and doing nothing. So I picked up the phone and called 911 and told them to send Haz-Mat. Three minutes later we had five police cars, 2 fire engines, 1 fire chief, and 2 Haz-Mat units in the ER parking lot. Two minutes after Haz-Mat arrives my charge nurse gets a call from the HA. HA was yelling at her telling her to send me down to the ER crisis room to see what a "fiasco" that I had created. I made the charge nurse go downstairs with me. We got there and the ER lobby was literally full of firefighters in Haz-Mat gear and a butt-load police are guarding the entrance. I was taken into the crisis room and the HA and the Haz-Mat Captain was there. Apparently, the HA denied we had an event and played dumb to Haz-Mat. She wouldn't even say that they had moved patients only a few mins before Haz-Mat got there because the patients were becoming violently ill. I had to inform Haz-Mat of everything that was going on because she didn't know what to say (mind you that I was on the affected unit for only a minute and she was there for 45 mins). OH-BUT THE BEST PART: The House Admin looked at me when I came in the room and yelled to me "DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH PAPERWORK IT IS WHEN WE CALL THE FIRE DEPT?!?" (I almost coded when she said that) After I told Haz-Mat what happened she then disclosed that we had an employee that was a patient on the unit and the fumes were coming from that room. I was then told to go back to my unit. The HA would not let Haz-Mat go upstairs for another 45 mins. So by the time the guys got there it had been 1.5 hours and the smell was gone (bc HA wouldn't turn off the vents). Haz-Mat gave us the all clear and was quickly escorted from the building. After the fire and police depts were gone we found out from other staff members that they believe that the patient/employee was making or smoking meth in the room!
The next night the same HA was there. She called up to our unit to chew the charge nurse out because we caused her problems. They said that we screwed up because there were no hazardous materials, she had just began to asses the situation, and the situation was not dangerous. Let's break down what the above sentence says: 1) if there were no hazardous materials why did the HA have to go to the ER for treatment along with visitors and staff from the affected unit? Also, why is the unit still not open for patient use a full 2 days later? Also, why did I and the charge nurse have to seek treatment the next morning because of resp problems? 2) She had been on that unit for a full 45 mins and had not done a damn thing 3) Again, if the situation was not dangerous why did we evacuate the unit and send people to the ER? OH BTW... did I mention that the employee/patient was a FRIEND of the HA?
This is possibly the biggest cover-up that I have seen a hospital have. This morning I had a 2 hour meeting with the Nursing Supervisors and to say that they were not happy with the HA would be a major understatement. BTW.. in case anyone is wondering I am filing a complaint with the Board of Nursing. What a night!
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[07 Feb 2006|10:15am] |
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( Comic )
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