KaraBoo
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Post by KaraBoo on Apr 23, 2015 20:09:50 GMT -5
Okay - I've been at the front desk for a week now. I have a question for anyone who currently or ever has worked in the past front desk at a physician's or clinic's office: How many patients do/did you see in a day? This clinic seriously needs some direction, organization and management. I'm not going to be the one to take that position, but it is almost hilarious the amount of "work" this place needs. I completely understand now why the interviewing manager wants "satisfaction" scores to go up. Despite the 8 days of program training, there is still a lot of stuff that I do not know about the job and am learning more each day. I started putting together a "process" list of things that need to be done on the job, in a format that I understand. I've talked to my "co-front-desk-registration" employee about some minor changes (with the comment that it won't offend me if my suggestions won't work because of things I don't know being in the position such a short amount of time) - she seems open to changing some things, but makes no effort to change anything that I can see. The front desk area needs so much organization and "freshening-up". It looks aged and disorganized. There is no space to sign patients in, the clip-boards they are using have "other" company's logos on them (all of them!). I just want to go in there, rip it all out and start over! NONE of the employees talk to each other unless it is talking behind their backs. The schedulers (which I'm part of - but so far keep my mouth shut) talk bad about the nurses and management. The nurses were talking bad about the schedulers. The management was talking bad about the nurses to the schedulers (I overheard this), so I can only assume that she also talks bad about the schedulers to the nurses. The thing is - they are all complaining about EXACTLY the same thing. The only reason I know this is because I'm apparently "breaking the unspoken rules" by.... ....Dun dun dun..... Eating lunch in the break room. The nurses eat in there - the schedulers eat in the front office area. WTF Where else would I eat? I'm not going to stop, but it does feel awkward.... Why do they segregate themselves? It makes no sense. There seriously needs some intervention in this office to get them talking to each other!! Anyway - just an observation.
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KaraBoo
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Post by KaraBoo on Apr 23, 2015 21:32:35 GMT -5
And now - an update on Rowdy. He's refused to do anything that he agreed to in our agreement. His current grades: 54, 48, 5, 46, 38, and a 7. Yes, these are his grades for the 5th six weeks of the semester. We've (Hun and I) have tried to talk to him - we get met with a stonewall. When asked what his plans are, his answer is "I haven't really thought about it." When asked why he's even bothering to waste everyone's time, the answer is, "so I don't get a ticket for truancy." We've shut down his phone. He posted on FB the next day - "You keep saying the path I've chosen is hard, I don't understand why you put things in my way to make it harder. This place makes no sense." This is directly related to us removing his phone. Hun shut down his computer access at our house as well once he saw that (time stamp was obvious that it was posted from our house). We talked to Rowdy's older sister LaLa. We asked her not to give him any more rides or to pick him up from anywhere. We explained to her - "Rowdy's making the choice to fail. As parents, we're attempting some "tough love". If we continue to fight him on what he wants to do (fail), and continue to attempt to help him, we're just going to prolong the process. It may take until he's well into his 20's or later before he "gets it". By helping him to meet his goals of failing, he's going to fail quickly, hopefully learn his lesson quickly, and get back on track quickly. He's about to be 17. If we allow him to fail fast, he could be back on a good track before he's 20 and still plenty of time to figure out his life." She said she understood and wouldn't help him. We told her she could blame us if she wanted to, but she's like - nah, I'll just tell him I have no gas money and can't help him. I think she gets it..... There is still 6 weeks left in the year - the next thing that will be removed is his lunch account. When I first brought it up to Hun, he said - I don't want people thinking we're not taking care of our kids. I reminded Hun that we have food at our house, that Rowdy can pack a lunch, that we're not totally cutting him off. We're just making life "hard" for him and cutting off all of the things that we provide for him since he seems to think that he can survive just fine on his own. The money is transferred into the account automatically - the automatic transfer is cancelled (but there's still money in there - so he still has several days, depending on what he orders). I'm no longer waking him up for school. I'm making sure the other kids are up - but not bothering Rowdy. So far, he's still made it to the bus, but from what I can tell - just barely. Less than 10 minutes to wake up and get out the door. Found out today that he was called into the principal's office. Hun's going to call and talk to her tomorrow and find out what that was about. I hope Rowdy's getting and earful from multiple sources at this point. I haven't talked to him since we took the phone away - that's been....several days now (can't remember how many). Anyway...that's where we're at at the moment.
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taz157
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Post by taz157 on Apr 23, 2015 21:42:13 GMT -5
I have no device for the job or Rowdy, but I can offer virtual hugs.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 23, 2015 23:30:44 GMT -5
KaraBoo has Rowdy's teacher done a contract with him? My DD is a teacher and when she has a student that fails the first half of the semester she will write a contract with them to turn in assignments, study, do in-class work, and pass tests at 75% for balance of semester. The contract even says that if you choose not to fulfill the contract, you are choosing to fail the class. Maybe your issues with Rowdy exceed the schoolwork but the teacher should be engaging with the student directly plus meeting with you. DD has the student, parent, IEP coordinator(if student has IEP) and administrator sign the contract. Her class is mandatory for HS Graduation so she tries to ensure students know exactly where they stand and give them every opportunity for successfully passing the class with the recovery contract. Good Luck with your kid's progress!
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KaraBoo
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Post by KaraBoo on Apr 24, 2015 7:48:28 GMT -5
I'm not sure if any of the teachers have done that or not. I know that several of his teachers have gone above and beyond to give him the chance to pass, both last semester and this one. I don't think a contract with any of the teachers would have worked this year, even if it had been implemented last semester.
The reality is, Rowdy has dug himself a hole and rather than stop digging (like we encouraged), he's continued to dig, blame us, the teachers, and now the government for the graduation requirements. This is an issue that is following him since 9th grade, when he failed band (who fails band??). Now his decision to thumb his nose at the band director is biting him in the ass and he can't do anything about it except to fail.
I'm sad that it's come to this, but we've been encouraging him and warning him of the consequences for three years now. :-(
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Wisconsin Beth
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on Apr 24, 2015 8:11:34 GMT -5
Okay - I've been at the front desk for a week now. I have a question for anyone who currently or ever has worked in the past front desk at a physician's or clinic's office: How many patients do/did you see in a day? This clinic seriously needs some direction, organization and management. I'm not going to be the one to take that position, but it is almost hilarious the amount of "work" this place needs. I completely understand now why the interviewing manager wants "satisfaction" scores to go up. Despite the 8 days of program training, there is still a lot of stuff that I do not know about the job and am learning more each day. I started putting together a "process" list of things that need to be done on the job, in a format that I understand. I've talked to my "co-front-desk-registration" employee about some minor changes (with the comment that it won't offend me if my suggestions won't work because of things I don't know being in the position such a short amount of time) - she seems open to changing some things, but makes no effort to change anything that I can see. The front desk area needs so much organization and "freshening-up". It looks aged and disorganized. There is no space to sign patients in, the clip-boards they are using have "other" company's logos on them (all of them!). I just want to go in there, rip it all out and start over! NONE of the employees talk to each other unless it is talking behind their backs. The schedulers (which I'm part of - but so far keep my mouth shut) talk bad about the nurses and management. The nurses were talking bad about the schedulers. The management was talking bad about the nurses to the schedulers (I overheard this), so I can only assume that she also talks bad about the schedulers to the nurses. The thing is - they are all complaining about EXACTLY the same thing. The only reason I know this is because I'm apparently "breaking the unspoken rules" by.... ....Dun dun dun..... Eating lunch in the break room. The nurses eat in there - the schedulers eat in the front office area. WTF Where else would I eat? I'm not going to stop, but it does feel awkward.... Why do they segregate themselves? It makes no sense. There seriously needs some intervention in this office to get them talking to each other!! Anyway - just an observation. I used to work for our public library. When I started, at a branch in the mid 1980s, it was fairly routine to socialize because the non-public space was so limited and that branch staff had a wicked addition to a card game. But I heard stories, more than once, about how in recent past Administration didn't want Librarians (degreed) having anything to do with the circulation staff (no degrees) etc. There was a sort of inbetween job that was paraprofessional and the poor folk that had that thankless job weren't supposed to socialize with the Librarians or the Circ. staff. I've been told that people were actually written up for it. This may be the same Administration that didn't want people working in their neighborhood libraries either. A branch manager I worked with actually didn't give them her change of address for several YEARS because she didn't want to drive to the opposite end of town anymore. It may very well be a game started by someone to keep up the infighting and the gossip too. So keep on eating lunch in the lunch room. Change starts somewhere.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Apr 24, 2015 9:31:23 GMT -5
I worked in a doctors clinic one summer. There were 30-45 patients every day plus the phone ringing and collecting copays and insurance info. The day passed quickly but I sure was exhausted at the end of it. If I got too swamped, doctors wife helped out but not a whole lot. I get tired just thinking about it. Got my first UTI because I had no time to use the rest room.
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KaraBoo
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Post by KaraBoo on Apr 24, 2015 19:14:46 GMT -5
Okay - 30-45 pts per day seems like 'normal' patient load to me based on the doctor's offices I have been in. This clinic - sees approximately 25 patients on their busiest day (Monday). While we do collect copayments occassionally, most of the time the patients don't pay anything based on the service we are providing and the type of insurance they have. Plus, the same patients come back every week until they are "healed". So, we're only registering new patients a couple of times a day. I don't think we saw 75-100 patients in the entire week! ETA: We don't verify insurance - that's a different department's job and there is one lady in the office that is specifically her duties, so we're not doing the insurance part at all. The phone rings - but very rarely is there more than one line busy at a time. The rest of the week, there are less patients per day - today there were only 10 patients. The last patient left at 2:30pm (maybe 3...I can't remember now, I was doing something else and wasn't the one to check the patient out). And still they are complaining that they do not have enough help! I was basically twiddling my thumbs for almost 2 hours, trying to stretch my work out. I left 15 minutes early - at 4:15. Not sure what I'm going to do when my schedule is 9-5:30pm. That's the other thing - the clinic manager wanted us (the front desk schedulers) to do some data entry for her this afternoon. Didn't seem hard to me, but the other scheduler told her we were too busy to do the task. The clinic is set up weird - there's the clinic manager, and then there is the director of the schedulers. We (the schedulers) don't report to the clinic manager, but are supposed to help her and take some direction from her. If we don't "agree" with what we're being asked to do - we're supposed to talk to the director about it so she can decide if it is part of our "scope of duty". This clinic is seriously F-ed up!!!
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KaraBoo
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Post by KaraBoo on Apr 24, 2015 19:24:22 GMT -5
I supposedly have a meeting with the director's assistant manager next Friday (the one I actually report to and get paid from). It was supposed to happen last Friday, but she cancelled. I have a list of things that need improvement in the clinic.
I'm going to play that meeting by ear and see what way the wind is blowing in the meeting first before I bring anything up. Some minor improvements, that shouldn't cost a lot of money, will make a world of difference in how the clinic runs.
There is a whole lot of "this is how we do it because this is how it was done before" instead of "we do this for x, y, z reason".
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Apr 24, 2015 19:51:28 GMT -5
Smart that you're being careful. Ruffling feathers will only come back to you. Sad but true.
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resolution
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Post by resolution on Apr 25, 2015 8:18:53 GMT -5
It sounds like this a nice break for you to rest up and recover for when you start the new job.
If you already have one foot out the door (due to the other job offer) I would hesitate to shake things up too much. Make sure it is something that wouldn't leave a bunch of chaos in your wake when you suddenly leave halfway through implementation.
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KaraBoo
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Post by KaraBoo on Apr 25, 2015 10:26:59 GMT -5
It is a nice mental break! I won't deny that at all. But my brain just doesn't like to be still, and I'm spending about half my day mentally making the clinic "better" for the patient experience, staff convenience and the company's bottom line.
Like - I'm not clinical, but I know leaving biopsy samples at the front desk in full view of patients is a HUGE no-no!
The clinic manager threw a fit when she saw it, but her answer was to put it in a wash bucket, instead of on the desk, still in full view of the patients. When the lab courier arrived, I asked if a lock box was available for these samples. She said sure and would make sure we received one. We have a back door and hall that is a perfect place for exactly this type of thing. Why no ones done this before now is beyond me. The clinics been open for years, so it's not like there hasn't been an opportunity for this to be done before now.
And asking for actual company clipboards instead of other company's clipboards advertising products. Or requesting monthly clinic meetings where everyone attends and brings up what they see as issues that need improving. Maybe even insisting that everyone eat in a central place. Or that all office supplies be centralized, rather than half behind locked cabinets (with no logical reason why) in one area and the rest spread out in separate cabinets across the clinic.
None of this requires me to be there long term, but will make a huge difference in how the clinic runs for the staff and patients.
I'm on my phone and can't seem to get rid of the below line, so just ignore that!! :-)
The clinic
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KaraBoo
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Post by KaraBoo on Apr 25, 2015 22:42:49 GMT -5
(GAH!!! Feel free to resize - I don't know how!) We bought Buddy a "new" vehicle yesterday - a 2003 Ford Focus for $800. It has over 200k miles on it, but runs really well. We bought it from a friend of ours, paid cash (half from Buddy's account, half from ours - that he's going to repay us for). I accidentally locked the only key we have to the vehicle in the car, in the ignition, with the power on (to roll up the windows - it has power windows and locks). D'oh!! Hun and I struggled for almost 3 hours trying to get the door unlocked before the neighbors next door (of hispanic decent), having a party, noticed and came over to see if they could help (where the car was located - they couldn't see us struggling until another attendee arrived and told them we were struggling). Between the 7 of us, it took about 30 minutes to get the door opened. I think the guys looked at it like a personal challenge! I jumped up and down and thanked them profusely!! It just didn't seem like enough to shake their hands and thank them for helping us - I asked Hun if it would be appropriate to take them the bottle of tequila in our cabinet. He called me a racist!! I commented back, "All of the beer we have is warm (it's in the pantry), so that leaves either the tequila or the rum - and I didn't think you wanted to give up your rum!" He gave me the dirtiest look that I would even suggest getting rid of his rum! Any ideas to thank them further?
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taz157
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Post by taz157 on Apr 25, 2015 22:45:47 GMT -5
Tequila sounds good to me! Yeah for the car!
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ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ
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♡ ♡ BᏋՆᎥᏋᏉᏋ ♡ ♡
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Post by ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ on Apr 25, 2015 22:47:34 GMT -5
A gift card to a local store or restaurant?
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Apr 26, 2015 5:48:28 GMT -5
I wonder if seeing Buddy with a car and a life will motivate Rowdy some?
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KaraBoo
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Post by KaraBoo on Apr 26, 2015 10:15:08 GMT -5
I sure hope so!
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Apr 26, 2015 10:16:16 GMT -5
Btw, he's very handsome. Eye candy is always appreciated.
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NancysSummerSip
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Post by NancysSummerSip on Apr 26, 2015 11:03:11 GMT -5
Buddy is a very handsome lad! That alone ought to be motivation!!!!!!!!!!
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KaraBoo
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Post by KaraBoo on Apr 26, 2015 14:51:43 GMT -5
Buddy is a very handsome lad! That alone ought to be motivation!!!!!!!!!! Thank you!! I've always thought Buddy was handsome - but I figured I was just biased! You would think so, wouldn't you? But, alas, no.....Rowdy doesn't think like that. Part of the problem is because Buddy is autistic (high functioning asperger's), so Rowdy believes that Buddy cannot compete with everything that Rowdy has. Rowdy's always been embarrassed by Buddy's social awkwardness, so in his mind, Buddy is "lesser" than him. But....when I talk to the other kids in band, especially the girls - they always talk about how sweet and helpful Buddy is. Buddy just doesn't know how to talk to girls - he's not quite a Sheldon, but neither is he a Leonard either (Big Bang Theory). Whereas, I see Rowdy as the Phil character from "Last Man Standing". He could be a really good catch, but he keeps lying and making things worse for himself and then blames everyone else. (I've been watching too much TV lately apparently!)
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Apr 26, 2015 15:55:26 GMT -5
As heart breaking as it is, you cannot help someone who doesn't want to be helped. Some of us, including me, have had troubled children. My troubled child starts PA school next month. She's never been easy but she's going to be alright. It takes some longer than others to get the chip off their shoulder.
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KaraBoo
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Post by KaraBoo on Apr 26, 2015 18:02:12 GMT -5
Just left a "meeting" with Rowdy and his mom. I get so mentally exhausted with these meetings.
She claimes - we don't "love" him enough, "support" him enough, are not "proud" of him enough.
I asked her - Is she "proud" of him for deciding to drop out of school?
She said, "No, but someone has to be on his side."
<shaking my head>
This just means he's hearing two different messages and nothing will change and our job just got harder. <sigh>
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Apr 26, 2015 19:22:30 GMT -5
I'm not a bit surprised she's sabotaging him. Someone had to be filling his head with failure
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KaraBoo
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Post by KaraBoo on Apr 26, 2015 22:51:24 GMT -5
The biggest problem is they both have the mentality that "life isn't their fault" and that anything that goes wrong is the result of other people trying to hold them back, rather than taking responsibility for their own choices.
They both hate me because I won't follow the script they've written for their lives and I hold them accountable for their choices and actions.
That's where the accusation comes in that I'm not "supportive" enough. All because I won't say "poor baby!"
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taz157
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Post by taz157 on Apr 26, 2015 22:56:12 GMT -5
What does Hun say about all this?
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stillmovingforward
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Post by stillmovingforward on Apr 26, 2015 23:01:08 GMT -5
But KaraBoo............. she's right! You aren't supportive! You are, no way in @(%&^!@, going to support Rowdy in being a failure! So smile and agree with her. Hand the problem right back at Rowdy. As rough as it is, don't show anger. He'll most likely looking for a reason to start a fight with you and DH. So he can be angry with you guys instead of himself. Keep handing that problem back to him. I tell my kids 'let me know how that works for you'.
BTW- Buddy is a cutie. He'll do fine, it will just take him a few years longer to get the social cues of dating.
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KaraBoo
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Post by KaraBoo on Apr 26, 2015 23:09:36 GMT -5
He pretty much agrees with me. There is small things we disagree on, but they're minor.
Neither one of us agree with what is going on with mom and call her out on the crap. The problem is, she blames everything on me first, Hun second and then, maybe, she'll agree that maybe she has some responsibility as well.
Tonight she made the comment that " I don't love my son because I NEVER give him hugs or tell him that I love him." She uses this as "proof" that I don't love my step kids. I just shake my head in disbelief at her. What does that have to do with holding Rowdy responsible for his choices?
My son has aspergers. He hasn't willingly gave me a hug since he was 6 years old. Neither of us have a high need for PDA, including hugs. I've explained to her, and the kids, multiple times that people show love in different ways. I also reminded her that the kids were meant to feel horrible by her for liking me when they were younger so any displays of affection now, that boat sailed long ago.
It's just frustration for everyone involve.
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KaraBoo
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Post by KaraBoo on Apr 26, 2015 23:11:24 GMT -5
OMG! That's brilliant! I wish I had thought to say that! I'm totally stealing that if there is a next time - which you know there will be.
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Wisconsin Beth
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on Apr 27, 2015 7:07:25 GMT -5
The biggest problem is they both have the mentality that "life isn't their fault" and that anything that goes wrong is the result of other people trying to hold them back, rather than taking responsibility for their own choices. They both hate me because I won't follow the script they've written for their lives and I hold them accountable for their choices and actions. That's where the accusation comes in that I'm not "supportive" enough. All because I won't say "poor baby!" "poor baby. This is not good. How do you propose to fix this?" If I said this, the poor baby part would come out in a lousy tone. I know me well enough to know that. My not quite 7 year old also got a couple of "sucks to be you" out of me this last week too. I know I'm never getting mother of the year.
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KaraBoo
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Post by KaraBoo on Apr 27, 2015 7:45:44 GMT -5
The biggest problem is they both have the mentality that "life isn't their fault" and that anything that goes wrong is the result of other people trying to hold them back, rather than taking responsibility for their own choices. They both hate me because I won't follow the script they've written for their lives and I hold them accountable for their choices and actions. That's where the accusation comes in that I'm not "supportive" enough. All because I won't say "poor baby!" "poor baby. This is not good. How do you propose to fix this?" If I said this, the poor baby part would come out in a lousy tone. I know me well enough to know that. My not quite 7 year old also got a couple of "sucks to be you" out of me this last week too. I know I'm never getting mother of the year. Beth - this is just "proof" that you obviously don't love your kids. (Dripping with sarcasm - I know you love your kids!) If I said anything like this, I'd also have an issue with it sounding even remotely non-sarcastic. I finally gave up being someone I'm not. I'm not someone who holds her tongue when I see something wrong. I do have tact and timing (usually), which is why I haven't said anything about work just yet; but I've been in this "battle" with the ex for years now - I'm not going to back down just because she throws false accusations at me.
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