|
Congratulations to FootZine Advisory Board member Marlene Kern, RN, PRT! She was recently appointed to the examining board of the American Registry for Radiological Technologists/ Limited Scope Section, representing Podiatry. She attended her first meeting with them last week in Minneapolis/St. Paul, where she was very graciously received. What an honor for her to be able to represent this profession, especially since "podiatric radiology" isn't very well understood in other fields.
*_* *_* *_*
Most of you have probably read or heard about the joint APMA/Prevention Magazine awards for the "Ten Best Walking Cities", which were named in the April issue of Prevention. One of those cities was Seattle, and next weekend, the Washington State Podiatric Medical Association will be "taking it a step further". Saturday morning, April 19th, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels will be joining WSPMA members at Green Lake for presentation of the award, followed by a group walk around the lake.
WSPMA Executive Director Susan Scanlan, DPM, reports that in addition to the involvement of the Mayor's office, local athletic shoe store Super Jock-N-Jill and the bottlers of Talking Rain water are expressing interest in participating in the events. Seattle-area podiatrists and staff who want to be part of this great opportunity to promote our profession can check the FootZine web site's "Calendar" page for more details as they are finalized. http://www.footzine.com/FZ_4.htm
Good going, y'all!
~ Gayle
*_* Networking *_*
Two positions available:
(1) Full-time medical insurance billing clerk, including Accounts Payable/Accounts Receivable.
(2) Part-time receptionist, 25+ hours.
Edmonds, Washington
Fax resume to (425) 775-9078.
*_* *_* *_*
Small Seattle suburb office looking for highly motivated, personable individual to perform front office duties, light back office duties and billing. Salary dependent on experience.
Fax resume to (425) 836-9211.
Notices of positions wanted or positions available, as well as other "classified" information, are welcome. They are posted at the FootZine web site's Networking page. Have a look at http://www.footzine.com/FZ_6.htm
*_* FootZine Feeture Article
*_*
Pearls of Practice Management
by John Guiliana, DPM, MS
Managing The Job Interview
Some managers experience a mental block when interviewing a job candidate. A checklist of questions makes it easier to provide revealing answers. According to many sources, some of the most important skill sets required by employers in the coming years are:
* Understanding the necessity of taking direction
* The ability to work with others
* Speed and mental processing
* Analytical skills
The following questions serve to outline these areas for a Podiatry job candidate:
* How do you determine your priorities?
* How do you plan your week?
* How do you plan your day?
* What special characteristics should I consider about you?
* Why are you interviewing with us?
* What have you done that shows initiative and willingness to work?
* If you were hiring for this position, what would you be looking for?
* What was the previous job's biggest challenge?
* How many levels of management did you interact with?
* What kind of work interests you most?
* How would you describe the ideal job for you?
* What happens when two priorities compete for your time?
* What's the toughest communication problem you faced?
* When have your verbal communications been important enough to follow up in writing?
* Tell me about the time when someone has lost his/her temper at you in a business environment.
* Have you ever worked in a place where it seemed to be just one crisis after another?
* How did you handle it? How did you feel?
* What do you see as some of your most pressing developmental needs?
* Define cooperation.
* What quality should a successful manager possess?
* How have past managers gotten the best out of you?
* A two-part question: Describe the best manager you've ever had. Describe the toughest manager you've ever had.
* And last, for what have you been most frequently criticized?
I also like an idea of asking questions in the form “role playing” such as “what would you do if a patient did the following…”?
Some questions are, of course, strictly forbidden. Various federal, state, and local laws regulate the questions a prospective employer can ask. An employer's questions, either on the job application, in the interview, or during the testing process, must be related to the job for which the candidate is applying. For the employer, the focus must be: "What do I need to know to decide whether or not this person can perform the functions of this job?" You can, however, obtain excellent data on people regarding those areas by asking the question in a slightly different fashion:
Illegal
* Are you a US citizen?
* How old are you?
* What is your marital status?
* Do you have children?
* Do you plan on having children?
* Do you have any disabilities?
Legal
* Are you authorized to work in the U.S.?
* Are you over the age of 18?
* Will you be able to work overtime or travel when the job requires it?
* Are you capable of performing the physical aspects of the job?
Allowing the candidate to speak freely is your best source of information. While we all love to speak, a job interview is a time to listen.
John V. Guiliana, DPM, MS
Footzine Advisor
Fellow and Trustee, AAPPM
Dr. Guiliana's articles and Pearls can be found on the FootZine web site on the "Feeture Article" page: http://www.footzine.com/FZ_P.htm
*_* Coding Made Crystal Clear
*_*
By Phillip E. Ward, DPM
Often a podiatric physician must debride more than one ulcer on a single patient visit. The problem is how to relay the information that more than one ulcer was involved to the third party payer. If the debridement were done on multiple toes, then the T modifiers would be appropriate. The RT and LT modifiers would differentiate ulcer care done on separate feet. A 59 modifier would indicate that a separate procedure was performed at a different location.
Crystal-Clear Coding tips by Dr. Ward are posted on the FootZine web site on this page:
http://www.footzine.com/FZ_C.htm
*_*
Gems of Practice Management *_*
by Hal Ornstein DPM, FACFAS and Lynn Homisak, PRT
"Through the Eyes of the Innocent"
Recently we had the good fortune of speaking with the students at the Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine about practice management. It is so enjoyable to help influence such un-adulterated minds, and quite frustrating that they often are victim to such negativism about their future and that of our profession. There is clearly a void of practice management education delivered to them while at the schools, especially as it relates to staff management.
Our graduates are better trained than ever with multi-year residency programs. With this confidence in delivering quality medicine comes a parallel belief that they understand how to run an office. As a new associate, they are often out to show that they are “in control” and treat the staff with a particular lack of respect. They are not aware that the staff can run circles around them on communicating with patients, effective patient flow and patient satisfaction. A tug of war ensues which unfortunately results in a “winner and loser”.
To avoid this painful scenario, start a dialogue early on in your relationship with this new associate to lay some groundwork for a win-win situation. Communicate that you appreciate their stellar education and their ability to provide excellent care to your patients. Offer to spend time with them to each week to help educate them on the front office, back office and billing. Let them know you are there to help them be more efficient, while working smarter and with less stress. In turn, you would appreciate them offering their suggestions to improve the office and patient care, as well as sharing with you their knowledge of podiatric medicine and surgery.
They will feel right at home by you letting them know that you are looking forward to spending many hours together each week, and look forward to a long and rewarding relationship.
Previous "Gems" can be found on their own pages of the FootZine.com web site, at
http://www.footzine.com/FZ_90.htm
*_* *_* *_*
Now we have more daylight hours to enjoy the flowers coming up, among other things, as we take advantage of our favorite walking places. Here's hoping you find time to write, too!
~ Gayle
Copyright 2003 Gayle S. Johnson, PMAC All
Rights Reserved.
DISCLAIMER: Acceptance and publication of any letter, article, news
item or advertisement does not necessarily constitute or imply
approval or endorsement by myself of the product, idea, or content
therein. I reserve the right to edit or to not publish any material
received. Any letters published are the property of FootZine.
Any health- or legal- and financial- related information is for
educational purposes only and should not be construed as medical,
legal or financial advice, or a substitute for the advice of a
healthcare professional, attorney, financial advisor or any other
consultant or professional. Information pertaining to legal matters
should not perceived as legal advice, nor should discussion about
such issues as Medicare, coding, and billing be considered as
definitive. All content is presented as being only the opinions of
the contributors and is for educational purposes only.
To Subscribe or Unsubscribe, simply send an email request to me at:
gaylejohnson@footzine.com
Gayle S. Johnson, PMAC
|
