The Bureau of Labor Statistics has some pretty exciting statistics for medical administrative assistants: they’re earning about $2.00 more than the national hourly average for healthcare support occupations and about $4,500 over the national average for yearly salary within the same category¹.

The medical administrative assistant career also stacks up well against other careers in the allied health field:

Growth in the medical administrative assistant field is also strong, expected to grow by 27% in the next eight years².

The Bureau of Labor statistics remains the definitive source for an accurate snapshot of employment and earning in the U.S. today, but for our working medical administrative assistants: how do these numbers compare to what you’re currently experiencing in your workplace?

¹ U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
United States, May 2009 Edition: http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm#29-0000

² U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition: http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos151.htm

You have to get down to work. You have to sit down to study. But instead, you make another a cup of tea, chat with a friend, or shop online.

We all do it, because procrastination is one of life’s guilty little pleasures. But if procrastination becomes a habitual pattern, it can add a lot of stress to our lives.

So, do you procrastinate? According to the book Good Stress, Bad Stress, these could be the underlying reasons:

Cumulative procrastination – If you’ve let your work pile up, it becomes harder and harder to attack it.

Perfectionism – If you’re worried that you cannot handle certain tasks well, you tend to avoid them.

Conflict avoidance – If you fear that tacking a certain project will trigger disagreement with your boss or a colleague, you tend to avoid it.

Here are some procrastination-fighting techniques for medical administrative assistants recommended by Barry Lenson, author of Good Stress, Bad Stress:

Tackle unpleasant tasks first thing in the morning. If you’ve been delaying a touchy conversation with your boss or a colleague, have it as soon as you arrive at work. Tackling dreaded tasks first gives you energy that can boost your productivity through the day.

Say, “I’ll work on it for just five minutes.” This tactic works especially well if you have let work pile up. When you make just a small commitment to start on a backlog of work, you break the logjam and get going.

Work with a partner. Take a batch of work, divide it up with a colleague, and get started. (And offer to share his or her work in the same way.) When you cooperate on a body of work, you stand a better chance of whittling a pile of work down to size. Cooperation is fun and energizing.

Have you found strategies for fighting procrastination? If so, why not take a moment and share them here with other readers of Medical Administrative Assistant Blog?

In the field of Medical Assisting we talk a lot about HIPAA.  Many call it “the privacy act” or “security rule”.  Its true intention is the portability of the insurance coverage in order to provide continuity of coverage for workers and their families when they lose or change jobs.

The law covers several items related to safety and security of a patient’s information – things like responsibilities, verification, validation and training, amongst others.

One area that is worth  mentioning is Safeguards; this is the ensuring that confidential information remains secure.

All entities must have in place appropriate safeguards to ensure the protection of a person’s confidential information.  These security measures as described by HIPAA include administrative, technical and physical safeguards.  And many times we assume these are taking place. But do we really focus and protect our patient’s information on a continual basis?

Administrative safeguards require us to verify a patient and or their due representative.

Do we have signatures on file? Do we verify these every time we’re asked to provide information to persons other than the patient? A good idea would be to include in the patient’s record a photocopy of their identification; this ID should be state issued.

Technical safeguards require us to use user names and passwords on computers containing patient information.

Do you always log-out when you walk away from your computer? Remember, only persons who need to should be seeing a patient’s information.  Also remember to perform hardware backups in order to not only protect the information, but also to have it available in the event of a system malfunction.

Physical safeguards require us to keep physical records in a locked (preferably fireproof) area and are designated for the storage of paper records.

To ensure their security, you should have to go through two locks to get to the records.

Remember that safeguarding information is important in the daily operations of every healthcare facility.

Be Safe, Be Aware

Medical Administrative Assisting Blog is sponsored by Ultimate Medical Academy (UMA), a leading healthcare career school. UMA has campus locations in Tampa and Clearwater, Florida, as well as a national online program. For more information about UMA please visit our website atwww.ultimatemedical.edu

According to Randall S. Hansen, founder of QuintCareers, cold calling potential employers can be a highly effective way to discover unadvertised jobs and get interviews with employers. “Cold calling, or uninvited job-hunting, is a proven method of finding employment,” writes Hansen on his blog. “When you consider that four-fifths of the job market is `closed,’ meaning you can’t find out about available job openings unless you dig for them – prospect for them – this method of job-hunting takes on great importance.”

Hansen recommends using cold-calling as one part of this job-hunting strategy:

First, identify potential employers in your area.

Second, call those employers and ask the person who answers the phone for the names of managers who hire people for the kind of job you are seeking.

Third, send a strong cover letter and resume to each of those hiring managers.

Fourth, call those managers to ask for an informational interview – not a job interview. In an informational interview, you ask general questions about gaining an entrée into the profession or about other potential employers in the area. Hanson explains, “Even if the majority of them say there are no current openings, interviewing with them gives you the opportunity to dazzle them – and then ask for referrals to other employers who might have job openings available.”

Medical Administrative Assisting Blog is sponsored by Ultimate Medical Academy (UMA), a leading healthcare career school. UMA has campus locations in Tampa and Clearwater, Florida, as well as a national online program. For more information about UMA please visit our website at www.ultimatemedical.edu

Are you currently working or planning to work from home? Are you concerned about the huge amounts of data that are piling up on your home computer? Here are a few of the best ways to backup your work:

Mozy – This is an online backup service that takes your data and stores it somewhere “off-site”. Off-site means that the data is backed up somewhere away from your computer. The benefit of this is that no matter what happens to your electronics or your living space (theft, fire, etc), your data is still protected. Mozy offers 2 GB of storage for free, which is usually sufficient for your word documents and other essential files. There is also an unlimited service that costs $4.95 per month.

Other online storage services to consider: Carbonite, VaultLogix, Data Deposit Box

CrashPlan – Crashplan is a service that backs up all of your data to another personal computer. The service is free and is another great option to get your data off-site. You can backup your data to any computer as long as they agree to accept it. As the website says, “Back up to as many destinations as you want: in your house, across town or across the country!”

External Hard-Drives – These serve as extensions of your computer’s hard drive and are available in a variety of sizes and prices, depending on how much data you need to backup. Depending on the speed of your computer, and the size of your hard drive, backing up your data could be a time consuming process. Also, if you lose the hard drive – which can be as small as a wallet – all your data will be gone. Check out Deal News for weekly specials on external hard-drives.

CD/DVD – This is the cheapest available option, and since most PCs are now equipped with CD burners, there are few obstacles in getting started. Since this is the cheapest option, however, there are some concerns; it can take considerable time and discs to backup large drives, and CDs can be easily scratched and ruined without proper caution. If you only need to backup a little bit of crucial data, and are confident in your care for the discs, then CD/DVD may be your best option for data backup.

Do you have any advice on the best data backup options? Please leave us a comment and let us know what has worked for you!

Medical Administrative Assisting Blog is sponsored by Ultimate Medical Academy (UMA), a leading healthcare career school. UMA has campus locations in Tampa and Clearwater, Florida, as well as a national online program.  For more information about UMA please visit our website atwww.ultimatemedical.edu

Note: This post was originally posted on our Medical Billing and Coding Blog. Check it out for more information!

“I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw some things back…”

- Maya Angelou, in an interview with Oprah Winfrey.

Is it possible to manage workflow that comes to you from two, three or more bosses?

It can be done, but it can also be a challenge. Consider these words from a medical biller and coder who works for a small group of physicians:

“Each doctor thinks that his or her work is priority one,” she states. “And since I am not really in a position to say no to any of them, I feel like I am being pulled in all directions while my in-basket piles higher and higher.”

So, how can you manage workflow from multiple bosses? Here are some suggestions from a variety of experts.

Suggestion One: Let Your Bosses Decide what Comes First

Get conflicting bosses into one room and let them help set your priorities. But don’t use this tactic if both bosses are already fighting aggressively for your time – you could end up with an even bigger pile of work and no resolution.

Source: Adapted from the book Managing Multiple Bosses: How to Juggle Priorities, Personalities & Projects – and Make It Look Easy by Pat Nickerson (AMACOM books, 1998).

Suggestion Two: Keep a Time Log

Simply keep a calendar for three or four days where you log exactly what you worked on, in 15-minute increments. If certain bosses are claiming an unbalanced share of your time, your time log should provide documentation that things are not being handled fairly.

Source: Adapted from the book How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life by Alan Lakein (Signet, 1989).

Suggestion Three: Schedule Individual Meetings with Your Bosses

Schedule time with each one. Explain that you want to handle everyone’s work more effectively, explain the workload you are dealing with, and ask them to make suggestions. Asking for help in this way is more effective than saying no to new work.

Source: Management consultant Jennifer B. Kahnweiler writing on AMANET.com. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s easy to find ourselves stuck in the grind of everyday, especially when working or taking classes from home. We get into the same weekly routine and take little time to think about what we are actually doing. Are you growing? Are you pushing yourself? There is a question that I ask myself at the end of every week. It is simple:

What did I learn last week?

The secret to moving forward, in life, in school, in a job, anywhere, is that you have to be constantly learning and growing, and be aware of that learning and growth. Some things to think about when you ask yourself this question:

1. Internalize information.

Internalizing is essential in this time of information overload. We are constantly wired in. We are surrounded by news, information, breaking stories and investigative reports. You can scroll through hundreds of stories on Google Reader, but how much are you actually internalizing. What are you learning? Write some points down from what you read and make an effort to talk about it.

2. Find learning in unexpected places.

Think of every experience as an opportunity to learn about yourself. Sometimes we learn the most when things go wrong. Instead of complaining about it (and wasting energy), ask yourself, “What have I learned about myself from this experience?” and move on.

3. Don’t over-think.

Don’t stress over whether you are absorbing every concrete detail of your work. It is impossible to be fully engaged 100% of the time. Instead of stressing over little details, take a look at the big picture. What are you learning from your experiences? Be aware of your growth and set goals so that you know you are moving in the right direction.

So, what did you learn last week?

“Top 10 Unbelievable Interview Blunders,” an article on CareerBuilder.com, tells some really funny stories about blunders that job-seekers have committed in interviews. There was the man who asked his interviewer to leave her own office so he could have a “private” conversation on his cell phone.  And the candidate who asked his interviewer for a ride home after the interview. And the man who told his interviewer that he was “a people person, not a numbers person” – even though he was applying for an accounting job.

Job-seekers with common sense would never make mistakes like those. But the problem is, even smart people can make small blunders that tarnish their images.  The most common mistakes seem to be scuffed shoes, stained ties and excessive jewelry.  But other problems can be overlooked by smart job-seekers too. Here are some basic points to cover, adapted from “Dressing for Success”, an article by Alison Doyle on About.com.

Women’s Interview Attire . . .

• Moderate shoes
• Limited jewelry
• Neat, professional hairstyle
• Tan or light hosiery
• Sparse make-up and perfume
• Manicured nails
• Portfolio or briefcase

Men’s Interview Attire . . .

• Dark socks, professional shoes
• Very limited jewelry
• Neat, professional hairstyle
• Go easy on the aftershave
• Neatly trimmed nails
• Portfolio or briefcase

Have you made mistakes in interview that you would like to help other job-seekers avoid? If so, please take a moment to tell us about them on this blog.

Note: This post was originally published on Medical Billing and Coding Blog.

The internet is full of web-based and social tools that may help you have a richer, more valuable experience in school. We have selected a few of our favorite resources for medical administrative assistant students. Let us know if you have any others that you think should be added to the list!

1. Evernote is a note-taking program that syncs with a personal online portfolio so that you can have access to your classroom notes from any computer.

2. Google Reader is an RSS aggregator that will organize all of your news sources and blogs into one easily accessible location.

3. Google Docs allows you to create documents that are easily shareable with a group of people. Great for projects and collaborations.

4. GradeMate is a powerful online organizer for teachers and students to keep track of their courses — from managing grades, assignments, and events to sharing files, course notes, and class discussions.

5. StudyRails is the online study tool that helps you schedule your time for more effective study habits and homework management. For chronic procrastinators, you can even set it to block specific websites or programs during scheduled homework time!

6. Delicious is a social bookmarking website that keeps all your bookmarks in one location online, so that you can access them from anywhere.

We told you last week how to use social media to increase your chances of finding a career as a medical administrative assistant.  The most important thing when creating or managing your social media platforms is ensuring that you are aware of what image you are putting forth.  Managing your online reputation is becoming more and more important, whether you like it or not.

To help you maintain or find a career as a medical administrative assistant, you need to make sure that your online reputation is spotless.

1. Start by Googling Yourself

Put your full name in the google search and see what turns up.  This is what hiring managers will be doing, so you need to be one step ahead.  What do you see?  Is there embarrassing information?  Pictures from college parties?  Set up a Google Alert for your name that will notify you every time a new search result appears with your name.  This is a great way to keep tabs on what the internet knows about you.

2. Make a list of all your online profiles.

Compile a comprehensive list of all your profiles on social networking sites and any other profiles that might come up in a search for your name. The object of managing your personal brand online is not becoming invisible, but rather controlling what future business contacts, employers, and colleagues will see.

For profiles and accounts that you do not want to show up in search results, simply use an ambiguous display name and avatar. Use Google to remind yourself of profiles you might have that you forgot about.

3. Clean up your “Big Three”

Hiring managers are looking on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to research job candidates.  In fact, CNN says that “of the hiring managers who use social networking sites for candidate research, 24 percent said profiles encouraged them to hire the job seekers.”

Being on these sites can give you a leg up against the competition, but only if you are conscious and cautious of the material posted.  Go through these profiles and either ensure that you have strict privacy settings or remove any content that wouldn’t want a hiring manager to see.