No Shortcuts

Featured Coffee – Orange Coconut Flavored Coffee

I had a colleague who was also a friend.  She called me and asked my opinion.  She wanted to sit for another certification because she felt that it would accelerate her career.  I’m all for multiple certifications as long as you’re not a “jack of all trades, but master of none”.

In all of the years I’d known and worked with her, she had never coded outside of professional fee coding.  I asked her if she felt comfortable in that new arena and she was sure.

She lived in another state, but she planned to fly to my state to sit for the exam.  She explained that she had a friend who was proctoring an exam.  She would stay with her and take the exam over the weekend.  Didn’t sound right to me and I voiced my concerns.  Fast forward, she passed the exam.

Years later, I worked as a coder and I was talking to one of the other coders.  We were sharing our backgrounds and she told me that she proctored exams.  She asked if I was interested in more certifications.  I told her that I was too busy to study for an exam.  She told me that was not a problem and she shared a story with me about a friend who flew into town, stayed with her over the .  weekend and took the exam.  Small world, you never know who knows who.

Stand On Your Own Merits

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Unfortunately, some of us have had experience with people I call “crabs in the pot.”  These are people who cannot or don’t have the motivation, to climb up, and they consume their time and energy trying to pull others down with them.

I was working as an auditor for a coding contractor at a local hospital-based physician group.  The office door opened and in walked my “frienemy” from years ago.  She was brought on by another company to work on the coding backlog.

Days later, the billing manager came into the office (I had to share an office with my frienemy).  She said she was looking for a coding manager and she asked if I would be interested in applying for the position.  I had a non-compete with the company that hired me, but I told her I would let others know about the job.

Well, my “frienemy” applied for the position, and she interviewed with the billing manager.  When my “frienemy” returned to the office, the billing manager called me to her office.  She shared with me that my “frienemy” spent the entire meeting trash-talking me!

It goes without saying, she was not offered the job.

 

 

Story Time

Featured coffee – Mexican Liqueur and Cream

Last week, I shared “Do It Yourself” and my experience with the facility coding manager.  Well, before that encounter, I was asked by the same coding manager to sit in on a session that one of her auditors was presenting to a group of physicians.  I sat in the front row, and the coding manager sat in the back of the room.

The powerpoint handout was about fifteen pages, and the auditor stood in the front of the room and read each page to the group.  Now, I know that we all have our own ways of presenting, but I had never witnessed someone stand in front of a group and read to them.  For me, the handout is only just for my talking points, and it also provides space for the attendees to take notes.

When the presenter completed the last page, she asked if anyone had any questions, and the room was utterly silent.   She lost her audience at ‘Once upon a time.’

As a result, that’s how I ended doing the 7:00 a.m. presentation that I shared in “Do It Yourself.”