Healthcare: Jobs Landed

While I always knew that I wanted to pursue a career in science, during my PhD work I found that the parts of working as a researcher that I enjoyed the most were the communication aspects: analyzing, writing and presenting.  I also knew that while I love learning, teaching and speaking about science, I did not enjoy hands-on lab work.  I began to research career options and discovered many articles about medical writing.  I tried my hand at a few freelance gigs during graduate school, and I enjoyed the work so much that I decided to become a full-time freelancer after graduation this past August.  This was also a perfect opportunity for me to relocate back to my home state of Michigan, since I only work from home.

My job consists of writing and editing various types of media for medical communication companies, academic medical centers and researchers and publication companies.  I help my clients to create slide decks, manuscripts, needs assessments, continuing medical education (CME) materials, sales force training modules, patient information materials and posters.  I love the variety of not only the different projects that I work on, but also the many different subject areas that I get to write about.  One day I may be writing about cancer therapies, and the next day I am writing about autoimmune disorder treatment strategies.  The other great aspect of this job is that I get to work from home, according to my own schedule.  This career is a perfect fit for me and I am happy to say that I finally am working my dream job!

I coordinate a nutrition and physical education program for middle school students in the Detroit area called Healthy Kids and Kidneys. I also dabble in fundraising, organizing a bowling event in the fall, and I help manage an organ donation program targeting Black Greek organizations throughout the state.

As the talent acquisition coordinator at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, my role is constantly evolving. I am a recruiter, an event planner, an interview coordinator and a system administrator. Having graduated with a degree in journalism and a focus on visual communication, I'm very new to talent acquisition. I started as an intern after my graduation from MSU, and the field ended up clicking for me. BCBSM has really stepped up its internship program to include volunteer opportunities with Summer in the City (http://www.summerinthecity.com/) and a social program hosted by After 5 Detroit (http://after5detroit.com/a5/). BCBSM's commitment to not only the social mission of creating a healthier Michigan, but to the development of Detroit as a home for the company registered as something I want to be a part of.

How I landed my job: I met the internship coordinator at an MSU Career Fair and was offered a summer internship after my May 2011 graduation. After my internship I applied to an open position in my department, interviewed, and got the job. My advice: go to career fairs! There is no shame in a post-graduation internship. It's like dating before getting married - ease into the commitment!

I'm really excited to see where this company will take me and how far I can go.

As a Communications Specialist I am responsible for the layout and written portion of hospital publications, media, and marketing material including a monthly employee newsletter, quarterly community publication and annual donor report; billboards, newspaper/magazine advertisements, flyers, brochures, radio and television broadcast announcements; and pre/post press releases for all hospital news and fundraising events. I coordinate media coverage of fundraising events and hospital news. I assist with POH Riley Foundation fundraising events; recruit event volunteers. I assist with the development of event invitations, program booklets, sponsorship packages, solicitation letters and special gift acknowledgment letters. I attend community events on behalf of the foundation and provide presentations to promote programs for the uninsured and underinsured. I process advertising requests from outside organizations and create such advertisements. I order promotional items for the Marketing Department/POH Riley Foundation. I manage website for the POH Riley Foundation and POHRMC news sections of www.pohregional.org. I supervise interns and volunteers of the Marketing Department/POH Riley Foundation.

I am a co-founder and the President of Practical EHR Solutions, LLC (Pehr), a software developer and service provider that helps physicians increase productivity and profitability.  Pehr is developing software that will educate and guide healthcare professionals through the implementation of 44 best practice initiatives, most of which are the result of the constantly changing regulatory environment in healthcare and the increasing technical skill set needed for compliance. While the software is in development, Pehr is focusing on providing Electronic Health Record implementation services directly to physician practices. My most previous job was as the Chief Operating Officer of a 50 physician multispecialty group where she and the other Pehr co-founders developed an implementation methodology that allows physicians to achieve a positive return on their EHR investment.
 
Along with my team, I launched the organization in January 2011 in Ann Arbor, feeling there is no better place for a healthcare IT start-up organization.

My primary responsibility is for the delivery of our software and services, but like everyone else working for a startup company, I wear many hats.  From day to day I can be doing sales, project management, or software design.

MentalNote is an electronic medical records (EMR) for the behavioral health industry. MentalNote was created and designed by Dr. James Hughes, a psychiatrist and programming hobbyist. Dr. Hughes and I created the H&T Medical Solutions company to help simplify psychiatrist's documentation in private practices. The company is refer as MentalNote, the brand name. After three years of piloting MentalNote and selling over 150 paid licenses in 5 countries, the market research showed a need for MentalNote. It provided simple tools and features that was missing in the EMR industry.

As CEO of MentalNote, the responsibilities are unlimited and I LOVE it. Like any entrepreneur for a startup, you wear multiple hats to run your business. Not only do I have to manage the daily operations of the company, meet the sales projections, continuously build the brand, seek partnership to expand the business and pay my employees, but I also have to do a lot of public relations (PR) for MentalNote. Being the CEO, I have to accept that I am the face of the brand and that the energy, exciting and PR I do everyday is how the brand will be perceived. I want MentalNote to be known as a "creative" company and not just another EMR. In addition, making sure our business partners are as equal or more successful  than we are is very important to me. I tremendously enjoy this job and I find it challenging each day.

I am so excited to be apart of the Ann Arbor Community. It is an amazing area filled with so many different people, and a lot of them are as passionate about their Health as I am! I believe that being a great doctor isn't about how much we talk to our patients, but how much we listen. You can learn so much if you would ask questions and listen to the answers. I have believed that all my life and find that it is what works best in a Doctor - Patient relationship. As a doctor of chiropractic I am dedicated to helping people live pain free, and providing them with the tools to help them create a better life everyday through health and wellness. Chiropractic is not just a medicine to help those in pain, but it is a preventative to your future health! I look forward to helping my neighbors get on the track to a healthy life, and pain free life, and become an integral part of the Ann Arbor Community and Family's!

Health care is very exciting right now with the new reform laws and initiatives.  While I've always worked in health care, I specificaly wanted to work on something that really benefited Michigan and the people of Michigan.  M-CEITA fits that perfectly. M-CEITA’s purpose is to help providers navigate the complex health IT (HIT) marketplace by providing guidance with selection, adoption and effective use of HIT – resulting in successful achievement of the Meaningful Use criteria and receipt of federal incentive payments.

The M-CEITA program is making a concerted effort to work with the Physician Organizations and Physician Hospital Organizations, Physician Associations, payers, hospitals, and health systems in Michigan to help educate and promote IT adoption in physician practices. These organizations have a high degree of influence on physician choices, and they have played a critical role in motivating and organizing the physician communities in adopting e-prescribe systems, patient registries, and other process / quality improvement initiatives.  Working through the Physician Organizations to either define or promote an IT adoption strategy for their affiliated physician communities is one of the best ways to reach the physician community and motivate IT adoption. At M-CEITA, I facilitate partnership development and business relationships with the physician organizations and physician hospital organizations in Michigan, helping to develop strategies that will promote HIT adoption in the individual physician practices.  

As a critical care nurse at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, I not only receive fulfillment by caring for the ill, but also gain a sense of connection with my community members.  The majority of the patients I care for suffer from advanced heart, lung, and kidney diseases. Understanding that the origins for these diseases are largely treatable, I aim to become a nurse practitioner with the intention to join the effort to educate and treat patients in order to reduce the risk of chronic illness.

I currently work as a Patient Support Specialist at Scientific Image Center in Troy, MI.  My job is to extend relationships with new and existing patients by discovering their interests and needs in facial plastic surgery, and then offering the most appropriate solution. We are the nation's leader in facial rejuvenation, specializing in firming procedures for the lower face and neck.  In addition to my sales/marketing role, I also provide sales support and customer service for the midwest region of the U.S.

Trinity Health is the fourth largest Catholic Health System in the United States, encompassing 47 hospitals (35 owned and 12 managed) across the nation.  I am employed at Trinity's home office under the Unified Revenue Organization (URO).  The purpose of the URO is to create system-wide models for our hospitals to follow as they perform day-to-day operations such as reimbursement, pricing, managed care contracting, registration, billing and collections, and clinical coding / documentation. As a member of the Reimbursement team, I provide analytical and technical support to special initiatives on Medicare, Blue Cross, and Wage Index, as well as contribute to other projects as needed.  In addition to my daily responsibilities, I currently serve as the Secretary of  Trinity Health's African American Associate Resource Group and the Chairperson for the annual National Reimbursement Directors' Conference. The past eight months with Trinity Health have been very rewarding, as I admire the company's culture, people, and dedication to serving our patients and communities.

As a critical care nurse at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, I not only receive fulfillment by caring for the ill, but also gain a sense of connection with my community members.  The majority of the patients I care for suffer from advanced heart, lung, and kidney diseases. Understanding that the origins for these diseases are largely treatable, I aim to become a nurse practitioner with the intention to join the effort to educate and treat patients in order to reduce the risk of chronic illness.

As a Community Representative; I recruit, develop, manage and empower volunteers to become involved in special event fund-raising, patient programs and advocacy work. My role also includes expanding the presence of the American Cancer Society throughout the Oak Park, Walled Lake, Commerce & Dearborn communities through the development and cultivation of constituent relationships.

What I enjoy most about my job is the variety of the events with which I assist and or plan to raise money and awareness for Children's Hospital of Michigan. As a Special Events Coordinator, I manage or assist with approximately 28 events each year with a fundraising portfolio totaling over $330,000. Our special events team manages approximately 130 third party events each year in addition to our own signature event.  My job is always fun and interesting because I am able to interact with a wide variety of donors from all walks of life and assist them with their fundraising efforts.   I also assist with marketing our events through writing our development e-mail blast, updating our signature event website (www.rockinontheroof.org) and adding our events on our Children's Hospital's facebook page (www.facebook.com/ChildrensDMC).

What I find most rewarding about my job is the knowledge that Children's Hospital has touched each of our donors lives as well as mine. It always amazes me when they share the incredible stories they have about the care that they have received here. As a former patient at Children's Hospital, I enjoy working in a place where I strongly believe in our mission and goals and work with others who do as well. Children's Hospital has everyday excellence meetings every Monday where we talk about how to work towards achieving excellence and not just the status quo. At Children's Hospital, you will find out by walking through the door that we are different from most hospitals. Everyone is welcoming and every one goes out of their way to help our patients and families. It is incredible when this is the standard and not the exception.