hi, can i check you out?

so i know everyone is just dying to know how the job's going, so i though i'd post a little update. i purchased a new hard drive for my computer (thanks mutti), but parley's still in the process of installing programs and making updates. once it's up and running again, i should get back to my full blogging strength.

as you may notice, the time is early afternoon. 'but suz, shouldn't you be at work?', one might ask... no! for today is thursday and the office is closed after noon. every other week i'll have to stay the whole time to catch up on filing and other duties...but since i'm just a greenie i got to go home. so far i've been working at the check-out desk. when patients are done, they come see me. i 1) fill out a lab sheet for them if they need to go next door for tests. this takes a while because i have to put all kinds of info on it. 2) schedule appointments for any tests they need (like colonoscopys, ekg's, mir's) or call up another doctor's office if we've made a referral. this usually takes a lot of time because schedulers are busy and put you on hold a lot. also, reading a doctor's handwriting is near impossible, so i always have to ask what the patient is being referred for/diagnosis, etc. 3) schedule a follow up appointment at our office if needed (pretty easy- i like filling out the little 'you have an appointment' cards). at this point the patient can leave, unless they want a receipt for their copay...for which they'll have to sit and watch me 4) bill the patient, enter in their copay amount and put their bill and money in a drawer. this entire process varies in time, but usually takes about 5 minutes. it's pretty easy when the patients come in one at a time, but this rarely ever happens. what results are periods of boredom, and periods of high-pressure working.

and on top of all that....i have to schedule tests for patients that have called in, make out lab requisitions, file stuff into patient files, locate missing files, answer the phone (my least favorite task, mostly because half the time i dont know what they're asking for- this will improve with time), fax stuff to other offices, occasionally handle drug reps, and i'm sure some other stuff that i havent learned how to do yet. the plus side of this job is that there is always something to do. i used to hate being at citimortgage, being finished with everything, and just sitting there. the downside is that sometimes there's just too much to do. i have a hard time believing that amy, the girl who's training me, did this stuff all on her own before i got here. but i've improved a lot since monday, and i can imagine that in 6 months i'll be just as competent as she is.

another interesting thing about this job is that every monday and friday drug reps buy us lunch. i'll admit that i kind of felt like a sellout as i ate my applebees my first day... maybe i should just get over myself and order a steak.

so, that's it for now. if you've had half as much fun reading this post as i've had making it....well, then i've had twice as much fun making it than you've had reading it.