On The Lupie Side Of The Street

I'm still trying to remain positive despite the fact that job hunting is not going as well as I hoped it would. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense for me to look for a job in the medical field. No, not being a doctor or a nurse, but being a receptionist or medical biller. The problem I seem to be having is that most of these jobs require you to have experience in the field. How am I supposed to gain experience in this area if no one will allow me to experience anything?

Here's why I want to be a receptionist in a doctor's office or hospital, because I've been on the other side of the desk. I've been on the side begging for an appointment when they are booked for 6 months. I've been on the side wondering "What's wrong with me?" and no one is willing to figure it out. I've been confused, overwhelmed, scared, and alone. I know what it feels like to be told that your life is basically over. But I also know what it feels like to hear that your life isn't over, not yet at least. I can sympathize with the patient, maybe that's a bad thing, maybe I shouldn't be able to show emotion? I feel though that because I've been through it, because I understand, the patient will have a positive experience.

I believe that the patient experience begins from the minute they pick up the phone and make the appointment. If the receptionist isn't warm, caring, and understanding, it can often leave the patient in misery. The patient will be thinking the month leading up to the appointment "If the receptionist was that rude, will the doctor be the same way?" The patient will dread the appointment and have even more fears, just because of the attitude of the receptionist. Sometimes there is an amazing doctor beyond the not so great receptionist, but the patient doesn't always know that. I think if someone were to hire me to be a medical receptionist, I might be able to eliminate some of that agony.

I also understand that I won't have but so much time for each phone call. I'm certainly not suggesting that I have a full therapy session with each patient. My goal is to be calm, considerate, and caring with each patient. When you're calm, the person on the other end of the line is calm as well, even if they started out agitated. I want to be considerate of their feelings as well, they are people too, not just a patient with an insurance card. I plan to care about whatever their problem is, will I become emotionally attached? No. But will I care enough to do my personal best for the patient? Yes, I will.

So, if there is a doctor out there reading this in the Richmond, Virginia area and you need a receptionist, let me know. I won't slow down your practice, I work quickly and efficiently and I can type 70-80 words per minute. I'm a sweet, hard working, compassionate young woman who is looking for a job and willing to give it her all. I'm trying to get my life in order and having a job would certainly help the situation.

I'll leave you with something funny that would be great in a religious greeting card. "If you need spiritual guidance, don't leave your priest at the Dairy Queen." That comes from a real life experience, got to love a mission trip!

• Giving
• Enthusiastic
• Caring
• Optimistic
• Brave

When I think about those words, I begin to question them. Am I really that giving? Is my personality that enthusiastic? Do I really show a caring side? Am I always optimistic? And why do you think I'm brave? Sure, I love to paint pictures and give them away even though I could try to sell them. I spend time signing up for free samples and then donating them to my church. You could say I'm fairly peppy, I would describe myself as "alive." On a good day I'm like a chipmunk on a triple espresso who is preparing to run a marathon. I'm that wired once I get going, but those days are few and far between. I care, just as much as the next person, of course I care about things I can't fix, but dearly want to. I think up way too many plans on how to fix common (sad) problems like hunger, homelessness, and illiteracy.

I'm mostly a realist, I don't see myself as a super optimistic person. If something is real, on paper, in a chart, I can't dispute it, but I certainly cannot let it rule me. Will it affect me? Of course it will, but it won't control me. I control me, no one and nothing else ever will, I will always do my personal best. If I'm having a bad week all I can do is hope that it will get better. For example, right now I'm jobless like the tens of thousands of people out there. But all I can do is apply, apply, apply! All I can do is spread the word that I want to work. There are a few places that I would really love to work for, but I'm fairly open at this point. I just keep hoping that someone will read this and say "Wouldn't this gal be lovely at our business?" One day things are going to get better, I'm going to get a job, I'm going to love it, and I'm going to become the person I aspire to be.

Last night I watched the Michael J. Fox special on ABC, Adventures of an Incurable Optimist. He traveled the world for this show, constantly optimistic, finding new sources of strength and hope. It was an excellent show and I am hoping that ABC puts it on their website for people to watch. I wish I could be as inspiring as Michael J. Fox, of course he has earned his optimism. He has lived with Parkinson's disease, a cruel neurological disorder, for ten years now. Yet, has he let that stop him in his tracks? Has he stopped living, working, and hoping for a cure? No. Kind of like me I suppose, I'm living, working, and hoping for a cure for lupus. Yes, it can be controlled with some medications, but what happens when they stop working? I believe that with Michael J. Fox's help, stem cell research is going to explode in the next five years. Who knows, maybe in all the research they'll find a cure for lupus?

Do I deserve the title of an incurable optimist? No. But I'm doing the best I can do with what I've got. Maybe one day I can travel the world with my wisdom and wild spirit. And when I do, I'll share the hope that I have with every person I meet. For now, I'll just share my hope with y'all reading this, and with those who surround me.