Management

The October Surprise that Could Cripple the Practice of Medicine

/ SupremeCmdr / Leave a comment

In an effort to push specificity to the limit, some ICD-10 codes have gotten silly. Codes exist for being hurt at the opera (Y92253), walking into a lamppost (Y92253), walking into a second lamppost (W2202XD), getting sucked into a jet engine (V97.33XD), and being burned due to water skis on fire (V91.07XD).

But this is not the Achilles heel of the ICD-10.

First, medical practices and hospitals must know and have all of these 68 thousand codes readily available to add to the medical record in order to bill correctly and hope to be paid.

via Articles: The October Surprise that Could Cripple the Practice of Medicine.

Students’ Top Goals Are Work-Life Balance, Security – Talent Management magazine

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Students’ Tops Goals Are Work-Life Balance, Security – Talent Management magazine.

Work-Life balance.  One of the questions I’ve posed to my own kids over the years has been:

Do you live to work or work to live?

Being honest and true to yourself when answering this question will enable you to have a quantum leap towards the life you want to live.

Blog Shift – From Life Underwriting Expert to Professional Writer (gasp)

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As I typed the title I heard a collective gasp from the Force.  You can’t be serious?  Professional writer?  Do you know how hard it will be to make a living?

Yes, as a matter of fact I do.

I have this to say to my legions of followers:  do not panic.  Here are the service offering changes to expect this year:

  • I will continue to offer my consulting services on a limited basis to select clients.
  • Life underwriting expert witness litigation support services will continue to be provided.
  • Technical underwriting services are fully committed at this time.
  • Professional corporate writing services for life insurance companies and their respective distribution channels.

There are a lot of very smart people in business today; there are not a lot of good writers. Couple this with the fact that companies need to produce more words, via a greater number of channels, than ever before, and you quickly come to realize that the corporate landscape is rife with opportunity for those who know how to communicate, you know, good.  I.J. Schecter

Here is what to expect from this blog:

  • More natural writing posts.  As I transition to more writing for hire I need to write more.  This blog will the primary landing area for my brain droppings.
  • Less links to what I consider to be essential reading for professional life underwriters.  The links to relevant articles will continue, just not in the frequency and quantity of the past five years.
  • More painfully blatant examples of shameless self-promotion.  Got to eat.  And yes, I still have a mortgage, one child in medical school, one child still an undergraduate, three cars and and a nasty writing habit to support.

I look forward to helping you succeed in your business.

Thanks for reading and your continued support.

Trapped in a Cycle of Internships With Little Pay and No Job Offers – NYTimes.com

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While the idea of slaving away in two, three or four quasi jobs without a clear path for advancement may seem unimaginable to an older generation, those in their 20s seem to respond to their jobless fate with a collective shrug. To them, internships are the new normal. “For some people, being an accountant, taking a safe route, is perfectly fine, but that’s not where my values lie,” Ms. Thomas said.

via Millennials Feel Trapped in a Cycle of Internships With Little Pay and No Job Offers – NYTimes.com.

Passion is overrated.  The real question is how long are you willing to chase your dream before you understand all you are doing is letting other people totally screw you over?

CONVERSABLE ECONOMIST- Administrators and Part-Timers: Changes in U.S. Higher Education Workforce

/ SupremeCmdr / Leave a comment

I’ll only add that institutions are defined by their people. As the full-time and tenured faculty become a smaller share of the employees of the institution and the professional administrators become a larger share, the nature and character of the institution inevitably changes. In this case, colleges and universities have become less about faculty, teaching, and research, and more about the provision of professional services to students and faculty. As far as I know, this shift was not planned or chosen, and the costs and benefits of such a shift were not analyzed in advance. It just happened.

via CONVERSABLE ECONOMIST: Administrators and Part-Timers: Changes in U.S. Higher Education Workforce.

$700 or $915 per credit hour, depending on degree.

The numbers above are pulled directly from a university website.  The campus sits just a mile from my house.  The work is part time and I don’t qualify for either pay level.  To work part time teaching at a university you need a minimum of a Masters degree.  So someone who busts their butt to earn a Doctorate can make $915.00 per credit hour.

I’m speechless.

 

The Dangerous Rise of “Entrepreneurship Porn”

/ Harvard Business Review / Leave a comment

A good friend who runs a professional services firm told me with some shock that his most profitable employee is a single mother who works part time. So this year, she got a big bonus. Despite working for someone else, she feels recognized and rewarded. And by being part of a larger organization, she gets to have more time with her kids. This sort of story is rare – but it doesn’t have to be.