Job outlook: Massage therapists

Over the next several weeks I will be looking at the futures of many different jobs in the healthcare/science fields that are well suited for the handicapped.  I know, I know, I’m cheating here, but, hey, it’s perfectly legal to quote the government.  For the mst part, these outlooks and earning estimates are taken from the Occupational Outlook Handbook published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under the US Department of Labor. 

Today, let’s look at the message therapist 

Employment for massage therapists is expected to increase faster than average over the period from 2004 to 2014 as more people learn about the benefits of massage therapy. In States that regulate massage therapy, therapists who complete formal training programs and pass the national certification exam are likely to have very good job opportunities. Because referrals are a very important source of work for massage therapists, networking will increase the number of job opportunities. Joining a State or local chapter of a professional association can also help build strong contacts and further increase the likelihood of steady work.

Massage is an increasingly popular technique for relaxation and reduction of stress. As workplaces try to distinguish themselves as employee-friendly, providing professional in-office, seated massages for employees is becoming a popular on-the-job benefit.

Increased interest in alternative medicine and holistic healing will mean increased opportunities for those skilled in massage therapy. Healthcare providers and medical insurance companies are beginning to recognize massage therapy as a legitimate treatment and preventative measure for several types of injuries and illnesses. The health care industry is using massage therapy more often as a supplement to conventional medical techniques for ailments such as muscle problems, some sicknesses and diseases, and stress-related health problems. Massage therapy’s growing acceptance as a medical tool, particularly by the medical provider and insurance industries, will greatly increase employment opportunities.

Older citizens who are in nursing homes or assisted living homes are also finding benefits from massage, such as increased energy levels and reduced health problems. Demand for massage therapy should grow among older age groups because they increasingly enjoy longer, more active lives and persons age 55 and older are projected to be the most rapidly growing segment of the U.S. population over the next decade. However, demand for massage therapy is presently greatest among young adults, and they are likely to continue to enjoy the benefits of massage therapy as they age.

Earnings

Median hourly earnings of massage therapists, including gratuities earned, were $15.36 in May 2004. The middle 50 percent earned between $9.78 and $23.82. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $7.16, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $32.21. Generally, massage therapists earn 15 to 20 percent of their income as gratuities. For those who work in a hospital or other clinical setting, however, tipping is not common.

Well, there you have it.  Next time I will talk about another profession.  Until then…

About to quit? Here are some tips.

Well, you’ve decided to quit you job.  A time like this can be extremely stressful for the disabled.  What do you do now, and how do you go about it.  Here are some tips to make terminating the employment successful. 

First of all, don’t leave a bad taste in your employer’s mouth!  You never know when your old boss will turn up in the future, and besides, you don’t know what alliances they have elsewhere.  And, if you are like me, luck might have it that s/he will be your boss in the future.

Next, if you’re taking a new position, please make sure it’s right for you.  I heard about an anesthesia nurse who went to a new hospital, hated her new boss more that her old one, then found out that her position at her old job had already been filled, so she was stuck in a worst situation.  Before starting, ask your new employer if you can be a fly on the wall for a day.  You will stay out of the way and you can ask questions of others as time permits.

If you are quitting without a new job lined up, do so with caution.  On average it takes between 3 and 6 months to find a new job.  Make sure you are eligible for unemployment before you put in your notice.  If you’re not, you will need savings enough to hold you over until you land your next job.

Two weeks notice is the standard length of time to give notice.  Remember, you are not obligated to stay past that, even in most cases where you are in a contract.  If you have contractual questions ask a lawyer to be safe.  If you find one through your state’s bar association, or you might ask them if there is a disability law center in your state.  We have used the one on our state in the past and legal services were free.  And what do you have to lose.  If you go throuigh the bar most states offer the initial consultation either free or very cheap.

Write your letter of resignation, but try not to blame a bad boss as your reason.  Remember my advice about bad tastes in the mouth.  Be firm, but professional.

If you are leaving on friendly terms, it’s fair to ask for a letter of recommendation   It is something you can use as a reference for years to come.

Finally, don’t forget about the finer points.  Ask about extended heath coverage.  Ask about COBRA.  Make sure you get all of your vacation pay.  Roll over your 401 or any other type of pension plan

Hiring discrimination in Healthcare

There are many kinds of hiring discrimination; sex, age, race, criminal record, or as we know – disability.  Here are some things to be aware of while applying for jobs.  The most important happenstance to remember is that, although it varies from state to state, you only have a limited length of time to file a discrimination suit.  If you believe that you were not hired because of discriminatory practices, file suit immediately.  Here are some examples.

There was a recent suit against Walgreen’s where they demonstrated racial discrimination against thousand of African-Americans.  It came just one week after the EEOC announced “E-RACE” (Eradicating Racism and Colorism from Employment), A program in which federal investigators are required to scrutinize how employees are hired based on race.

There is an obvious bias against hiring women.  The average women aged from 15-44 pays 68% more for medical costs than their male counterparts, mostly because of reproductive (including contraceptive coverage) expenses.  This will cost the employer more in insurance coverage costs and therefore they might deny employment.

Law.com   tells of “man only,” and “woman only” jobs are a constant epidemic in the workforce.  In some instances men are hired based on talent and woman are hired on looks.  Southwest Airlines was sued because they openly would only hire attractive women for flight attendants.  In the case of the nursing field women are often hired over men.

Also, the EEOC has come up with the Age Discrimination Employment Act (ADEA) for all workers over 40, but only those over 40.  For example, a company discriminates if they don’t hire someone who is over 45, but if they don’t hire someone because they are 24, that is exempt from ADEA.

Here’s something with a twist.  A company can be sued if they discriminate because a potential employee is a minority with a criminal record, but only if they are a minority

According to the EEOC, discrimination complaints involving race are the number one complaint made to the EEOC. In 2006, there were 27,238 racial complaints were filed. The EEOC has noted a substantial increase over the last 15 years in color specific discrimination claims, which have rose from 374 in 1992 to 1,241 in 2006.

Now here is something just for us that we all know about.  The Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA.  It is run by the EEOC.  Check out http://www/eeoc.gov  Their number is 800-669-4000.   The ADA homepage is managed by the DOJ.  The URL is http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm

Happy sueing! (lol)  

If you insist on a home med biz, here’s some tips

If after reading my post about the dangers of trying to start a home medical business, you still insist that you want to try, here’s the best tips I can give you.  Let’s start from the worst to the best

There are three possibilities;

1)      medical biller

2)      medical transcriptionist

3)      claims assistant professional

 Medical Biller

This is the most “scamcentric” of the three.  There are plenty of people out there looking to part you from your money as I mentioned.  But it is possible to make money if you are connected and highly motivated.  If you’re not in the medical profession, let me say that, “You don’t have a chance in H E double hockey sticks!”   There is a great deal of competition out there.  If you are, say a nurse, or already work in billing for example, you know how to go about the billing process and you must have made contacts in the field.  When you enter you probably will only earn $6.00 – $8.00 an hour, but if you work hard and hustle, hustle, hustle, you could make as much as $60,000 a year, about what an LPN makes.  So there are no get-rich-quick potential here.  I mentioned http://e-medbilling.com if you must try at least lean on them for help.

Medical transcriptionist

This is hard work for less pay.  About $20,000 – $40,000 a year.  You will be paid by the word or the line.  To break in the best approach is to work through an agency.  Again, it’s best if you already work in the profession.  Leverage your connections.  The demand is high, but the pay is low, kind of line a CNA – you do all of the grunt work and never get recognized.

Medical claims assistant

This is the highest demand for the most money.  As baby boomers, like me, get older and in greater need of the healthcare system, we will inevitably get stuck at some point (if not very frequently) on the billing process to Medicare of some insurance company.  This is one of those feel-good professions where you can help a lot of people. You can easily find clients at assisted living communities and nursing homes.  You can turn to the Alliance of Claims Assistance Professionals at http://www.claims.org   First the bad news.  Don’t expect to make more than a few thousand annually until you get a good client base.  The good news is that once you build a reputation and have about 75, or so, clients you are worth $40.00 – $80.00 an hour.  That is a very good living, and one where you are the least likely to get ripped off.

 

Once again, let me emphasize that there are a lot of poeple who will try to rip you off.  Many scam artists target the disabled specifically.  We are often at a disadvantage and they will leverage that.  So, be careful!  If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. 

 Good Luck! 

Land that big interview? Here’s some of their questions

I thought I would start out my scientific/healthcare employment blog in hopes that my readers are moving forward, and in the envious, and yet nerve racking position of an interview for a new job.  There are some standard questions that an interviewer will ask and below are a few of them along with the most effective answer, along with a little philosophizing why it’s right.  Without further ado:At what point have you been most satisfied with your job?

 My greatest satisfaction is in gaining expertise.  For quite some time after I graduated I continued to learn a lot.  Healthcare is a very complex industry.  With the help of some very good peers, and mentors, I gained a great deal of expertise. I am always learning new things.  I have also learned how to deal with difficult people.  I have gained sort of a diplomatic approach to handle these situations.

COMMENT: This shows a desire to want to continually improve ones self, as well as the ability to thrive in difficult situations.  It also shows that you listen to others.

Speaking of difficult workers, tell me about a time when you had a confrontation at work.

There was this one nurse who simply didn’t take care of all of the details.  I invited her out to lunch one day so we could discuss it.  Using my diplomatic skills I steered the conversation to the problem.  We got it right out in the open.  It turns out that she wasn’t properly trained.  I helped her out and we have been friends ever since

COMMENT: The quality employers look for most is good communication skills.  This answer shows that.  It also shows that you are able to take care of yourself without running to your supervisor.  The particular problem doesn’t matter, but the content of your answer is what they look for

Is there any questions you have of me?

You could try any of these:

Why is the position opened?

Is there a job description I could seeWithout a doubt you should ask questions.  They often will ask a question like this to see if you are interested in them.  Remember, you are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you.  Listen to their responses and come up with new questions based on their responses

What have you done to have handled a particular stressful situation

At our hospital, like many others, we are short staffed.  It was one of those Murphy’s law nights.  Everything was going wrong.  Me and another nurse teamed up together to work out the triage for the overflow of patients we had.  Throughout the night we worked together to keep things flowing smoothly.

COMMENT: There is no better answer than this.  It shows your cool in a difficult scenario, and that you’re a team player

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Thinking of a home med billing business? Think again.

Ever thought about not working the daily grind at the hospital or lab and striking out on your own?  Here’s an old statistic for you.  The FTC says that nine out of ten new businesses fail within the first two years.  However there are hundreds of thousands of small businesses in the US, so someone is doing something right.

You ever seen one those ads, “Send me $200, and in one week you’ll be making $5,000 a day.” Or here’s a classic.  “Become a work-at-home-medical biller and make $50,000 a year.”  Perhaps some of you in the profession have thought of investing the necessary $300-$800 they ask for (of course with a money back guarantee!), and making a stab at it.
Well, here’s a wake-up call.  The vast majority of those are scams!  That Nancy Holtz, from Springfield, MA for example.  After enduring a high-pressure sales pitch, she invested $438 into one of those companies thinking she could work at home and be with her kids.  But guess what?  The competition was so stiff that she couldn’t get any customers.  When Nancy tried to get her money back, they continued to ignore her repeated calls.  She finally gave up.
The FTC receives thousands of complaints annually from angry consumers telling of medical billing rip-offs.  If you’ll go to the FTC web site, they will say that of the masses of consumers who fall for this don’t make one single dime!  They say that any hope of making money is slim to none.
If you’re entrepreneurial spirit insists that you try it, here are a few tips.

1)      ask for references.  If they only give you one or two, most likely that person is someone paid to lie to you.  If they give you a big list, call a variety of them.

2)      Try to line up customers before you pay.  If you can’t find any don’t waste your money,

3)      If the company is selling software of another company (a question you should ask) get a list of clients from that other company and check out a few,

4)      Always consult a lawyer before signing any contract.  It is often worth the one or two hundred dollars.  This applies to all contracts, not just these scams,

5)      Be a detective.  Check out the company through the local attorney generals office, and the better business bureau.  Is there any unresolved complaints about them?  If not, still be cautious,

6)       If you’re still interested, at least go to http://www.e-medbill.com Medical Association of Billers and gain all of the insight they offer.

Well, that’s it for today.  Remember a fool and his money are soon parted.  Buyer beware.  If it’s too good to be true it probably is.  And all of those timeless clichés

 

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