Erica Goodin

I attribute my success to always being willing to say, okay, let's try it, let's do it. I never saw anything as an obstacle or too much work. Whatever I was needed for, wherever I was needed, I would show up and do it, even without being asked to. I've always been willing to support the team and the practice as they would need me to.

The best advice came from two people. My boss told me to take the emotion out of it - see it for the facts and then make a decision based off that. Always remember the person, but ask yourself if the decision you're making is something you would do for everyone else. If you can't, take the emotion out of that situation at that time and make a decision that is going to work for the practice in general and for everyone in general. But the advice that really got me through everything was from Mama Donna, who works with me and has worked with me for all these years. She always said to me, 'Step into your power.' She would say this because there's a lot of doubt, right? Imposter syndrome. You would think, like, well, how did you get there? You're just a medical assistant, now you're all of this, right? But as she said, you know what to do, so step into your power and stop doubting yourself. Mama Donna got me through it, trust me.

Go for it. Don't be afraid of the challenges. You are capable of more than you see in front of you. There's always more. When I got into my first years of management, I observed the other senior leaders I had at that time, and I would learn from them the qualities I liked. What I liked, what stood out for me, I would try to practice the same stuff, and from that I became my own leader, my own self. I always say go for it. Stay humble with it, but know that if you put in the work, it will pay off at some point. The higher you are, the more work there is - it doesn't go away, it's not less, it's more. It's a greater responsibility. I always think, if I have so much, my boss has so much more, and I know that. That's what keeps me grounded.

I think the biggest challenge is all the changes - all the government changes coming to medicine - and keeping the patient first. I think that gets lost because at the end of the day, it's a business, but it's patient first. We're here because of the patients. It's so sad what people go through. People needing dialysis - you need dialysis to live, you're not gonna live without it. But they don't qualify for Medicaid because they make too much, or they're not able to get Medicare because they're not at that age yet. There are all these little loopholes, and insurance is denying things that the patient needs, like vein mapping for the placement of access for dialysis. They won't cover that surgery, but then you're gonna end up in a hospital getting an emergency access that can cause infection and death. The biggest opportunity is to advocate for patients and support the health workers. You have to keep in mind that people are working for a reason - they need the money. As a business, as healthcare, it is about the patient, but you manage both ways. You have to have staff to work there to support your patients who want to be there.

Integrity is the most important value to me. Do what's right, even when no one's looking or no one knows. If you do what's right with the right intentions, good things will come.