Melinda Paipa

I think hard work, determination, and always being a student - that's a big one. I like to learn and empower others to do the same. Another big part is just my family and the support from my husband and my children. They're my biggest support cheerleader, so having that support from home is a huge win to get to where I'm at today. Self-care and taking time for yourself is also a big part of it. I run a very busy practice with a hundred people dotted line to me that rely on me every day, not just my family, so taking that self-care, whatever that looks like, and having that break - you have to set boundaries for yourself, otherwise you'll get burnt out.

One of my mentors a long time ago told me, always give people tools to succeed. If you give them the tools to succeed, then it's up to them to succeed. I've always looked at that, so I've always pushed my employees to go to school, reach for their dreams, and support them along the way, even if that means I'm losing them as an employee. If it's what they want to do, I'm their biggest cheerleader at the end of the day. That drives me a lot, and I do that with my own family, too. Early in my career, I had people advocating for me, but when you're climbing that corporate ladder, it gets rough. You're advocating for yourself a lot, and you don't have as many cheerleaders in your corner. I always kind of noticed that, so for me to advocate for them, and to push them, and to help them, that's giving them somebody in their corner, no matter what direction they go with their career.

I would say, just keep going. No matter how hard it gets, if it's something you really want, and you're good at, and you want to succeed in, keep going. Keep learning, keep networking, and just be a leader always first. The leader part of it is a big one, because even if you go up to a COO position, you're still leading people, so you need to lead by example. Just keep advocating for yourself, keep pushing. It's a lot of hours, it's a lot of hard work, and it never stops, but it's definitely a good career to be in. The more you know, the more valuable you are. I think even if you start at the bottom - I started on the clinical side of healthcare and moved over to business and operations - the more you can learn from the teams that you're working with and their departments, the better. I have employees that started out in phone operations that are now supervisors. When you're starting out, it's better to learn as much as you can, even if you're coming in as a supervisor level or even a scheduler level.

The more you know, the more valuable you are - I think that's huge. Knowing those positions, knowing your revenue cycle, knowing your finance, knowing your hiring processes, knowing your scheduling and intake, knowing your physicians and your providers and what their likes and dislikes are, and how they want their practice to flow - it's the whole picture when you're doing that. I started from the bottom and worked my way up. I can do every single one of my employees' positions, and that just makes me more knowledgeable. So when they need help, or they need assistance in processes, or we need to change something, I can understand when they're coming to me. It just makes me more valuable to them instead of them coming to me and I just don't know what they do. You should always know what each department does, and how to do that, and how to help them. Someone coming in for opportunities, even if you start at a lower level, the more you can learn from the teams that you're working with and their departments, the better.

I think reliability and showing up every day, even when you're tired, even when you're drained - there are so many times I have to check myself or reposition myself in order to take on the day or the tasks, even with family or work. Making sure you have that work-life balance, I think, is a big one. Hard work and determination are important to me, along with always being a student and empowering others to do the same. My family and the support from my husband and my children are crucial - they're my biggest cheerleaders. Self-care and taking time for yourself is also a big part of it. You have to set boundaries for yourself, otherwise you'll get burnt out. Being a leader and leading by example is important. I always advocate for my employees and push them to go to school and reach for their dreams, supporting them along the way, even if that means I'm losing them as an employee. If it's what they want to do, I'm their biggest cheerleader at the end of the day.