Her Story
About Rita
I've been in the healthcare field for well over 20 years, starting in my 20s. My journey began by accident when my plans to join the Air Force didn't work out, and my mom, who's deceased now, suggested I go to the local community college and take some classes until I figured out what I wanted to do. I ended up working at a hematology oncology practice doing medical billing, and that became my calling. Throughout my career, I've built strong expertise in accounts receivable, front office and back office operations, and surgical scheduling. My most notable professional achievement has been specializing in cardiac surgical scheduling. When I specialized, it gave me a greater appreciation for learning the body parts more. When you deal with the heart, you deal with the different valves and how the valves move. When I do authorizations, I get specific into the diagnoses and the type of surgery that the patient needs, then I start dissecting the actual diagnosis to understand what that means and how it connects with that body part, just for my own education. A lot of my knowledge came from hands-on experience because you can look at a book and the book can give you step-by-step instructions, but a book is not going to tell you everything. I like to have a manual as a backup, but I also like to take notes so that if other things arrive, I can always revert back to my manual or read between the lines when the information isn't there. I've been fortunate to have incredible mentors. Jermaine Farrell was a manager I had at a healthcare organization who had a master's degree in the early 1990s, which was very rare back then. She guided me when I was getting ready to come out of high school and encouraged me to find out what I liked in the medical field and pursue it. I'm still in contact with her to this day, and she's still available for direction and advice. Dr. Angela Hubbard was my personal pediatrician who I ended up working for at the same time. She encouraged me and told me I was very bright and could do whatever I wanted to do. When I had my children, I wanted her to be their pediatrician, but that's when I found out she had retired. My last employer was in a hospital setting where we were outpatient but did both hospital and outpatient work because we saw the patient on an outpatient basis but also did the surgery. Currently, I'm not employed but I'm looking at obtaining a coding certification for hospital and office coding to continue advancing in my field.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Rita
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to two incredible mentors who guided me early in my career. I had a manager named Jermaine Farrell who I worked for at a healthcare organization. She had a master's degree in the early 1990s, and back then, that was very rare. When I was getting ready to come out of high school, she guided me and asked what I wanted to do. At the time, I didn't know, so she encouraged me by saying I was already in the medical field, so why not find out what it is I like and then pursue it that way. To this day, Jermaine Farrell and I are still in contact, and she still encourages me, is still available for direction and advice, and things of that nature. I also had a pediatrician, Dr. Angela Hubbard, who worked at the same office. She was actually my personal pediatrician, so I ended up being her patient and working for her at the same time. She encouraged the same thing and told me I was very bright and could do whatever it is I wanted to do. Since I already had this background, she encouraged me to figure out what it is I want and just move in that area. These two women really shaped my path and gave me the confidence to specialize and grow in my field.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received is this: If you find something that you're interested in, find out what you can do to be certified or get more education, and find out if you can specialize in it. Because if you can specialize in that area, you become more marketable. This advice has really guided my career path, especially as I moved into cardiac surgical scheduling and now as I'm pursuing coding certification. Specialization has been key to my professional growth and has made me more valuable in the healthcare field.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice to young women entering the healthcare industry is to be mindful of what you print and what you put on social media, because you can't pull it back. In today's world, your digital presence matters tremendously in your professional life. What you share online stays there permanently and can impact your career opportunities and professional reputation. So think carefully before you post anything, because once it's out there, it's out there for good. This is especially important in healthcare where professionalism and trust are paramount.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Right now, there are so many different opportunities in the healthcare field, particularly in medical coding. If you go to any search engine for job opportunities, you always see job opportunities for coders, whether certified or not certified. There's just a plethora of opportunities, whether it be remote or hybrid positions. So if you decide that's what you want to do, it's there and available. What's really great is that a lot of companies will hire you even without being certified. They will hire you as long as you become certified within a year to six months of being hired. Some of them will even pay for you to be certified. The opportunities are abundant, and employers are willing to invest in training, which makes this an excellent time to enter or advance in the field.
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