Her Story
About Ruth
I've been working in healthcare management for about 12 to 13 years, and I currently work independently as a medical denial consultant. Right now I'm working for the state of Minnesota Department of Health, specifically with their mentally ill population, reviewing claims for Southern Cities. My typical day is split between two main responsibilities - in the mornings, I train dental staff on how to submit their bills with all the proper codes, what needs to be refilled, and how to verify provider information correctly. Then in the evenings, I review claims for the Minnesota Department of Health. I come from a long family of medical professionals on both sides - my mom was a nurse for 30 years at the VA, and my grandmother was the director for the nursing program at the University of Puerto Rico. My grandparents from the other side also worked in medical fields. While I did get my nursing license during high school through a dual program, I discovered that I really love the business side of healthcare. I enjoy working one-on-one with physicians, getting their claims out the door, and making sure everything is reviewed and processed correctly. What I'm most proud of professionally is my ability to step into a company, learn their system quickly, and adapt - usually within three months I'm caught up and making a real difference. In this industry, everything is constantly changing, so you have to continuously educate yourself and keep up with new developments or you'll fall behind.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Ruth
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think my biggest achievement and what drives my success is just going back to school and continuously educating myself. In the medical industry, everything is changing all the time, and if you don't keep up, you kind of stay behind. I love being able to step into a company and they say, 'This is our system, you don't know it, but can you learn it?' And then I pick it up, and in three months you see the achievement - things are turning around, I'm caught up, and I'm able to do it with them because I learned and adapted to their system quicker than expected. I think my biggest achievement is being able to step in and get the job done. You have to continuously be educating yourself when new things come out, and I'm able to keep that standard and achieve it with a positive and passing grade.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice I've received has come from my current mentor, Lori Intrabichit, who is the CEO of Sunlit Cover Health Consultants. She reached out to me and opened the doors for me to get into consulting, and she's been wonderful - I cannot say enough about her. She's told me things like, 'You know what, you could do this on your own, go for it, you have talent.' She's been such a great mentor that whenever she comes to me and says, 'Hey, I have something for you,' I'm in. I don't have to question myself, just because she's been so supportive. From her is where I got all this knowledge that I've been able to find all the contracts and put myself out there. She's shown me how to get out there and get noticed by companies, even when you feel like you're not being seen.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
It's a challenging world when it comes to the health industry, but it's also enjoyable. You're going to meet great people on the way, and you're going to meet some interesting people along the way too. But whatever you set your mind to, you could do it. Especially in this industry, there's a lot of options - when it comes to the medical field, you don't have to always be sitting at a desk. If you feel that you can't do it sitting at a desk, then you know what? Let's get your hands wet in another area, try something else. Because there's always an open opportunity to do something in this field.
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