Tina Straughn

I've been in the medical field for at least 20 years, and my career has taken me all over the place. I've been a manager for a clinic with 6 doctors and 15 employees, doing everything from hiring and firing to insurance and authorizations, but mainly making sure the patient is cared for. What first inspired me into medicine and medical management was that I love helping people, and I would want someone to take care of my parents if they were going in to see the doctor. I want to make sure patients are knowledgeable about what they need to know and help them understand things they don't understand. I think if people are educated and understand why they're paying what they're paying or why their insurance is doing what it's doing, they understand a little more. I didn't understand a lot of that either until I was in it. As the lead patient coordinator, I handle stress situations very well. When somebody comes in and says it's their right knee, not their left knee, and we have an order for the left knee, I try and take any responsibility off the patient that I can. Instead of saying they need to call the doctor's office and get a new order, I take care of everything for them. It's about knowing who to call and what the right step is. I've gotten to have good relationships with the orthopedic surgeons as our main referral source, and they ask for me because they know I'll take care of it and it will be done. I actually like the busier the better because I handle it very well. I don't get too upset over stress because it's not going to do you any good, you just gotta get it done. I'm very solution-oriented. I may not always have a Plan B, but my instincts kick in as to what we need to do or try next.