Receiving respect from a new hire

[Slipping CMA]

I am wondering what I am doing wrong here. We just hired a new person in our office and I notice she has no respect for me. I must be doing something wrong because she doesn’t act this way with others. Sorry warning this might get long

One thing to know is at this office it is a well known rule that when you room and vital a patient you are responsible for anything the doctor/provider needs for that patient. If the doctor wants an EKG you do it, get it signed by the provider and during free time or at the end of the day make sure it is scanned into the EMR.

On Thursday this week one of our front office girls left work very ill. MA A we’ll call her was told by the office manager to go up front and help up there. New Girl and me managed fine that day. Friday front girl is still sick so A comes up to me and says “I went up front yesterday it’s someone else’s turn today”. I just went up front and did front desk work that day.No arguments from me someone needed to do it who knew what they were doing up front. Check in patients, answer phones etc.

The problem came when we had a family come in for an immigration physical. Everything is paid for at the time of service up front and the cost can vary by what needs to be done.

I do the front office work, get paperwork together, charge them for the doctor visit and then they are ready to be roomed. I did not room the patients because I am up front at the time I had no clue who was rooming the patients. Now in this case who ever rooms the patient must keep track of everything, and before they draw blood for a titter they need write it up on an invoice and the patient has to pay 1st before the blood is drawn this didn’t happen

Remember I’m up front and all of a sudden the immigration family is standing in front of me ready to pay there bill and I have no invoice.

I excuse myself go to find the invoice. I’m looking through there paperwork thinking it got lost in there. New Girl asked me what I was looking for and I said the invoice so I can charge them. I can see New Girl is putting in the lab order for the titters for this family which means she drew the blood and roomed the patient. But she just says I think A wrote it up. I do a quick look for A and she is nowhere to be found. I go back to New Girl and ask her if she is sure A did the invoice because it’s important. She says I don’t know. I told her I needed an invoice the patients are waiting to pay there bill. She then tells me to just do the invoice, I tell her in a nice voice that I can’t since I don’t know everything that happened and what to bill for. I tell her because it’s her patients it’s her responsibility. She snaps at me that I’ll just have to wait while she is still placing lab orders which is something that can wait. I got pissy by the rude way I was being treated and raised my voice at her and snapped back that if I wait that means the patients up front have to wait. I then just left her because I was getting upset and I don’t like to raise my voice at people.

I go back up front to tell the family it’ll be just a few minutes and notice another employee had called the office manager and explained everything that happened between New Girl and me. Office manager walks past me to New Girl and just tells her to stop what she is doing get the invoice done now and if she has any questions to just ask office manager.

Finally someone gets some sense into New Girl and she brings me the invoice.

I’d like to know what I am doing wrong. I handled it very poorly from the beginning and New Girl just ignored me and walked all over me.

How can I better give the impression that I know what I’m talking about because I have worked here longer without being nasty to her. I really get no respect from her, but she will listen to others which makes me think my approach or something is all wrong. I have worked there just as long as A has. And she seems much more respectful to A.

Am I being to nasty? Or to nice or am I just wording things the wrong way

Thaks is for your help

[TriciaJ, RN]

Do not engage New Person in any more squabbles. (Also might want to stop referring to yourself and others as "girls". When you start thinking of yourself as a professional woman, you might exude more confidence and maturity.)

Request a meeting with the office manager. Ask for a clarification of the procedures, for example who rooms, and who provides invoices. Let the manager know you had an irate family waiting while you searched for an invoice. Be calm and professional. Tell the manager you think New Girl is doing a pretty good job and ask how you can help her become more comfortable with the routine. Try to present yourself as a concerned professional and not a pissed off schoolgirl.

Do not let the manager catch you in any more squabbles. She is most likely to cut the new person slack and come down on you because you've been there longer. Good luck sorting this out.