Ask the Editor

Dear Editor: I believe that I was asked illegal questions on a recent job interview. I wasn’t sure, so I answered them. I am uncomfortable with the entire situation and now I feel that at I shouldn’t have answered them. But, again, I’m not sure if they were illegal to ask. What are examples of illegal questions and how should I respond to them? Protecting My Privacy Dear Protecting My Privacy: You did not provide the questions to me that you think might have been illegal, so let’s start off with a quiz. Which of the following questions do you think are illegal for an interviewer to ask in an interview? The correct answers to the quiz are at the bottom here. ♣Are you over the age of 18? ♣Are you authorized to work in the US? ♣What languages do you read, speak or write fluently? ♣Have you ever been disciplined for your behavior at work? ♣Have you ever been convicted of fraud? ♣Do you use illegal drugs? ♣How do you feel about supervising women? ♣Were you honorably discharged from the military? ♣Who is your closest relative to notify in case of an emergency? Federal and state laws prohibit prospective employers from asking certain questions that are not specifically related to the position for which they are hiring. For example, questions designed to elicit personal information should not be used. To overview: employers should not be asking about your ethnic background, nor country of origin, race, gender, marital or family status, religion, age, disabilities or sexual preferences. To eliminate someone from selection for a position for any of these reasons is absolutely discriminatory. Although they are called “illegal interview questions,” it must be noted that a specific question may not be illegal to ask by itself. However, if an interviewer asks a question that has discriminatory implications and then intentionally denies you employment based on your answer to that question, he or she may have broken the law. For example, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, it is not against the law for an interviewer to request your date of birth. It is, though, against the law for an interviewer to deny you employment because you are considered “too old.” For the most part, interviewers are really not out to discriminate against job applicants. It seems, however, that there is a really fine line between what is and what is not legal to ask. It depends upon the context in which the questions are being asked and that can be challenging for a job applicant to figure out. Many of the “illegal questions” that interviewers ask are unintentional and, if you tactfully point out that question is illegal, the interviewer will likely realize his or her mistake and immediately retract the question. The challenge is for you to determine what to say while you are sitting in there faced with what you perceive is indeed an illegal question. Basically, you have three options when that happens. You can: ♣Just answer the question. If you don’t really object to giving the interviewer the information and you are concerned about “making waves,” you can respond to the question and move on to the next one. Bear in mind that you should only answer the question if you are truly comfortable providing the information because there is always the risk that it could “come back to haunt you.” ♣Refuse to answer the question. You can gently explain to the interviewer that the question does not seem to be legal or relevant to the specific requirements of the job. In this case, however, you need to understand that direct response of that nature should really be saved specifically for questions that are truly offensive or deeply troubling to you. Refusing to answer a question with which you are very uncomfortable might cost you the job. ♣Avoid responding to the specific question, but provide an answer to what you think is the intention behind the question. Most of the time, this is the best choice, as it allows you to provide a non-confrontational and tactful answer without sacrificing your rights. In order to effectively answer the intention behind the question, you will need to attempt to determine what the interviewer is trying to find out. For example, if the interviewer asks if you have children – definitely an illegal question – a savvy answer might be, “If you mean to ask if I am available to work overtime or to travel on business trips, the answer is absolutely, on occasion.” In cases like these, it is advisable to rephrase the question into a legal one, and then, to respond to it. Answers to the quiz: The last three questions are, in general, considered to be illegal for an interviewer to ask. In certain circumstances and/or context, they may be considered legal to ask. It is truly a “fine line.” Send all questions, comments and suggestions to: newsletter@allenschool.edu. Topics of interest to a wide range of readers may be covered in the newsletter. You may request to remain anonymous, as long as you provide your name and contact information in your initial e-mail.

How do you spell JOBS? S-T-I-M-U-L-U-S, that’s how! And President Barack Obama’s stimulus package, officially called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, includes multiple components designed to provide relief in the form of JOBS for the health care industry. The measure includes $500 million to stimulate public health jobs and will also be used to improve and upgrade community health centers. It will advance programs that encourage preventive care, such as mammograms, Pap smears and immunizations. Money is included to fight infection and to get a better control on chronic conditions like heart failure, diabetes and high blood pressure from which many Americans suffer. Under the new plan, $1.1 billion will be set aside for research on drugs, surgery, medical devices and treatments for other individual conditions. This means more JOBS for skilled Medical Assistants, Certified Nursing Assistants, Nurse Technicians and Medical Insurance Billing & Coding specialists. There is a temporary $87 million increase in the Federal Medical Assistance percentage that ensures that no state has to cut eligibility for Medicaid, the health program for eligible individuals and families with low incomes and resources. Nor will eligibility be cut for SCHIP, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program that gives matching funds to states to provide health insurance to families of modest incomes that are too high to qualify for Medicaid. This means that the demand for the full range of skilled medical personnel will perpetuate as services will remain available to eligible individuals and families. There will be no loss in JOBS due to reduction in the volume of Medicaid patients and should lead to increased staffing. The legislation put $20 billion dollars towards increasing the amount of physicians who use electronic record keeping. Experts are confident that this will save lives and money and provide jobs to those who assist in these practices in the electronic record keeping capacity. Shifting medical records to an online application is intended to improve coordination of care, decrease errors and waste, as well as improve safety. The program will provide financial help for small physicians’ practices to facilitate their entry into the digital Age. Presently, the cost for one practice to convert to electronic record keeping is $50,000. This means that there should be a dramatic upsurge in JOBS for front end personnel to assist with the new electronic record keeping procedures. The stimulus package will have a dynamic impact on JOBS in the health care industry and provide relief for those whose career future depends upon it.

From working as a maid at the Holiday Inn…Margie White, Instructional Services Manager of Allen School’s new online Medical Insurance Billing & Coding program, stepped out of the shadows to make a difference For almost 75 years, millions of children have been reading Nancy Drew mystery books which feature a teen detective whose independence, bravery and personal drive enable her to solve crimes. The series encouraged women to be pioneers and to employ persistence and strength in pursuit of their goals, notable in light of the male-dominated times in which the authors wrote the series. An avid reader of Nancy Drew detective books, as a child growing up near Toledo, Ohio, Margie White, Manager of the Instructional Services Department of Allen School’s new online Medical Insurance Billing & Coding program has found her life defined by courageous real life women such as Eleanor Roosevelt, first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, and former United States Secretary of State Madeline Albright, women who, according to Margie, “made a difference and didn’t live in the shadows.” Margie’s life has been a testament to stepping out of the shadows and making a difference. Margie was working as a maid at the Holiday Inn and then applied for a job as a nurse’s aide. She worked in a hospital setting for fifteen years, did home care and hospice work, as well. She planned to be an RN, but had to drop out of the technical college program required for admission to nursing school because of a challenging pregnancy with her first son. Coincidentally, at just that time, Margie received a flyer from AHIMA (the American Health Information Management Association, a professional organization that provides professional credentialing) about independent studies in health information management (medical records). She immediately enrolled in AHIMA’s distance learning just before the program was discontinued and became a Registered Health Information Technologist (RHIT). Before graduating, she found a job in a nursing home as a Medical Records Clerk. After finishing the RHIT program, Margie enrolled in distance learning again and got a Bachelor of Science degree in Healthcare Administration. That led to her certification as a Registered Health Information Management Administrator (RHIA) and a licensed nursing home administrator. After that, still from home, Margie obtained a Masters degree in Health Sciences. With those credentials in hand, she decided to teach full time and has been an online instructor and an on-campus instructor for the last five years. An active member of AHIMA, Margie has served on several committees related to the implementation of electronic health records and the exchange of health information between health care providers. Her passion remains with health information management and helping others to become successful in the MIBC field. Margie joined the Allen School full time last summer. With her husband of thirty-three years, Jim, Margie raised two sons, John, now 28, a former Marine working on his Masters degree in Library Science and, Mike, 24, who just graduated with a Masters in Instructional Technology. “We are very close and we do a lot of laughing,” Margie says about her family, a verification of her ability to juggle career and family while focusing on the mandates involved in acquiring extensive professional education and credentialing from home. “Coding is like solving a puzzle, like working with crosswords,” Margie explains, “I tie it to the detective work that Nancy Drew, teen detective, used to do to solve mysteries. She got a sense of satisfaction when she solved the cases and I get one when I am able to find the clues in the medical records and apply the right numbers to them!” “What gives me even greater satisfaction,” she continues, “is that ‘Aha!’ moment when it clicks for a student. Some students struggle and then, they get the moment that is more rewarding than anything else for me, mainly because that student who, at first, struggled and could easily have dropped out, gets it. To keep that student in the program and then, to have them succeed, it is so, so fulfilling.” Margie White’s “independence, bravery and personal drive,” qualities she shares with fictional detective Nancy Drew, continue to play a major role in making a difference in the lives of her students.

I graduated recently and have been sending out resumes on my own to find a job. I was wondering what you think I should include in my resume to make it stand out. Besides internship, I have no other related experience. Is there any way that I can show that I am really responsible, organized and have something to offer from Day One? Ready to Work Dear Ready to Work: First of all, congratulations on taking the initiative on conducting your own job search. Please refer back to your class notes and textbook from your Career Development class regarding resume writing. You may also want contact your Placement office where you will surely and happily be given tips and advice on how to stand out. Do not discount your internship so easily. You need to recognize that you have had one of the longest – if not the longest – internship of any school in the State of New York. Emphasize that on your resume as well as the front and back end skills that you developed during internship in which you feel you are competent. You definitely do have something to offer from Day One, because you, like everyone else, have transferable skills. These are skills which people develop in one situation that can be transferred to another. For example, you may have developed time management skills during your schooling, while at a particular job, or while doing volunteer work, and now can offer these valuable skills to your next employer from Day One. You can demonstrate that you are organized and responsible as part of the duties and responsibilities you include on your resume. For example, if you “have successfully coordinated events,” this will demonstrate to a potential employer that you are organized. If you were “in charge of opening and closing the business,” it will convey that you are responsible. You also convey that you are qualified by having a resume that identifies verifiable accomplishments (using percentages, numbers, dollars, etc.), procedures, or systems that you implemented or improved upon, as well as any awards or recognition you may have received. Be certain to zero in on achievements, skills and results. Consider the example below: BEFORE: Cashier, XYZ Department Store, City, State 05/06 – Present * Count and balance drawer at the beginning and end of shift * Prepare receipts for bank deposits * Assist with inventory and maintaining work area AFTER: Cashier, XYZ Department Store, City, State 05/06 – Present * Employee of the Month winner (4 times) – promoted to Head Cashier in charge of opening and closing registers * Reorganized cash register closeout system making the process less time consuming and more accurate * Caught shoplifters several times saving the store from losing about $3000 in merchandise Same job seeker, just a different way of making what they did at a job stand out. Which description do you think would impress an employer more? You also need to package this great experience of yours into a visually-dynamic resume that is “keyword scannable” (for those companies that use online software to review resumes), and easy-to-skim quickly by the human eye. You need to use consistency in style, perfect grammar and punctuation, action verbs and key words. Remember, you had the skills, knowledge, fortitude and determination to complete the Allen School program and the same qualities make you a valuable asset to any medical enterprise. Good luck!

The United States Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program was the recipient for the second year of the plentiful donation of toys contributed by students and staff during the Allen School Brooklyn Campus Annual Toy Drive supporting the Marine Reservists’ goal “to deliver, through a shiny new toy at Christmas, a message of hope to needy youngsters that will motivate them to grow into responsible, productive, patriotic citizens and community leaders.” Campus Director, Lillian Mitchell, accepted the Marine’s Certificate of Gratitude for outstanding support on behalf of the Allen School. Ronald McDonald House of Long Island was this year’s recipient of the generous collection of toys donated by students and staff during the annual Allen School Jamaica Campus Toy Drive supporting the organization that provides “a home-away-from-home for families of seriously ill children undergoing critical medical treatment in area hospitals.” Campus Director, Jill Luke, accepted the thank you on behalf of the Allen School from the Ronald McDonald House of Long Island’s Chairman of the Board of Directors who referred to the Allen School donations as “a beacon of hope for families experiencing extraordinary circumstances…”

PATRICK SWAYZE AND MEDICAL ASSISTANT STUDENT “ACTING IN CONCERT” Actor Patrick Swayze described his fight with pancreatic cancer as “going through hell.” It never stopped him, however, from meeting the challenges of taking on the grueling lead role in a television series. He told Barbara Walters, “I’ve never been one to run from a challenge.” Allen School Medical Assistant student, Elena Carpenzano, matches the actor in courage, persistence and grit. She recently fought – successfully – her own challenge and battle with life-threatening illness and, like Swayze, met major challenges head-on. One could say that, although they never met each other, Swayze and Carpenzano have acted in concert [defined as performing identical actions to attain the same goal], each striving for health at convergent times. In Feb of 2005, Elena, full time mother to three-year-old daughter, Ora, while working as a pastry chef by day and attending nursing school at night, was diagnosed with leukemia. A stem cell transplant from her sister, while deemed successful at killing the leukemia, created a tumor in her brain. Treatments included torturous chemo and radiation therapies along with excruciating bone marrow transplants. She was instructed by her doctors to go home and “do nothing, go nowhere, eat healthy and be very careful.” During that time, she and Ora lived through frequent separations as Elena endured many hospitalizations during her fight to stay alive. By 2006, Elena was “back in the swing” and able to return to her nursing program. Unfortunately, the by the end of 2007, she found herself back in the hospital for surgery because the radiation treatment had damaged her teeth and it was affecting her jaw. After the surgery, she developed sepsis and dropped totally out of college after spending countless weeks, yet again, in the hospital. The moment she was released, Elena said to herself, “I really need to do something now!” She had seen commercials for Allen School and looked into it immediately. At her first visit to the campus, she made the decision to make application for the Medical Assistant program. “Let’s do this,” she remembers telling herself, “I don’t want to waste any more time.” During Elena’s training at Allen School, she made up for lost time. Maintaining a 3.97 GPA, surely a candidate for participation in the school’s Speed Staffing System™, Elena made certain to learn as much as she could about medical technology. “Everyday they are coming up with new treatments and I get frequent blood tests to check on my immune system,” Elena said, “to make sure it is still on par with my sister’s. The tumor is completely gone!” To what does Elena attribute her remarkable recovery? “To the love of my daughter,” is her response and to an especially strong commitment to returning to “a normal life and to setting a good example for her.” As Patrick Swayze said recently, “I have a great deal of faith in faith; if you believe something strong enough, it becomes true for you.” Obviously, Elena Cartenzano shares that belief.

The miracle is not that we do this work, but that we are happy to do it. Mother Teresa Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek. Barack Obama If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else, you will have succeeded. Maya Angelou As the year draws to a close, sixteen Medical Assistant students at the Allen School Queens campus share with us their goals, motivations and hopes for the future. In a world fraught with war, terrorism, economic upheaval and struggle, it is clear that these intelligent, decent and profoundly caring individuals represent the larger student body at Allen School and, as a result of their combined dedication, the promise of positive change for the world. Continue reading…

Have a question? Have ideas for a story for the newsletter? Wish to share information about something that other students might find interesting? Have you recently obtained your first job? Have you received a promotion? Feel free to email the editor at: newsletter@allenschool.edu. Some of your questions and comments may appear in the newsletter. Dear Editor: I am very discouraged because I recently graduated from the Allen School and the economy is so bad and it’s the holiday season and I’m worried that nobody will be hiring. I am losing sleep over this. What advice do you have for me? Sleepless in New York Dear Sleepless in New York: Who’s been telling you Christmas stories? Before I get into the area of stories, legends, and fables associated with the holidays – and by that, I mean the biggest myth that no one hires during that time – let me address your concerns about the economy and how it impacts the health care field. According to the United States Department of Labor, health care jobs represent nearly half of the fastest growing jobs in the country. The medical industry does not slow down as a result of economic downturns. People get sick and go to doctors and hospitals no matter what the economy is doing. There are no shortages of jobs. There are, however, shortages of qualified people who can represent themselves effectively in a job search. In fact, research has shown that during times such as these, there is an upsurge in all types of stress-related illnesses due to financial concerns. These factors, in addition to the fact that we have an aging population and a nursing shortage, mean that the demand for support personnel, whether Medical Assistants, Certified Nursing Assistants, Billers and Coders, etc., is ever-increasing. Let me tell you the truth, Sleepless. There’s no such thing as… (no, I’m not going to say, “There’s no such things as Santa Claus!”). I am going to say that there’s no such thing as a shrinking of job opportunities over the holidays. That is a fairy tale. In reality, hiring in the health care field never takes a holiday. The industry always needs people and it may actually be possible that more job offers are received during the holiday season than others. Large facilities work on a budget and if they have money left over in the hiring budget, they usually try to spend it at the end of the year because if they don’t, they frequently lose it. Some facilities already know what their new budget looks like and they try to get a jump on it by lining up their new hires now. Also, many employees tender their resignation at the end of the year as they seek to start fresh somewhere else in the New Year, creating additional openings. Whether a facility is large or small, most hiring managers like to find candidates through referrals rather than through paid advertising as this saves dollars and time. This means that you actually do have a job this holiday season, Sleepless. Your current job is to network, adding that to your other job search outreach. As you make your rounds to holiday parties, family gatherings, social events, let everyone know that you are now a professional health care worker. While you spread the cheer, spread the word. You may be surprised to find out who your family, friends and their friends might know and what kind of hook up they can provide for you.

Gero Huetter, a German hematologist at Berlin’s Charité Hospital, has reported that a 42-year-old leukemia patient, upon whom he performed a bone marrow transplant, appears to also have been cured of HIV. The patient suffered from HIV (the human immunodeficiency virus) for more than a decade. Twenty months after the bone marrow transplant, the doctor states, the man shows no signs of carrying the virus and has not had to take antiretroviral drugs during that time. The consensus within the international medical community, though, is one of caution. More scrutiny must be undertaken regarding the results in this case. If, indeed, bone marrow transplant does prove to be a potential cure for AIDS, years of additional research would be required prior to its implementation for that purpose. A cure for AIDS? Imagine how that would impact on the healthcare community! It would open up an entirely new frontier, expanding immeasurably the already booming area of employment for health care workers. Coders would be needed in vast and ever-increasing quantities as systems retool to accommodate new diagnoses, treatments and modalities. Medical Assistants, Certified Nursing Assistants and Nurse Techs would be required in even greater numbers as doctors’ offices and hospitals would be bursting at the seams to handle the hordes of patients who would be seeking the cure. While a cure might be in the offing, complacency is definitely the wrong road upon which to travel. At present, early diagnosis provides the only hope for managing HIV/AIDS and testing is critical. According to health care professionals, screening is critically important for IV drug users and their partners, those with a sexually transmitted disease, gay men, pregnant women, those with tuberculosis and all people who are starting a sexual relationship. Typically, people go eight to ten years without any symptoms of HIV, despite having contracted it. Those who do show symptoms within the first few weeks of contracting HIV usually have symptoms that mimic a severe case of influenza or mono. These can include fever, muscle aches, weight loss, sore throat, mouth ulcers, and rash, white spots in the mouth and white lesions on the sides of the tongue. Neurological conditions that manifest as pain in the arms and legs or numbness can be other indicators.

Got a question? Have ideas for a story for the newsletter? Wish to share information about something other students might find interesting? Have you recently obtained your first job? Did you receive a promotion? Feel free to email the editor at: newsletter@allenschool.edu. Some of your questions may be answered in the newsletter. Dear Editor: I was chosen from the Speed Staffing System for an interview at a cardiologist’s office. I didn’t get the job. I also had a few other interviews and didn’t get those jobs either. I don’t know what the problem is, but I am getting very frustrated. I need to get a job. Sincerely, Great Skills, No Job. Dear Great Skills, No Job: The medical industry will continue to grow as the population ages. There will always be jobs, but the competition for the jobs will grow. Those who are prepared, not only with their skills, but with the ability to do well in an interview, will always find it easier to get a job. If you didn’t get the job, there could be many reasons, from poor communication skills, poor preparation or poor personal presentation, etc. Among some things to consider are: 1. Did you arrive late or too early? 2. Did you avoid looking into the interviewer’s eyes or did you continually look down or seem distracted? 3. Did you speak in a too-low or a too-loud voice? 4. Did you interrupt the interviewer? 5. Did you laugh at inappropriate times because you were nervous? 6. Did you forget to smile? 7. Did you chew gum or your lip or your fingernails? 8. Did you have the smell of cigarettes (or your lunch) on your breath or clothing? 9. Did you forget to iron or to use the lint brush on your clothes? 10. Did you dress unprofessionally or wear dirty old shoes? 11. Did you bring up salary too soon or before the interviewer brought it up? 12. Did you neglect to research information about the company or the position prior to the interview? 13. Did you receive a text or cell phone call during the interview? 14. Did you ask personal or unprofessional questions of the interviewer, or no questions at all? 15. Did you badmouth your former employer? You may wish to review the skills presented to you in the Career Development module of your Allen School training and the mock interviews that were presented to refresh yourself on interviewing techniques. You can also contact your Placement office before any interviews for their input and suggestions. We are all here at Allen School to support and assist you in your job search.