Professional Career Action Plan Essay

When I first started out going to school after college I thought that I wanted to be a teacher and so right after high school I started going to school to be an elementary teacher. I quit school because I wanted to move out of my parent’s house and be on my own so I got a full time job. After I moved and got stable I went back to get my early elementary degree. After about a year and a half I got pregnant and had my son and couldn’t go to class in the morning after being up all night with a toddler and then to work so I quit school again until my son got older. My son was able to start school when he was two so I decided to go back to school and get my educational degree. As I was going to school I was also volunteering at my son’s school and that is when I decided I really didn’t want to be a teacher and I was undecided what I wanted to do and I knew I was wasting my money and time going to school so I quit once again. I got a job at a temp agency working for the temp sending people on assignments and after a year the company decided they were going to close the company in my location but my supervisor got me a job at Advanced Radiology Services doing data entry putting in codes in the system. After a few years I realized that I really like being in the health care field and wanted a career in it and I tried to move up doing different jobs in the field but I realized that in order to really move up and eventually become a director I would need a degree so I decided to get my degree in Healthcare Management so I went back to school, this time determined to make it work. My Job in the Health Care sector In the health care sector my career job is to be the Director of the billing department of a health care facility. As a director my job would be to work with a team or staff to establish and maintain the skills which are necessary for the facility. I would need to display a personal commitment and courage and in doing that I will be keeping the staff working as a team. I would be developing as well as improve the performance of myself as well as my staff and I will need to do this through training, coaching and feedback. In order to achieve this I would have to further my education by obtaining a baccalaureate degree in a health related area and have experience in an allied health field. (eHow 2013) I have worked in the health care field for over ten years and have done billing front end and  back end, customer service, demographic edits, payment poster, and issue refunds. I have also trained new and current employees and served as a lead. I also have my schooling that can qualify me for the director position. Although I have all of this I feel I would still need to get certified in and get my dual certificate in CPAT and CCAT and what this is the CPAT is designed for people who work on the hospital side of patient accounting and the CCAT is for people who work on the clinical/physician side. Having this certification will help keep me in pace with the industry and also will allow me to gain recognition by the industry by letting me get the job or a promotion that I would want. (illinoisaaham 2013) I also would need to get a Master’s degree in a health management related field. I feel that I need this degree so I can learn more on being a director and learn more on directing a facility. Achieving my professional Goal The steps that I will need to do in order to achieve my professional goal are to continue to go to school and receive my master’s degree in Master of Health Administration with a Concentration in Sustainability Management. Obtaining this degree I feel will be a benefit for me in my role as Director. I also plan on taking getting my certification in CCAT and CPAT. I also feel that before I can achieve this I will need to be a supervisor and manager for a few years so I can have a better understanding of leadership roles. Being a supervisor is the start of being a manager and then a director those are the steps that I will have to take in order to achieve my goal of being a Director. I am now employed at Spectrum Health Hospital and I feel that I can go far in this organization and eventually be a director for this organization. This organization will help me get the certification that is need because it is something that they off and also will allow me to go to school and furth er my education. If I get the certification and the degree that is required then I will be able to get a job as a director at any health care facility or organization. With the career action plan that I have done I feel this will help keep me grounded and on track with the steps I need to obtain in order to achieve my goal. Completing a goal maybe harder than it seems but if you have steps in place that will help keep you focused you can get through your goal and you will want to achieve higher goals in the process. This is a step by step process  and may not happen overnight but with dedication and hard work you can successfully complete the goal you set out to achieve. References American Association of Healthcare Administrative Management AAHAM Retrieved from http://www.aaham.org/Certification/CPATCCAT/tabid/90/Default.aspx CPAT/CCAT Frequently Asked Questions Retrieved from http://www.illinoisaaham.com/images/Technical_Certification_FAQs.pdf Edwards T, Job Description of a Health Director eHow Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/about_5347304_job-description-health-director.html Setting goals and objectives Retrieved from http://www.time-management-guide.com/goals-and-objectives.html