Melissa Walters, MS, FMSP, CPCS®, CPMSM®, has come a long way since she was a receptionist at a West Virginia nonprofit community health system. Like many in the medical staff services profession, “I fell in love working with physicians, and being their go-to person.” At the health system, Walters was responsible for completing credentialing and
When John Pastrano, CPCS®, CPMSM®, BBA started working part-time in a local Texas hospital’s quality department, he was taking a class to learn a brand-new software program called Excel. The executive secretary in charge of credentialing had a lightbulb moment and asked Pastrano if he could leverage his software knowledge to create a quality profile.
Christine “Cris” Mobley, CPMSM®, CPCS®, draws a direct line from the relationships she’s built to the abundant opportunities presented to her over the course of her flourishing career. Mobley says that she and other pioneers in the medical services professional field – including Carol Cairns, Sue King, and Vicki Searcy – formed early bonds. “We’ve
After Karen Reed took an 18-month break from the medical records field following the birth of her second child, the 23-year-old made a bold move: submitting her application to become director of medical records at Community Hospital in Lubbock, Texas. When the hospital contacted her previous employer and noted that Reed didn’t have management experience,
Carole is inducted into the NAMSS Hall of Fame There’s a reason that Carole LaPine, MSA, CPMSM®, CPCS®, was one of the first two MSPs inducted into the NAMSS Hall of Fame. Actually, there are several reasons, all revolving around LaPine’s relentless commitment to excellence. The accolade she received in 2016 was the
In January 2021, Donna Goestenkors commemorated her forty-fifth anniversary as a Medical Services Professional. Like so many of her colleagues, the door that would lead to Goestenkors’ lifetime of professional service opened unexpectedly. “When I graduated from business college, I applied to all of the hospitals in the St. Louis area,” she recalled. Christian Hospital
Jodi Schirling was a newlywed when she began working in medical records in 1977. Within a year, she’d had a baby and had taken on a part-time medical staff secretary position that was also in its infancy. “Back then, we didn’t have many resources,” Schirling recalls. “We didn’t even have credentials files for doctors.” But
Like most who entered medical staff services in the early 1980s, Vicki Searcy found the profession by accident. “I was a woman working in a man’s world, doing institutional research at the University of Arkansas,” she recalls. “I was never going to be given the opportunity to further my career.” Taking the reins – and
More than one whirlwind hit Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1970. In early August, Hurricane Celia slammed into the coastal city. That same year, Cindy Gassiot, CPMSM®, CPCS®, began working as the medical staff secretary for a Corpus Christi teaching hospital. Little did she know that she would soon take the medical services profession by storm.
Christina Giles was born to teach. From the time she could walk and talk, Giles played school. “The best Christmas presents my father ever gave me were a teacher’s pointer and silky chalk,” she recalls. While she attended college intending to become a French teacher, her teaching career sputtered and came to an abrupt halt.
Watching her captivate an audience with anecdotes from her life, and wisdom gained from 55 years working in medical staff services, one would never guess that Carol Cairns used to break out in hives at the prospect of giving a five-minute presentation to a medical staff committee. “I’m living proof you can conquer that fear!”
