Reflection from Devotion for Nov 3

reflection from rbc ministries
devotion, "How To Walk"

My job is stressful at times, I'm not going to lie about it, "it is what it is" as the saying goes. But through the midst of it I can still give God praise for many reasons and not just, "Thank God I have a job because there are people who do not have a job" line. Working at a pharmaceutical company makes me take stock of my life in many ways. First and foremost I am thankful people do the job that I do but God keeps reminding me, "this is just your "tent"...not your home and that is so true in many ways. I can not see myself doing that job for a career. It seems that some companies want you to do top notch jobs with 5th rate tools. Zondra (my wife) and I were talking about how companies do not want to spend the money for proper office equipment. We all the reason, to keep overhead down, that I understand but not to a point where it cripples the entire department. But like I told my wife, supervisors, managers will demand better equipment if they had to deal with it on a daily basis.

Another thing is the fact that you realize how terrible some of the insurance companies are out here. They can change the DRUG FORMULARY list on you in a heartbeat and most insurance companies know people do not read all of the literature they send out to the patients and to be honest it's up to the patient to take the time to read the mail they receive from their insurance companies. I am thankful for this because this makes me step up and begin reading the material I receive from our insurance company(even though you need an attorney to decipher most of the material they send you). But the insurance companies are not all at fault...

I have lost count the times I have called patients
and said the following:

Me: Good morning this Keith calling from ________ trying to reach Rachel*(why I picked that name who knows)

Patient: This is me

Me: I'm calling to inform you that there is going to be a slight delay in your order, your insurance is not covering this medication without a Prior Authorization. We have faxed your doctor and we are waiting for your doctor to either fax us or contact us by phone to get a Prior Authorization from us or approved the alternative medication that is on the form we faxed to your doctor.

Patient: Why did you change my medication and this is just a refill?

Me: No ma'am, this change is coming from your INSURANCE not from us.

Patient: This does not make any sense, no one gave you permission to do this.

Me: Ma'am, we are only going off of the information your insurance is giving our company. We are not changing this medication on our own accord. I do not know why your insurance is not covering this medication you have received in the past.

Patient: You people are always making things complicated....

This can go on for 5, 10 minutes. Now some callers they understand but for the most part these are the type of calls I get day in day out. This doesn't make it better for me that I sit in the same cubicle space with my supervisor. We have orders to get out by a certain time and if I get orders for Tuesday and they need to go to a Prior Authorization Coordinator by Thursday and I get them on a Wednesday and I was supposed to have received the orders on a Wednesday and I am supposed to have 3 days to work the order:touch base with the patient, touch base with the doctor office to make sure they received the fax and many times either the fax phone number was not correct in the system or the doctor's office say they did not "receive" the fax and I have to fax it again. Not to mention that sometimes we fax a doctor's office and when contacting the patient they say, "or, I have change doctors."....

ya see where this is going? Back to the devotion...

I am learning that no matter what the stress may be God is always teaching me something. I am learning that when situations begin to squeeze in on me that is when I go to my God to give me strength, discernment, understanding and when you have a close relationship with God day in and day out he will give you that peace, stillness you need in dealing with the job you love and the job you do not like as much. I've learned I can do two things: I can ask God, "why, why, why?" or, "God, what are you trying to teach me in this situation in my life right now." You never know He may be showing you some things you need to get right in your life. You may have those same qualities, those same characteristics that is coming back at you from customers, patients, co-workers. What I am learning from these patients is that to not attack people on the phone, there are different levels of each situation, a soft but stern voice carries much weight than yelling, screaming. Here are some other lessons I am taking away from my time in the "pit"...

• Be obedient to Him always: I know this is just a job and not my career. He has blessed me to enter school a time around.
• Learn from other people's mistakes: When dealing with companies you MUST do your homework on them, stay on top of them because believe me, most companies DO NOT have your best interest at heart
• Take care of yourself health wise: there are some diseases we have no control over but for the most part, by eating right, getting proper rest, exercising you will stay healthy.
• Seek the occupation or vocation that God has set before you: God has giving all a true calling on our lives whether it's being a CEO, a musician, a writer, an actor, a motivational speaker...do not let anyone stir you away from your calling because believe me there is nothing worse than working a job that you cringe when Sunday rolls around.
• Have a stable home life: relationship wise, financial wise, communication wise. There is nothing worse than going into a job that you do not like and to come home to drama. I don't want to see you on the 6pm news about snapping and taking your life, your spouse's life because you have had a bad day.
• Get up each morning and meditate, have a proper breakfast : Trust me, it will make your day go much smoother.
• Learning the true meaning of "Multi-tasking:I know many workers, mothers and fathers(especially) know what I'm talking about when it comes doing this. You have to "think ahead of the game" because many jobs think you should be able to do 15 billion things at once(ok, I'm stretching it I know when I say, "15 billion things...10 billion things at once).

For me I know that having a close relationship with my heavenly Father has helped me day by day dealing with the corporate madness, babysitting grown people(patients) dealing with overworked, underpaid nurses when calling the doctor offices. Some days are better than others and I have people that I have reached out to and they have been supportive. They have told me what I need to hear and do and just want I want to hear, makes a big difference.

Sometimes it does not take a tragedy to make you begin to walk with God, sometimes it only takes working at a job that you do not care for to realize how God can impact your life.

Be Blessed, Be Safe &,
Have a Wonderful Weekend.