medical assistant

x-ray technician

physical therapist

physical therapist assistant

physical therapy aide

Arrowhead-Orthopaedics

In the almost 3 years now since I have worked for A.O there have been a few things that I do enjoy and do not enjoy. 
Examples of things that are great are: We do get to accumulate vacation time and use it whenever we need it even for personal days and what not (Emergencies and etc) . Our sick time does reset every year as well giving us that breathing room. We are offered health/ dental/ and vision insurance for ourselves and our family. A.O is a stable job and or career as well with steady hours and pay.. ( which we do get a pay increase usually every year after our annual reviews). The manger here at my office is great and I have no complaints he is doing a great job.
It is also nice that for the holidays we can show the spirit for it by having little potlucks and enjoying our lunches together during those special times of year. 
I have also learned how to properly speak to patients and handle insurances fairly well knowing what goes with what. and Programs we have to learn on the job as well.

A few downsides to working at A.O that have come across over time are as follows: One big thing that does cause a problem while working here is Lack of Communication from higher management... 
Such as when insurances change and we are not told about the update of which ones we do and do not take until later or last, then proceed to get in trouble by other managers outside of our office because of that. 
Also, there is hardly any type of reprimanding of patients that verbally abuse us over the phone. We have had patients consistently use foul language and threats to get what they want. When we follow policy's of the work place and let them know as such, they go off on us. But once they get to higher management above my manager, they still get what they want regardless. Once that happens they continue to do the same thing every single time they call , because now they know they can get away with it and they will not be discharged or anything. 
We have also had patients come into the office and verbally abuse our staff as well. I think this is one of the biggest issues, is that there is no accountability for what they do to all of us. The whole staff. Not to mention should they get to the higher ups, it all falls back down on us as if we instigated the issues at hand. Then we get reprimanded for it in the end. We completely understand that we have to maintain a professional manner no matter what the situation and we do so. But I feel like we as a staff should reserve the right to hang up or walk away from those specific types of situations. 
These are the main two concerns ultimately. Communication and the mental abuse Patients put us through on other days. 
We used to have monthly meetings to go over or voice any concerns and I feel like we should implement that again so voices can be heard. For ALL offices. 
Mental health of the employees here at A.O should be some type of priority..So that we may be the best we can at our job and give the best experience to patients possible. 

Other than these two issues, Everything else is great and I am forever grateful to have this Job. almost 3 years and counting. Love my A.O family .

Typical day at the job here at Arrowhead Orthopaedics as a scheduler is answering the phone all day, and scheduling appointment for patients. Working here for 2 years I have learned how to assist patients in a professional manner.  Gained knowledge with insurance procedures and what documents patients need to be able to schedule with Arrowhead Orthopaedics. Office management has been extremely helpful in helping me with any questions or concerns i have regarding scheduling a patient and what insurances we are contracted. Work environment is relaxing and friendly, everyone is willing to help in the best way they can if you are having any issues. 
A down side of working at Arrowhead Orthopeadics as a bilingual would be double the work in assisting English speaking and Spanish speaking patient and having at most 4 patient on hold, with no pay difference.   The difficult and most stressful part of working at Arrowhead Orthopaedics is assisting patients that are rude to you  by using foul language when they don't get what they want. Reporting to management doesn't help , when upper management is lenient with patient and doesn't consider the verbal abuse employees receive from rude and incomprehensive patients. 
Regardless of inconveniences, working at Arrowhead Orthopaedics has been enjoyable thanks to my coworkers and some perks that are given. For example automatic sick / vacation hours renewal every year.  

checking patients in making sure we have all we need for appointment. it being so busy as it is I have other tasks I need to do which is a lot. I've learned to do what I can and slow is and steady is way. most of the managers are okay to work with but some are very intimidating. work culture everyone is kept to themselves, to their own department. the smaller the pod the better connection, sometimes medical assistants click with medical assistants, receptionists with receptionists, phone operators with phone operators, get the point? hardest part of the job it can be overwhelming due to the added tasks you receive on top of the original tasks you already handle, and communication, maybe having resources to have for the stressful job. the enjoyable is working with the doctors and the Christmas party at the end of the year. also, this job is pretty much flexible in case you need certain days off or needed to leave for an emergency they can figure out to accommodate.

A typical clinic day at Arrowhead consisted of rooming patients, taking vitals, full patient histories and chief complaint for injury/pain. Creating orders for further diagnostic testing, labs, physical therapy, etc. Following doctor in to exam room, removing sutures and staples, returning patient calls. Often were behind schedule with little to no lunch. However, environment was always upbeat and fun in back office. Coworkers were great, poor management simply because the manager was overwhelmed with office tasks. 
Off clinic days were for surgery scheduling, creating paperwork, calling patients, coordinating with DME and surgical companies/ hospitals for equipment deliveries. 
I was able to learn a lot about orthopedics and anatomy as well as excellent patient care.

A typical day in the office is making sure all X-Rays and images are ready for 15 different Doctors for STAT surgeries. Making sure the appropriate images needed are updated and ready to review. Majority of the time I will have to deliver patients images to other facilities prior to patients surgeries. I have learned so much from each Doctor on the ways images need to be for each body part and what patients need to get worked on. When working in clinic with the X-Ray team, I help assist with bringing and transporting patients to their right locations. I haven't had any hard days but sometimes when the clinic gets busy I am bouncing all over the place from first floor to the third to the second floor. It makes my day go by so much faster. The most enjoyable part of coming to work is having laughs and getting to know our patients a little more on the reasons why they've come into AO.  Everyone is always greeted with a smile and staff is always welcoming and friendly. 

While I find my overall experience enjoyable at this workplace, there are certain aspects that warrant attention. The wage discrepancy is particularly noticeable in the Victorville office, where wages are presumed to be lower due to regional living costs. However, this assumption does not align with the actual cost of living, leading to an inequitable compensation structure.
A notable challenge within our workplace lies in the lack of cohesive teamwork, leading to a discernible division among employees. This discord is exacerbated by an evident disparity in pay, which has become a source of discontent among the staff.
I believe that acknowledging and addressing these issues would contribute significantly to fostering an optimal working environment and enhancing overall productivity.

You will learn the difference between an HMO and a PPO while working here. Also sometimes they will follow policies and procedures and sometimes they won't, which is hard to follow because the front desk will tell patient one thing, and management will tell them something else. They will ok practices that they normally wouldn't, like continue to see a disruptive patient, allow patients to come to their appointment hours late, which will put clinic behind, or allow a patient to be seen when it's past the company policy of a 15 minute grace period. Verify insurances, making sure that they are still active with active authorizations. Better communication between offices, other offices run differently than each  other, which can be quite annoying because as a company, we should be running the same policies and procedures. 

Starting the company was a bit challenging but have the right support makes those tough days easy and enjoyable. Working for arrowhead orthopaedics have taught me so many things with knowledge that will benefit my personal life. each day i am learning something new that i wasn’t aware. the coworkers and people you will work with either teach you something or you are happy to teach them something. one thing arrowhead orthopaedics is good with is being really flexible with your schedule. Before there was a time when i didn’t enjoy working with arrowhead orthopaedics but speaking with a supervisor on issues and concerns i had, those things were able to change and made me want to stay with arrrowhead orthopaedics. i know over the years arrowheads gives you an opportunity to move up within the company and values you as a person. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
Work life balance is good. For the most part the company understands when you're facing a hardship at home. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
At times you're the only receptionist and they expect you to handle all phone calls and lobby traffic. Plus checking in appts. Phone calls should be directed to phone operators or schedulers. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Some co workers that have been their a long time think they're some how smarter than a new employee which is completely untrue. Most of the time they make new employees feel left out. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Busy, since you are usually the only receptionist or medical assistant. Stressful most of the time

I've learned so much from this place. I had little experience prior to working here and i was still  given the opportunity . Management is good at least at the location i am at. My current Manager is such an awesome person. Management has worked with me with days ive needed for personal reasons and i couldnt be more thankful. This doesnt mean that only because of that everything i great, there is a few things i wished can be changed or improved but overall i enjoy working for AO. The hardest part of this job would be being able to handle a situation with a patient. There is good and bad days and i will say you need thick skin to work in this field. The most enjoyable part of this job is helping patients and making them feel understood and appreciated. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
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Physical therapy aide 1 salary reported	$21.00 per hour

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