Experience
Administrative Assistant
ASPIRE Homes is a Program within Mental Health & Addiction with Alberta Health Services that has, with the cross-ministry assistance of the Government of Alberta, built three homes to house twelve individuals with complex mental health & addiction needs. The chosen individuals to be residents of the homes were discharged from Alberta Hospital Edmonton as they had no need for acute care but need the 24/7 supervision and support of trained individuals to immerse them back into community. The chance that the twelve residents would become a homeless statistic on discharge was exceedingly high, and so the ASPIRE Program was introduced. The Program is new and unique to Alberta, and therefore is being assessed and observed by other jurisdictions. I am proud to say I have been with the Program from conception.
Human Resources
Position Appointment Process (5%)
• Writing job descriptions for positions
• Posting jobs on the electronic posting board with AHS
• Following processes and procedures defined by both AHS and the Collective Agreement of each position
• Tracking the closing dates of each posted position
o Tracking number of applicants, both internal and external
o Reviewing resumes for the required experience needed for each position
o Narrowing down candidates for Care Manager to make final decision on interviews
o Once candidates identified, call them for interview, sitting in on interview, checking references, communication of offers, onboarding, and setting up orientation and Buddy Shifts for each new candidate
As there are always resignations, the Position Appointment Process is ongoing
Scheduling (80%)
• Continual scheduling and rescheduling of sixty employees with the three homes.
• Maintaining a minimal safe standard for both the residents and the staff
• Time Entry for each of the staff
o Solving pay discrepancies on behalf of the staff
• In 2018 Alberta Health Services brought in an electronic scheduling and time keeping process
o As the current timekeeper to the Program, I was appointed as the liaison between Scheduling/Timekeeping and Staff members
Vacation Planning (10%) – A year-round function by Care Manager and Administration
• A large organization like AHS has policies and procedures around the taking of vacation by employees in each Department
• Vacation Planning entails ensuring that the warranted vacation of the employees is honoured while maintaining the operations of the Homes
• Using the Collective Agreements vacation is planned and approved based on both seniority and operational demands of the residents
• Produced emails and policies to assist all employees with planning vacation each year and on behalf of the Care Manager tracking non-use and over-use of vacation by the employees
• Good understanding of Collective Agreements, employees, and management to mitigate questions/concerns on vacation planning
o There is always a need to balance the operational needs of the Homes and the wishes for time off from the employees
o Patience and understanding to employees that have had a day off declined, as well as providing reasoning
Operational Administration (5%)
• Assist Care Manager and Supervisors with Compliance Standards each year
o Ensuring the needed documentation for the compliance inspector is readily available
• Keeping Outlook Calendar organized and up to date for Care Manager
• Meeting Minutes and ensuring there is follow up to action items
• Drafting Excel spreadsheets, Word documents, Visio, and PowerPoint Presentations
• Various needed statistics and charts for presentation and sharing
• Ordering of supplies as needed
Secretary
Planning & Program Support encompasses five teams (Business Intelligence, Quality & Safety, Planning & Evaluation, Education & Best Practice, and Planning & Development). There are two Secretaries that support the Program Managers of the five teams within Planning & Program Support.
Operational Administration
The secretaries are responsible for using Outlook to book meetings, drafting the agendas, and taking the minutes for all the meetings chaired by the Program Managers.
Taking care of the Outlook calendars of the Program Managers to spot conflicts. Identify calendar and meeting priorities to bring to the Program Managers.
Time Entry for all the Planning & Program Support team members and administration staff, ensuring the vacation schedule is up to date, and monitoring employee bank balances for the Program Managers.
Electronic Human Resources delegation for all Program Managers for position postings, setting up interviews, oversee testing and assisting with administration orientation for new hires.
Assisting Program Managers with drafting Excel spreadsheets, Word documents and PowerPoint Presentations.
Using CCLD (electronic scheduling of training rooms and needed tech support) to book education sessions and monitoring attendance records from each session. Supporting Educators to ensure they have the equipment needed for their sessions.
Taking care of all other administrative duties as needed by the Program Managers.
Coordinator, Provincial Physician Assessment Program
(Temporary Maternity Leave Position)
College of Physicians & Surgeons of Alberta
Coordinator, Provincial Physician Assessment Program
Assessment & Competency Evaluation Team
In 2012, 211 International Medical Graduates went through at least one assessment set up by the CPSA Provincial Physician Assessment Program and coordinated through one person.
The above statement gives you an understanding of the dedication, focus and multitasking required for the coordinator to be able to set up and manage the follow up of each assessment.
Using SharePoint, Outlook, Excel, and Word; the coordinator is responsible for the acknowledgement, finding an Assessor/Supervisor, providing details, and monitoring for evaluations of each assessment.
Coordinator is responsible for finding an assessor for each family physician slated to start in a Preliminary Clinical Assessment in Alberta. Coordinator looks to the list of over one hundred Family Physician Assessors in Alberta to find a physician match that would best predict a physician assessment being done in the full scope of practice would best meet the requirements of the clinic/Zone and a successful outcome for the applicant.
Coordinator requests the names of potential supervisors from the Clinics/Zones for the Supervised Practice Assessment and works closely with CPSA Senior Medical advisor to secure a physician willing to supervise applicant. The process for specialists needing assessment(s) requires assisting the Senior Medical Advisor with connecting with Department Heads and potential assessors.
Before the Assessment starts, although it is not the responsibility of CPSA, the coordinator requires knowledge of immigration (LMO applications, work permits and permanent residency). The coordinator should be able to assist sponsors, applicants, and outside stakeholders in the understanding of immigration policies and requirements.
A true and strong understanding of CPSA Assessment policies and procedures required to educate and assistant Alberta Health Services, Clinics, and other outside stakeholders.
The CPSA policy understanding also extends to a general knowledge of CPSA registration requirements to help applicants and other International Medical Graduates looking to be licensed in Alberta.
Medical Assistant to Director of Leduc & Devon Hospitals Medical Affairs /Physician Recruitment Specialist
From 2008 to 2009 worked in the Leduc and Devon Hospitals as the Assistant to the Medical Director of each Facility under Capital Health.
Responsible for:
• Keeping privileges current for all physicians in each facility
• Planning and executing Grand Rounds, Facility physician meetings
• Briefing notes for new equipment requests, staffing requests, etc.
• Planning and executing requested physician workshops
• Ensuring (chasing down) all signatures are in place for privileges, NetCare, etc.
• Setting up NetCare and PAC for new physicians to facility
• Invoicing for Physician and Surgical On-Call programs
• Emergency Room scheduling
Although all services of the Assistant are done at a Facility Level, close contact is required with the Medical Staff Office and Medical Affairs. The Assistant answered directly to Medical Affairs management and was an employee of Medical Affairs and not the Facility. Supplies and salary came from the Medical Affairs budget.
In 2009 transferred to the Edmonton Zone Medical Affairs Office in Recruitment as Physician Recruitment specialist
Came to Medical Affairs during a period of a large transition (during my first three months in MA office the Coordinator and Manager left their positions) leaving Recruitment a Team of One.
Learning by fire was the name of the game, taking care of recruitment cases, learning budget, looking after outside stakeholders, bridging relationships with Immigration, University of Alberta and CPSA.
During the first few months of 2010 CPSA went through a giant transition in terms of licensing conditions and requirements. Learning and adapting the changes at CPSA into the recruitment process became a large part of the position. As CPSA took care of Immigration up to 2010 it was just the job of AHS to monitor for work permits, but then in the early part of 2010 the processing of immigration for newcomers into Alberta Health Services became the responsibility of AHS and CPSA no longer had no responsibility for Immigration (not even to monitor for work permits).
During 2010 Canada Customs and Immigration was also going through a transition. Dual work permits for U of A (or any other stakeholder that worked in AHS Facilities) and AHS was required, advertising was mandatory on all positions AHS was recruiting for. LMO applications were more heavily scrutinized and were taking longer to process.
During 2010 to 2011 AHS Medical Affairs was also going through staff transitions, settling of Teams and Managers, new process, AHS Bylaws, etc.
During the period 2009 to 2012, privileged physicians in ZMSO (RMSO), drafted letters of offer, drafted recruitment cases, drafted advertisements that fit with the requirements laid out by CIC, educated all on licensing requirements needed for CPSA, worked with the University of Alberta to develop letters of offer and develop dual work permits, worked with the Departments on workforce planning and retention, trained new privileging assistants in ZMSO, trained new coordinators and managers on immigration, CPSA, advertising and privileging.
Medical Clinic Manager
2005 to 2009
Alex Matuechev Podiatry Clinic
Clinic Manager
• Set- up appointments
• Monitored six-line phone system
• Referrals to specialists
• Lab results
• Frontline for incoming appointments, deliveries, and issues
• Set-up examination rooms for specific procedures
• Drafted Operative Reports
• Alberta Health Care Billings
• Invoices for procedures
• Payment of procedures not covered by AHC
• Sterilization of instruments
• Ordering Supplies
Medical Assistant/Receptionist
Assisted and maintained appointments for 4 - 6 family medicine physicians
• Set- up appointments
• Monitored six-line phone system
• Referrals to specialists
• Lab results circulated to each physician
• Frontline for incoming appointments, deliveries, and issues
• Set-up examination rooms for specific procedures
• Alberta Health Care Billings
• Invoices for procedures
• Payment of procedures not covered by AHC
• Sterilization of instruments
• Ordering Supplies
Education
No Degree, List of Education & Courses
COURSES
Management Introduction
Healthcare Economics (Canadian Based with Study in Canada Health Act and Alberta Health Professions Act, along with workforce planning)
Communication in Small Groups
Writing in Organizations
Minute Taking
Professionalism Guidelines
Human Resources Recruitment /Sustainability
Training in Organizations
EDUCATION
High School Graduate
2000 went to CDI to upgrade computer skills
University Level Courses but no Degree