overheard online medical stuff

to be sure doctors have high salaries, but speaking as someone with relatives and friends in the medical profession, don't forget that the doctors and hospitals have expenses just like everyone else that they have to pay. The cost of obtaining a medical degree is not just $10k or $20k...it frequently runs up to and over $100k. That loan has to be paid off. The doctor has malpractice insurance to pay each year to protect himself against frivolous and excessive lawsuits. That doesn't cost $1k or $2k per year, but approaches $100k per year, and I can't even begin to guess at the cost of hospital malpractice insurance. The doctor prescribes more tests than are necessary, but it's largely to protect himself and/or the hospital against frivolous lawsuits in the unlikely event that something unanticipated happens and they get sued and need to show that they considered everything humanly possible. Doctors have paperwork that because of the excessive overregulation requires him to hire people just to keep track of medical records, insurance records, and regulatory paperwork.

@John, Over-regulation is root of the problem, not the AMA or anyone in the medical profession. Why in God's name would any intelligent person want to take up a profession these days where you have to attend college for years and years to learn all of the basics, practice at a hospital for several years before they'll even let you call yourself a professional, then have to deal with regulations so draconian that you need an accountant and a lawyer to make sure you don't go afoul of the law, pay exorbitant fees for malpractice insurance, people expect perfection from you but will sue you for ridiculous sums just for looking at them crossways, you have to hire people extra people to manage your paperwork, and if you're unfortunate enough to work for an HMO (which sprang up because of govt regulation and interference in the free market), you are pressured to treat people like carbon units on a conveyor belt so you can bring in enough money to support yourself and the hospital. And after all that, have people heap scorn and hatred on you for charging for the cost of running your business plus have enough left over to live comfortably on.

The problem is not doctors, pharmaceuticals, lawyers, or even the AMA, it's the govt and their willingness to regulate anything that's not dead that is enabling the bad behavior that you attribute to everything but the govt. The one law that govt never considers is the law of unintended consequences. Doctors, hospitals, lawyers, accountants, etc, all adjust their behavior to deal with the regulation and laws put out by govt. That creates more problems and more regulations to deal with those problems...and the cycle continues to spiral downwards. Remove the laws and regulation that created the unwanted behavior in the first place and you remove the bad behavior.

@Michael and John, why else would you face a critical shortage of workers when there is a desperate need for them? For more and more people, it's not worth it to go into the medical profession with all of the regulation and scorn pushed on the profession. You couldn't pay me enough to work in a field like that. Building more medical universities or even give them free education to become doctors is not going to give you more doctors in that kind of climate

Grief is a journey not a destination

Grief is a Journey, Not a Destination By: elaine williams There are days you sit in a chair and stare out the window because living seems to take too much energy. Even to think about what to make for dinner is an all-consuming task. It can be daunting, feeling as if there is nothing in this world that will ever hold your interest again. The mail order catalog with the Valentine's Day gifts is a reminder there won't be any lover's keepsakes. No hiding in the cabinet those chocolate and peanut butter eggs my husband, gone two years, used to enjoy. How small and silly a thought, but how big a rip in my heart. I had always been versatile and open to new ideas, but following my husband's death, life became a narrow focus of work and children. The joy had flown from most of my days and I worried if this consuming disinterest in the world would be permanent. Time could move excruciatingly slow, and yet other days I couldn't account for the hours I'd lived through. On the dark days, I lamented that no one cared anymore about my worries, dreams or desires. I hated being an empty vessel, and as I began dating, I expected that special someone to come along, fill me up, and make me happy. At that point, I mistakenly thought, things would return to normal. I'd be my old self. Little did I know at the beginning of my grief journey, my old self was forever gone. However, I wanted verification that I mattered to someone in some way. I wanted affection and caring, craving what I no longer had. My heart remained ever hopeful that I would find a happy ending, but due to some poor choices, I kept throwing myself on the rocks of dating disappointment. With the loss of someone integral to mine and my children's lives, my sense of normalcy had changed. Sometimes I wallowed in uncertainty about my life, and the tears would leak out of my eyes to run down my cheeks. I kept those emotions hidden most of the time. I couldn't bear to have others see me so weak; it seemed too private to share. On rare occasions, I allowed myself to express my pain and anxiety. I wish now that I shared my grief more often. One day I awoke and realized my life had never been a shipwreck and now was not the time to start. I was ever mindful that I was an example to my children, so I gathered my strength and took control of my destiny. Knowing the future was all in my hands was frightening and yet liberating. Becoming myself once more wasn't an easy process, but a slow, methodical movement forward. I am no longer the woman I was, but then having gone through this journey, how could I expect, or want, to return to who I had been? Indeed, as the years folded one into another, I had no need to rehash the past. It was behind me as it should be, neither forgotten nor dwelled upon. I now avidly pursue the future as I welcome life's unexpected joys and experiences. A new life and outlook has emerged, and it is interwoven with bits and pieces of my former life. I am thankful to have found myself again. Elaine Williams ©2008 Author Bio Elaine Williams is a widow and author of A Journey Well Taken: Life After Loss will be available June 2008, http://www.ajourneywelltaken.com Article Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com - Free Website Content

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law school

>The Real World: Life after Law School

The Real World: Life after Law School

By: Dilipkumar Rajpurohit

First of all, if you step into that marble foyer for the first time and realize that you would rather be anywhere but there, you should be. The practice of law is for people who truly want to be lawyers. Those who don't have their hearts in it will have a very difficult road ahead of them. However, if the smell of all those legal pads really gets you going, don't lose track of that passion. It will get you through what just might be the toughest 12 months of your life.

Many fresh-faced new lawyers go into their first year on the job with visions of perfection dancing in their heads. They plan to draft perfect briefs and advance perfect ideas while wearing perfectly ironed shirts and smiling perfectly bright smiles. They are usually disappointed.

When it comes to doing the grunt work that first-years are sure to do, it's usually easier to focus more on getting the job done right rather than getting it done perfectly. There won't be anyone grading your papers, making sure you've done everything properly. There will, however, be a real, live client paying good money for you to make sure that what he/she wants gets done.

In short, you should try to have a broader perspective when it comes to first-year work. Focus on the overall goal of accomplishing a task, and don't get bogged down in the miniscule details.

Once you start working as an attorney, there will be many things you won't have any idea how to do. For example, the firm will have its own system of filing, distributing information, and handling day-to-day operations.
Many times, you won't know where to go, how to get there, or whom to talk to once you do; but instead of spending your days in the restroom mopping your sweaty brow, ask someone for a practice guide that deals directly with the firm's practice areas. This is a simple, easy way to get your head above the water and gulp in some much-needed air.

Once you have a basic understanding of how things at the firm work, you will gain confidence in your own abilities and become more comfortable doing the work. However, there will most likely come a day when someone hands you an assignment that leaves you baffled, wondering what in the world you spent the last three years of law school learning.

In this situation, take a deep breath, and go with your gut instinct. Do what you think you should do, regardless of whether or not you know that it's the right thing to do. Most likely, your gut feeling will be correct. After all, you must have developed some sort of legal intuition while sitting immobile in those stuffy college auditoriums.

Also, don't be afraid to ask a senior associate or partner for answers to questions or for clarification on assignments. Sometimes, you can save a lot of time simply by asking the right person a question.

Now on to arguably the most exciting part of being an attorney (at least in the eyes of new associates): the perks. The best advice in this area is moderation. Overdoing it or taking advantage of the firm in any way will be viewed negatively. Therefore, even if the firm seems liberal when it comes to living the high life, it's always better to exercise a certain level of restraint.

Another area where restraint should be practiced is in regard to your personal life. Don't get me wrong. Everyone has issues of a personal nature that have to be dealt with from time to time, but keep in mind that your superiors have their own personal problems to deal with.

Unless you have a personal matter that absolutely, positively must be discussed, keep your private life to yourself. Also, it's a good idea to talk things over with your family and friends prior to starting work so that they understand exactly what you're getting into. That way, you won't have to deal with the added stress of family disagreements and disappointments if you have to suddenly renege on commitments.

And a last little tidbit of advice for newbie attorneys is to take advantage of your status. Partnership will come soon enough, and then you won't be able to ask dumb questions or get lost on your way to the restroom. Take this opportunity to learn as much as you can while you have the least amount of responsibility. Being teachable during the first 12 months will pay off in the future.

Author Bio
For More Information Visit http://www.lawcrossing.com/

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crm

So You Think You Know CRM Software?

By: Josh Whiting

A year ago if someone asked me if I knew my way around the CRM Software Industry I would have confidently said yes, however, as it turns out the old saying the more you learn the more knowledge you realize you lack, is true. When talking about the CRM Software Industry it is almost impossible to actually say that you know it inside out since there are so many CRM vendors around the world, all developing their technologies at such a rapid pace. As if it wasn't hard enough for a company to make a decision regarding; what they require, how it can help their business and so on, these technological advancements are always followed with a marketing campaign each speaking of how much this new feature or functionality will help you.



So the question stands at, you think you know CRM Software? This is difficult to answer with all the hype surrounding the industry combined with the relative youth of Web-based CRM and the large number of vendors. It is also difficult to produce a linear comparison since each vendor has their own set of terms and names for features. So where do you begin? You can learn the basics of Web-based CRM Software fairly easily with a quick search on Google, however I would like to mention a few points that are more difficult to uncover; the hidden costs associated with purchasing CRM Software, what to avoid, how your CRM can go beyond simply contact management and where the industry is going.



When a company decides it's time to make the move to Web-based CRM Software they should first develop a plan on how they expect this new implementation to boost their companies productivity and revenue. The largest roadblock in achieving a fast ROI is all the hidden costs that are not clearly listed on vendor's web sites. In researching to develop a comparison of some of the major players in the CRM world including Salesforce, Netsuite and Salesboom.com, the majority of my time was spent researching pricing for different platforms, upgrades, implementation, customization and customer support. Salesboom was actually the only one at the time to have a page with their pricing listed clearly.



To just go out and purchase a CRM Edition and think you are done is nowhere near the truth, this is just a base point from which pricing begins. This leads me into what to avoid when seeking your future CRM Software. What you need to look into and ask questions about is; storage limits and the cost of additional storage, maximum number of custom tabs & fields, maximum number of applications you can add, this being particularly relevant for Salesforce, and any other limitation which could later force you to upgrade.



If you have implemented a CRM Software Solution and reached any of these mentioned limitations I'm sure you can vouch for my statement that it comes at a great cost. What is often the case is that the edition a company is currently working with is doing a great job but for example they have reached their storage limits. An edition upgrade for a company with roughly 750 users can amount to around 2 million dollars above what they were already paying. With this upgrade of course comes more features and functionality however they are features and functionality which will not increase your ROI simply because your company doesn't need them.



Now that the buyers beware and the negatives are out of the way we can focus on the positives. When you implement your new Web-based CRM you have just knocked down all the walls separating your departments or office's, no matter their location and you did it in real-time. Once up and running your CRM goes far beyond contact management software with vendor's now integrating front and back office functionality. Netsuite has a strong back office, which makes sense knowing their background in back office ERP solutions; however I find their SFA or front office not to be up to the standards of some others. Salesforce and Salesboom.com both offer a well rounded CRM solution for companies of all sizes, between these two it really comes down to price.



With more than just contact management capabilities CRM Software is a great tool for your; marketing department with in depth campaign and lead management tools, your customer service department since a complete history of all clients and cases are a mouse click away, your back office including inventory, billing & invoicing by taking advantage of real time workflow processes and of course your sales force with features like escalation rules or in more recent times offline and mobile editions.



Today CRM Software vendors are coming out with Offline and Mobile Editions giving new ways to never lose contact with the office. This brings us to the future of Web-based CRM Software, where is it going? Well over the past year we have seen great advancements with the use of AJAX, or as it's known to the tech world, Asynchronous JavaScript and XML. This code underneath your CRM Software eliminates the need for you to refresh your web browser whenever you make a change. This can be seen in some social networking sites, a popular one being facebook. Here AJAX is used to allow for drag and drop customizations to appearance and the arrangement of applications. The idea is the same with CRM Software, a simple down mouse click and drag will allow you to customize the appearance of your dashboard without an IT department, so you can focus on the information most relevant to you.



The other benefit that AJAX will bring us in the future when combined with faster internet speed is the elimination of load time, maybe not completely but at least the majority of it. This sort of functionality is now only seen with On-premise software since all information is stored within your computer or server you don't need to wait for the internet to download any data. AJAX comes into play here since you don't require a browser refresh you can continue working while only that portion of the web page is reloaded. I predict that the gap between Web-based and On-premise CRM Software will be much smaller by the end of 2008 and we will see the same trend with businesses leaving their On-premise for Web-based CRM, like was seen in 2007.

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Author Bio

I am a University graduate with a B.A. double major in communication and political science. Always having an interest in business management has lead me to becoming a freelance writer for various Customer Relationship Management vendors and sites. I also keep up regular blogs and encourage feedback on articles and blogs written. More info: http://crmspot.blogspot.com/

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Dating

Dating After Loss of a Spouse

By: elaine williams

When a relationship ends due to one partner dying, what is the correct time period to begin dating again? Grief is such a funny, unpredictable animal. Many people in years' past think a year is a suitable time to wait before incorporating life changes, and yet for many of us, a year into our loss - we're barely getting started on our grief journey. My experience has been that people and perhaps society as a whole, do not allow enough time or thought to the actual grief process. There is no quick fix or "getting over it" and moving on. We all move through grief in our own ways and means. There is nothing by formula that we can follow or hope to happen. Talking with others who have experienced a similar loss is definitely a plus.

Some days the road is more difficult than others days. At times, you feel enveloped in a mist of uncertainty. Even small decisions can sometimes stretch past your point of coping.

Personal decisions are just that, personal. What is suitable for anyone must be decided individually. Sometimes you have to let go of preconceived notions of the correct way to act and grieve.

I began dating too early, about a year after my husband passed away. I was incredibly lonely and in a real oxymoron, I was determined to be happy again, at any cost to myself. So, I started dating through online sites and I kept attracting the wrong type of man. Takers, emotionally unavailable, surface daters, serial daters, men who mirrored my own uncertainty about my readiness to date again.

None of these connections turned out to be anything substantial. In a fog of grief, I yearned to find someone to love, and yet I knew these men were wrong for me. They were just a short ride on a ferry to nowhere special. It was brought home to me gradually, through my dating experiences, that I had to value myself more than what I was doing. I couldn't settle with a partner just to have someone in my life. I deserved more. My dates deserved more than someone still traveling through grief.

In those early days, I was as unavailable as the men I dated. If I had realized this, perhaps I would have run fast in the opposite direction, but in two instances I hung on to a flagging relationship, hoping things would change. Of course they did not.

Gradually, I came to realize that I had to stop setting myself up for disappointment in relationships. How could I attract the right partner, unless I was equally ready for a commitment?

I made the decision to bring my standards up to a new level and part of this process involved not dating for over a year. Only then did I start meeting the quality of man that my higher consciousness demanded. I was no longer wasting my time, or theirs, in surface dating, where both of us knows after one date there is no chemistry or real interest.

We all deserve better for ourselves than settling in a relationship just to alleviate the loneliness. It is difficult being alone when you are used to so much more, but I have chosen to remain so until the right partner comes along. It's a personal decision, and for me, there is no other choice.

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Author Bio
Elaine Williams is a widow and author of A Journey Well Taken: Life After Loss will be available June 2008, www.ajourneywelltaken.com

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