Working in a Medical Call Center is Hard, but Don’t Forget the Good Parts
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, Ph.D.
Have you ever left your call center and wished you didn’t have to come back? Of course, you have. Yet you return. Having this feeling means you care and prove you’re normal.
Working in a medical call center has its stresses, difficulties, and frustrations. But don’t let this cloud the good parts. And there are many.
Let’s press pause for a moment and reflect on what you can be thankful for through your work at a medical call center. Here are five ideas to get you started.
1. Enjoy Financial Provision
At a basic level, we work to earn a living. Yes, every employee wishes they made more and thinks they should. But overall you’re doing great. Your job covers your basic needs and then some.
Don’t look at the 1 percent in the United States who have far surpassed you. Consider the 99 percent in the rest of the world who wished they had your standard of living.
2. Work with a Great Team
Every day you work alongside some amazing and talented people. Yes, there may be one or two that irritate you, but this is true in every job, as it is with every family and every social gathering.
Remember, you’re a team, and you get things done. Together you’re stronger, more effective, and meet your mandate call after call.
3. Help Others
Handling call after call can have its drudgery. But remember that each caller is a real person who needs your support. They’re calling you for assistance. And you’re able to help. Call after call, you help people. Because of you, their lives are a little bit healthier.
You’re doing your part to make our world a better place.
4. Save Lives
Working in the medical call center can also have its life and death ramifications, especially if you’re doing telephone triage. Though it may not happen every day, each life you save is the ultimate reward that enables you to persevere.
But beyond saving physical lives, all healthcare call center work helps save people emotionally, spiritually, or financially. Each call represents an opportunity for you to make a difference in the caller’s life.
5. Possess Purpose
Some jobs are boring, and others carry no meaning other than a paycheck. Not so when you work in a medical call center. You have a purpose, a critical purpose. You and your coworkers help others on every phone call and save lives—whether literally or figuratively—on a regular basis.
Conclusion
You’re bound to have bad days in your call center. That’s normal. But don’t let them obscure the good days. Remember how much you have to be thankful for. You have a job that provides for you, benefits society, and carries significance.
Read more in Peter Lyle DeHaan’s Healthcare Call Center Essentials, available in hardcover, paperback, and e-book.
Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD, is the publisher and editor-in-chief of AnswerStat and Medical Call Center News covering the healthcare call center industry. Read his latest book, Sticky Customer Service.
