Have you harnessed the power of networking in your career? Do you know how to use networking strategically to position yourself for your dream job, both now and in the future? Tune in today to hear my conversation with Aaron Block, an orthopedics PA who decided to go back to school for his MBA during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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From Ortho PA to MBA

Aaron Block is an orthopedic PA by training who went back to school during the COVID-19 pandemic to get his MBA degree. Aaron says he doesn’t know if he would have got his MBA degree if it wasn’t for COVID. Aaron was working in joint replacement surgery in 2020. 21 out of the 23 ortho PAs were redeployed to ICUs because of the pandemic. Aaron says it was a traumatizing and very tough time. He didn’t anticipate how much the pandemic would affect him. Aaron started wondering if wanted to explore something outside of clinical medicine and decided to create an exit strategy. He knew a PA who got her MBA and became the director of a pharmaceutical company. So he used that as his inspiration to get his own MBA. Aaron is now the Associate Director of the Musculoskeletal Program at BlueCross BlueShield. 

How You Can Use an MBA

Aaron says you don’t need an MBA to leave clinical medicine or obtain a leadership role in your current medical system. However, an MBA can be used to work in medical devices or pharmaceuticals. Aaron was interested in instrumentation used in the OR and considered a role teaching medical device representatives how to use those instruments so they can then go into the field and teach providers. While an MBA can be utilized to work in pharmaceuticals, he says that wasn’t the right fit for him. Most pharmaceutical positions are in hematology, oncology, or rare diseases. 

Working For an Insurance Company

Aaron says there are many misconceptions about working for an insurance company. He says many colleagues told him he was “going to the dark side” when he announced he was changing jobs. But Aaron describes BCBS as a great place to work, a mission-driven company, and filled with great people. That being said, Aaron knows the American healthcare system is very flawed, but says that insurance companies aren’t necessarily the dark side.

The Other Side of Insurance Authorizations

Aaron’s role as Associate Director for the MSK Program focuses on utilization management. Is a service necessary? Is it being done in the right setting? If utilization management is done correctly, then it both benefits the patient and saves healthcare costs. 

Aaron oversees the utilization management program on prior authorizations for MSK procedures, including total joint replacements (knee, hip, shoulder), scopes, spine surgeries, and pain management, including injections and spinal cord stimulators.

Nurses and physical therapists do the medical necessity review for these procedures after they are submitted by the providers. RNs and PTs receive training and use decision-making software to determine medical necessity. If a procedure is determined not medically necessary, then it will go to a secondary reviewer. Aaron can be the secondary reviewer or it goes to a physician review unit for final denial or approval.

Most of Aaron’s day revolves around answering clinical questions from his associates who need an ortho perspective for nuances of procedures and diagnoses. There is a lot of discussion and collaboration.

Aaron also works at building the program to be more well-rounded. This includes adding case management for high risk perioperative patients to prevent readmission or complications. Aaron is also adding virtual PT and exercise therapy into the program. Aaron can help streamline processes and create more efficiency because he is coming from a clinical background. Aaron is also working on creating a list of procedures that don’t need prior authorizations. He wants to streamline the submission of prior authorizations so they can be auto-approved. This can also benefit providers by preventing them fomr making additional phone calls to the insurance company for peer reviews. 

Continuing Clinical Work

BCBS requires the physician review unit, PAs, and NPs to remain clinical once per month. Therefore, Aaron goes to the OR once a month with his previous surgeon and to do joint replacements. He says this is a great balance of being able to work clinically as a PA without the headache of paperwork.

Aaron believes different jobs work better for different stages of life. His current job is a great fit for his current lifestyle right now being married with 3 kids. He also appreciates that it pays more than a clinical PA job, but says this is almost a secondary benefit. What he appreciates more is that he has a good work-life balance. He has strict working hours and can close his computer at the end of the day without having to log in later for more charting. He currently works fully remote, which is another perk, but says he will be starting to go back to the office twice a week. 

The Power of Networking

Aaron’s MBA program was online and asynchronous. He took one course during a 5-week block with assignments due each day. He explains how he could listen to lectures and do assignments on his own time. Aaron still worked clinically as an ortho PA while he was in school for his MBA. 

After one year of his MBA program, Aaron started applying to jobs, but he didn’t get a single interview. He decided to change tactics and instead of applying to any job he saw listed, he focused instead on establishing human connections and trust via networking. Aaron used these meetings to learn and connect with others. After 6 months, he connected with his current hiring manager. He remained in touch with her and several months later, she told him a job was posted for BCBS that he would be a good fit for. She recommended he apply, so he did and now has his current position with BCBS.

Aaron describes this process as planting seeds and eventually one will grow into a tree. According to Aaron, networking can allow you to learn more about the company, how it works, the culture, stakeholders, and what your role will look like. You usually cannot get these details when you blindly apply to jobs. Aaron also notes that other people are networking and will likely get the job over someone blindly applying. You can find a job where you will truly thrive by utilizing the power of networking. 

Why Everyone Should Have an Exit Strategy

Aaron believes everyone should always be networking and connecting with others. Everyone should also always be thinking of an exit strategy from your current position. Where are you going next? What do you want to do next? And when? How can you use where you are as a launching point to get you to where you want to be? Then, you can use these answers to start networking strategically. You can connect with specific people who can help you reach your next goal.

Networking can also be disguised as patient care. For example, if you are a general surgery PA interested in primary care, you can email a patient’s PCP after their hernia surgery to give details and follow up care. This is good patient care on the surface, but you are also interfacing with someone you may want to work with in the future. You can show others your superior clinical skills and expert communication with other providers in other specialities. By making these connections through excellent patient care, you can begin networking with other providers in a field you one day want to work in.

Aaron recommends that when job searching, you need to think like a salesman. You need to have a sales pitch and an elevator pitch that detail reasons why you should be hired over someone else. Aaron recognizes that this can be awkward at first, but with practice will become more natural. You can also consider how a close work colleague would describe you and your clinical skills. A good friend at work will talk you up more than you would talk up yourself. 

Why a Niche is Important 

When applying for jobs as a PA, you should think of yourself as a business trying to get market share. You need to differentiate your business in some way so you can get “customers.” As a PA, you can stand out by having a rare specialty or by getting specialized training, certifications, or skills. You can bring in more revenue for the organization by being able to do specialty procedures. Patient satisfaction scores can also dramatically increase if you can provide a specialty service in a general office setting. 

Aaron received specialized training in ultrasound-guided injections, which he could perform in the ortho office instead of patients going to IR at a separate visit. By bringing in more revenue for the practice and having high patient satisfaction scores, he set himself apart as a top PA in the group. 

Having a specialized niche also allows you to have more negotiating power. You can negotiate for a higher salary, different clinic hours, more administration time, etc. 

Aaron has created his own business, On Point Providers, where he provides career coaching and helps guide PAs towards meaningful career paths, whether clinical or non-clinical. On Point Providers also helps PA with negotiating. Aaron has future courses planned as well. You can learn more at onpointproviders.com. You can connect with Aaron by emailing him at aaron.block@onpointproviders.com.

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