Updated Nov. 1, 2021

You might not realize it, but medical coders are some of the most ever-present workers at any healthcare facility (especially hospitals). Medical coders wear a variety of hats, from reading through a patient’s medical records from their most recent appointment to admitting and discharging individuals, and applying coding rules and government regulations to complete the case. However, since most medical coders don't interact with patients directly, their work tends to go unnoticed at the clinic.

Owning your own retail business can be an exciting, albeit challenging, undertaking. When you look around at some of the larger brands you can see how shifts in consumer behavior and brand loyalty has changed the success and trajectory of a once rather predictable industry. For instance, Wal-Mart announced earlier this year that they would close 269 locations in 2016, accounting for roughly three percent of their stores.

There’s something exciting about getting your business to the point of being able to bring on new employees. Your business is growing and you’re successful enough to be able to hire people to share some of the load.

On the other hand, there’s something tricky about hiring the right person for the job. As a manager or business owner, there’s a lot on the line in terms workplace culture and customer service quality, not to mention the time and resources it takes to train them. Hiring the wrong person and having them leave is something all companies seek to avoid, but it does happen.

Office politics exist in every workplace setting and are difficult to avoid. Even though you don’t need to participate in office politics to survive, putting your head in the sand and “not getting involved” isn’t practical either — if you aren’t careful, you can be embroiled in a problem you didn’t see coming.

The following top 10 best practices for navigating workplace politics and personalities should help you stay ahead of the game and keep you focused on why you are there — to do your job.

Pharmacy technicians play a vital role in dispensing medications to patients and customers. Under the supervision of a pharmacist, pharmacy technicians help fill orders, work with customers and manage payments from insurance companies. They help protect patient safety by providing quality service and understanding medication safety.

Pharmacy technicians work at hospitals, pharmacies, long-term care facilities, grocery stores and more. As a pharmacy technician, you can be part of the growing healthcare field and play an important role in improving people’s health without having to go to school for four years. A pharmacy technician is an entry-level health care job, so you don’t have to have any previous experience in healthcare to complete training and certification.

It’s a reality for most business owners, but no matter how successful you think you are, there’s always more to learn. Whether it’s marketing, sales, operations, or finance, you can’t know everything and there’s always gaps to fill. But how do you know when it’s time to invest in additional training and education? Will it be worth your time? And what areas should you be focused on?

Here we’ll discuss the importance of business education and what questions you need to ask yourself to determine if it’s time for you to invest in additional training.

Every business has a seemingly endless amount of data to manage. When you combine financial, customer, administrative, and all the other information your business needs access to on a regular basis, it can be difficult to find what you need when you need it. You probably already use Microsoft Excel in order to manage some areas of your business. However, many business owners and managers fail to maximize the use of Excel and realize how it can make life a lot easier for both you and your employees.

Below are some of the benefits of Excel training and how it can transform your business. By learning how to use Excel beyond the basics, you’ll be able to save yourself quite a bit of time, money and headache.

Updated May 18, 2022

A sterile processing technician is responsible for daily washing, sterilizing, cooling, assembling, packaging, and storing surgical and procedural instruments. Sterile processing technicians are vital to medical settings and are responsible for ensuring each and every surgical instrument is safe for future use. Sterile processing technicians often clean and sanitize operating rooms, tables, and equipment to keep patients and staff safe.

The job requires very specific characteristics in order to perform the duties correctly and ensure the safety of all involved. Read the following five characteristics of a sterile processing technician and see if it’s the right career for you.  

 Katie is owner and creator of Kerfluffle, a peanut butter swirled with marshmellow fluff. She used SBDC's Getting Your Recipe to Market program to bring her yummy fluff to households around the area.