4 6 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • J A n U A R Y 2 0 1 8
The size of one's paycheck can
be a sensitive subject. The
administrator at a small surgery
center in fly-over country who
responded to Outpatient
Surgery's salary survey had
plenty to say about how well her
earnings matched her responsibilities, but wanted to comment
anonymously. Ms. Discouraged's true identity remains unknown,
but you're probably familiar with her story and understand her
frustrations.
She was recruited to run her center's pre- and post-op
areas. The facility's administrator then left and she volun-
teered to handle some of the most pressing responsibilities.
now she's juggling her full-time job as a clinical director and
filling part of the former administrator's role. Overseeing the
payroll hasn't been challenging, but trying to manage the
center's human resources — hiring and firing, keeping track
of W9 forms, managing and renewing the staff's benefits,
adding and removing people from the insurance policy — is a
different story. She has no background in those areas and
found the tasks overwhelming.
"I've always contributed to a 401(k), but had no idea how to
administer one," she says. "And last year we changed providers,
so that was a whole new experience."
The center's physician-owners decided to break down her
annual salary into an hourly wage and told her to clock in and out
OFF THE RECORD
Confessions of a Frustrated Administrator
