Friday, September 13, 2013

August Report

Crossroad Volunteer Internship Program (C-VIP)
August 2013 Report

PUBLISHED 09/03/2013 FOR 08/01/2013 TO 08/30/2013

Total # of Interns
11
Total # of Providers Paired with Interns
06
Total # of Hours Worked
109
Total # of Group Meetings
01

OVERVIEW

August has brought many new and exciting changes to the Crossroad Volunteer Internship Program (C-VIP). Interns are working toward the standardization of all patient exam rooms, updating file folders and making progress towards ensuring all drawers and cabinets contain all the same supplies. The interns have coordinated with the Clinical Coordinator, Kyle Vath, on this project and are hoping to free providers to spend more time treating the patient. The interns are thrilled in regards to the completion of the Pre-Visit Planning Room. They hope to assist in ensuring a more comprehensive visit for patients and promoting the Patient-Centered Medical Home model of care. Additionally, the interns are helping to coordinate the Tobacco Treatment Group (TTG). Several of the interns have been trained to lead focus groups of patients, and will be working alongside medical and pharmacy students. In preparation for the start of the class, interns have been calling patients who are identified as current smokers, gauging attitudes of patients in regards to the TTG and registering those interested for the first class. Interns are continuing to develop strategy for the ACE study, track patient referrals and complete inbox tasks. Finally, the interns are looking forward to welcoming Rotation Clasγ to the program!


REFLECTIONS

"In my work at CRHC and with NextGen, I have realized the need to improve the system of gathering and analyzing data and information so that healthcare providers can focus more time on integrating and utilizing information to make more meaningful steps to improving patient health."
                                                                                                                                                            - Cameron

"They had decided to check her potassium as a precaution. This made it even more exciting to see them respond so quickly to the news, immediately calling the patient and having her to the emergency room."
                                                                                                                                                            - Emily

INBOX TASKS IMMUNIZATION RECORDS
# of Inbox Tasks Addressed 36 # of Records Printed 75
# of Inbox Tasks Completed 30
 
REFERRALS PATIENT RECRUITMENT FOR TTG
# of Cases Addressed 14  # of Patients Called 64
# of Referrals Closed 07 # of Patients Contacted 32

Monday, September 9, 2013

A Volunteer's Place

My experience at Crossroad so far has been an eye-opening look behind the scenes of a doctor’s office. The clinic functions through the hard work of a diverse group of employees, a combination of physicians, nurses, medical assistants, administrative workers, and many others. Trying to understand a volunteer’s place in this complex hierarchy of people is perhaps the hardest part of the job. There is a delicate balance between offering assistance and pestering; trying to learn and getting in the way. It seems like the clinic has its own delicate ecosystem, with a wide variety of niches to fill. The trick is finding an empty one and tailoring it to your own personal strengths and interests. 

In the six months that I have spent at Crossroad as a volunteer I have learned a lot about myself and the type of niche I eventually want to fill. This experience has only strengthened my resolve to become a primary care physician, as well as confirming that I’m probably not the right person to work in pediatrics, but have no problem with adult patients . In addition to learning more about myself, I have learned so much about people very different than myself. I have had the good fortune to have never dealt with poverty, or homelessness, or so many of the other things that many of Crossroad’s patients struggle with daily. I have heard so many difficult questions asked by the patients. One memorable one is calling a patient to ask if they had gone to see a doctor that they were referred to, and there answer was “How will I pay for it?” This is such a simple question, but it gets to the root of the majority of issues facing our patients. Should I buy food or refill my medicine? Should I miss work to go to the doctor, or can it wait? By experiencing these sorts of situations, and also seeing how the clinical addresses them, I feel I will be better equipped to handle similar issues in the future with patients of my own. 

 In short, I can’t say exactly what the job description of a volunteer at Crossroad really is, other than simply to help in whatever way is needed, so that Crossroad can continue to be there to answer patient’s difficult questions.

- By Emily Blatz