Sunday, July 1, 2018

#theVIPExperience Post #56: Amanda Schliesman

I have been volunteering as a VIP with Crossroad Health Center for nearly six months, and I continue to learn and experience something new with each week I volunteer. I have found that the only way to learn about the world of healthcare is to interact with all of its parts. I have had a lot of unique experiences, and I am grateful to be able to better understand the important roles of the primary care physician, the medical assistants, and the nurses and how the contribution of each via team effort is required for optimal patient care. It is eye-opening for me to see some of the unique challenges and barriers faced by the population Crossroad serves, however the ways in which the healthcare team members of Crossroad work to accommodate their patients’ needs is nothing short of inspiring. My experience as a VIP has tremendously enhanced my ability to understand these circumstances and barriers in this patient population, and the ways we as future healthcare professionals can adjust our delivery of care to suit the individual patient.
To work with patients as a VIP allows us to partially step into their shoes and see firsthand some of the barriers that affect their access to healthcare services.  I have had many instances of working on what initially seemed as simple referrals which would then turn out to be rather complex, multifaceted puzzles as a result of the individual circumstances of the patients. Prior to this volunteer experience, I likely would not have ever considered the influence of these circumstances on the patients’ health. These cases are often the ones that take a significant amount of time and effort to complete, but most often tend to be the ones in which the patients are the most grateful for my service toward them.  
The interactions we as VIPs have with the entire primary care medical staff is also a unique opportunity for us as future medical professionals.  It is important to learn how to effectively communicate with the entire medical team from front desk employees, to the MAs, nurses, and physicians.  As a VIP, I get to better understand the value of each and every person in the office and clinic.
The final aspect of being a VIP at Crossroad for which I am grateful is the opportunity to work in multiple settings.  I began in a rural setting with an underserved population during my first rotation, and for my second moved to an urban setting.  To see the similarities and differences between the patients of the two different regions has been a great opportunity providing me with a well-rounded experience as a VIP.  
--Amanda Schliesman

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