I became a Crossroad VIP this past
summer and had no idea what to expect. I knew that I would assist patients
acting as their case managers to help schedule referral appointments, but after
my first few weeks, I had no idea the depth and lengths I would have to undergo
to help these patients.
During my first few weeks at
Crossroad, I shadowed Dr. Furgason at the OTR location. She was easily one of
the best doctors I had ever shadowed. Not only was she willing to help me learn
about our patients here at Crossroad, but also taught me some common diseases
we see in the patients we serve (i.e. diabetes and hypertension). Dr. Furgason
was very soft spoken when talking to her patients and showed a genuine care for
each and every one of them. She worked very hard to communicate with her
patients and build that doctor-patient relationship (one that isn’t scary). Dr.
Furgason is a doctor all of us pre-med students hope to be one day.
After shadowing, I learned what it
takes to be a VIP. I learned how to schedule referrals, which is the main
responsibility of a VIP, and communicate with doctors’ offices. Every one of
ten referrals you work on may be considered “easy”, the other nine not so much.
Many of our Crossroad patients have a multitude of obstacles they face when
trying to schedule an appointment, which is where we step in. Some need help
scheduling transportation to their appointment, some may not have the
appropriate insurance that doctor carries and some may not have enough minutes
on their phone to call and schedule. At this point, us VIP’s take over and help
them schedule. We do get patients who are upset, hang up or never answer, but
the patients we do help cannot thank us enough, and that is the most rewarding
part of the job.
So far, my time at Crossroad Health
Center has been the best experience I have ever had. It is an experience I
would’ve never received from shadowing a physician or volunteering in a
hospital. Crossroad Health Center paints a holistic picture of what health care
is truly like. I have had the opportunity to develop as a leader and open my
eyes to see the real disparities patients in an underserved population face;
something I would have never seen if it hadn’t been for Crossroad.
-- Madeline Carroll
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