My experience at Crossroads has been a very positive one. I have gotten a lot of hands-on experience that I believe is very beneficial as a Social work student.
In my classes, we always go over standard scenarios and the basic ways to interact with clients who need help but there is no book that can replace the importance of going and working in the field and interacting with clients that need help. I wanted to find a place where I could do this and that is why I applied at crossroads. Not only has it given me a chance to interact with the patients, but it has also allowed me to expand my knowledge about healthcare and medical social work. I have not really been in a medical volunteer position other than the VA, so it has been really cool to learn how everything works and what roles different people play. Throughout this internship, I have become more confident calling patients, using the different websites, patiently navigating the transportation menus, and problem-solving. I am slowly learning some more medical terms, both from the charts on Redcap/Athena and the other VIPs on my shift. With all this, I have also gotten a better understanding of how important our minor role is to the population crossroads serves.
Dealing with hospitals can be frustrating and I think most VIPs end up figuring that out at some point during their rotation. Faxes may not have been processed yet or departments may be backed up for months and have no openings or when the transportation takes a long time, and it can make it feel like everything is working against you somedays. It’s time like this when I really reflect and think about how tough it must be on patients who need these appointments and this care and how infuriating it must be to have so many barriers. Or how difficult it would be dealing with transportation if you have trouble hearing or don’t understand how something works. All these things make me realize the stress that patients are under and how we can take a little bit of that away by looking for solutions when we run into these issues so that the patient can get some good news.
I also think that just talking to patients and making them feel heard and comfortable is important. There have been so many patients that I really enjoyed talking to and getting to know. I appreciate when they feel comfortable enough with me to share whatever has been going on in their life and it makes me feel like I am really helping someone. It has also really made me aware of some of the hardships people go through every single day. I have heard many stories of things that I cannot even imagine experiencing and just being shocked at how strong people are. It makes me want to work harder and to help them even in a small way such as making calls.
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