Day 5

My last day at Family Medicine at Willow Bend was bittersweet. It was sad to leave the friends I've made, yet very exciting because it marked the end of one of the last steps before I graduate. When the day started I immediately began seeing patients. No tedious filing of charts for me, today at least. We were very busy so when Mrs. Johnson came to check up on me I hardly had time to stop! Jess and I gave at least 30 shots and did 2 EKG's. Then a man who was about 50 came in staggering covered with blood. We immediately recommended that he goes to the ER but due to a lack of insurance he said they would not accept him. Jess had me bandage him up and sterilize and wrap his massive wound. It was a pretty gnarly sight. After another lunch provided by drug reps I reluctantly said good-bye and they invited me back if I was looking for any part-time work this summer. Overall, this has been a fabulous experience that I will never forget.

Day 4

I had a great day today. I asked Jess if I could follow her today thinking I would just stand to the side and watch her, but she had me do hands on work. For the first two patients I just observed her take the BP, pulse, temperature, eyesight, hearing test and initial questions. The third patient was a 46 year old male complaining of pain in his neck and chest likely caused by stress. Once Jess called him back she said, "Carly will be taking care of you today until Dr. Komenda is able to see you". I was so nervous of messing up. I began by having him sit down to I could take his blood pressure, which was high, and his temperature. I then took his height and weight and led him back to Room 4. Thankfully Jess followed me- I was definitely not ready to be on my own. Using what I had learned the night before I asked him various questions and recorded them so Dr. Komenda would have something to go off of when he got into the room. Because of the chest pain we ordered an EKG and then had Dr. Komenda go in for the consultation. The next patient I had was a two year old little boy with a terrible cold. Dr. Komenda asked us to give the patient a shot that would help strengthen his immune system. I rubbed his thigh with an alcohol cloth and held down his legs so Jess could give him the shot. It broke my heart seeing him so upset. It was very hard to hear and watch. For lunch a drug rep brought Cafe Max. On the plus side the food was great. On the down side the presentation sucked. I now know why doctor's don't like drug reps. After lunch we were incredibly busy. In hopes of saving time, Jess had me take a 31 year old male patient- by myself. On his chart it said he was complaining of pain and when we looked into the waiting room he was rubbing his neck. After putting two and two together, we decided it would be handled just like the patient I had before. I took his BP, height, weight, temperature and led him into Room 2. After a few minutes of basic question like if he smokes or drinks I asked him about the pain he was complaining of. He told me that for the past three days his right testicle had really been hurting him. I thought I was going to die. I asked him the same questions that I asked the patient with the neck pain but applied it to his area of pain. When he asked if I wanted to take a look at it, I was quick to say no and took that opportunity to leave the room and let him wait for the doctor. After that I was not willing to see a patient alone and stayed with Jess the rest of the day. I was having such a great time seeing patients I stayed an extra two hours! I guess time really does fly when you're doing what you love!

Day 3

Today went very well for me. I helped at the front until noon, when they close on Wednesdays, and then helped Jess, the nurse, for the rest of the afternoon. While working at the front I pulled files for collections, checked if physicals were needed on certain patients and verified shot records. Once we closed, Dr. Komenda asked me to move the leather couches around so we could vacuum. After Jess, Melinda and I were able to move all the chairs, couches and tables onto tiled areas, I was able to get back to the real job. Jess and I went through medical charts and taught me about lab work and how to read it and know if the results are abnormal or normal. We then called patients back to inform them of their lab work results. It was exciting to be making the calls by myself. I felt very comfortable doing this kind of work- much more than I did when I was filing papers. She then taught me how to take notes when talking to patients (ie- abbreviations, what's important and what isn't). It was overall a good day.

Day 2

My second day at Family Medicine at Willow Bend started much like the first did. A lot of filing from the night before and many papers needed to be put into the proper location. After lunch, Melinda explained the patient charts to me. Sometimes insurance companies will audit doctors offices before they will pay. She showed me that every box needs to be completed and the doctor usually forgets to so we complete it for him. She also explained to me various antibiotics and diagnoses. It was very informative and helped a lot with filing the paperwork.
The past two days I have noticed several things about the running of this doctors office. For one, in my two days here the doctor has not said a single word to me nor introduced himself. I find that odd considering I have made countless copies for him and not to mention he is my personal doctor. The doctor never raised his voice at us (the women at the front) but at the end of the afternoon he scolded us in a very degrading manner for not having finished all of the collections. In my personal opinion, his expectation of us finishing all of the collections in one afternoon was unreasonable. There were hundreds of names on the list and the process was very involved.
It is disappointing that the doctor has been so rude but all the nurses and staff have been so welcoming. I wonder if it is stress or his authority that has caused his behavior but either was it has been a great first two days.

Day 1

For my senior project I chose to observe a local family care clinic. Unsure of the career path I wish to pursue, I believe that having hands on learning experience will help guide me to the career that will best suit me. After weeks of emailing and planning, today began my week long internship under the supervision of Tammy Komenda. When I arrived they gave me a stack of papers at least four inches thick and told me to pull the patient file that the paper belongs to, add the paper to the file and move the file to another shelf. Immediately, I knew I was in for a long day. After I finished that task, Melinda, who works at the front desk, asked me to clean up the file cabinets. By the time I finished straightening out all the files, it was time for lunch and I was more than ready to take a break.
After lunch, Lizzie, who assists Melinda at the front, went home sick so I was able to take her place. I answered the phones, took appointments, faxed documents, requested forms, filed paperwork, checked people in, verified insurance and gave stickers of Elmo to crying children. It was a very busy afternoon so it was impertinent that I learned fast.
Having worked in retail for almost a year, I have learned that people can be incredibly rude. My hope was that once I leave retail, the rudeness might stop or at least occur less frequently. I am sad to report that this is not true. Many patients and insurance companies were rude and impatient. I am beginning to realize that this is something I will have to overcome in any profession that I choose.
Overall the day went very well. It was informative and I was glad that I was able to learn so quickly; had I not the day would have been much more difficult. I am excited to go tomorrow and see what the day will bring.