I'm a recent hire medical scribe completing classroom training and very excited to start on-site training in the ED of a small hospital (not the busiest ED). A little bit of background, I'm a premed student and I also have type one diabetes, so I wear an insulin pump and CGM (continuous glucose monitor). I'm planning to hook my pump on the waistband of my scrubs. I work very hard to keep my glucose in tight control so that it doesn't disrupt things, and that will be especially important as I start work as a scribe, but I cannot always control what happens - my pump may light up/vibrate with an alarm that I need to clear (just the click of a button) or I may have a low and need to treat it with glucose tabs that I keep on me (rare occurrence and I hope it never happens on the job, but still something that could happen). While I do not plan to ever let this affect my work, I do feel that I need to let those that I will be working with know, just in case.
My question is, how do I go about doing this especially in cases when I am not always working with the same physician, or we have a rushed introduction? Or - is it necessary for me to tell them? I am a little worried that my pump will be mistaken for a cell phone (it is a touch screen insulin pump, alas), as is always the case in academic settings, and I don't want anyone to think that I am not paying attention. Very very rarely, the infusion site of my pump could also get torn out (the cannula that is usually in my abdomen or lower back) and I would need to immediately use my back-up supplies and change it (a process that takes about 15 minutes). This worries me a bit because I know that as a scribe I need to be everywhere that the doctor I am working with is -- I don't want my medical issue to ever get in the way of that, and if it were to, I don't like how that would reflect back on me, even though it is technically "not my fault."
Bonus points to anyone who can answer who works in an ED with T1D, but any and all advice appreciated! I know this is something I need to face now if I am going to become a doctor, so I am excited to learn.
My question is, how do I go about doing this especially in cases when I am not always working with the same physician, or we have a rushed introduction? Or - is it necessary for me to tell them? I am a little worried that my pump will be mistaken for a cell phone (it is a touch screen insulin pump, alas), as is always the case in academic settings, and I don't want anyone to think that I am not paying attention. Very very rarely, the infusion site of my pump could also get torn out (the cannula that is usually in my abdomen or lower back) and I would need to immediately use my back-up supplies and change it (a process that takes about 15 minutes). This worries me a bit because I know that as a scribe I need to be everywhere that the doctor I am working with is -- I don't want my medical issue to ever get in the way of that, and if it were to, I don't like how that would reflect back on me, even though it is technically "not my fault."
Bonus points to anyone who can answer who works in an ED with T1D, but any and all advice appreciated! I know this is something I need to face now if I am going to become a doctor, so I am excited to learn.
