I hate ER volunteering

[Fakesmile]

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I volunteer in the ER and I basically do robot work like stapling papers for the entire or most of the 3 hours I'm in the ER. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that I choose to do that work, because I was told during ER training that volunteers have the freedom to do "whatever they want, like entertaining children in the waiting area, talking with patients, asking things to doctors." But I'm very scared to do those things. I'm just not such a type of person who can do those kinds of things. I also can't talk to doctors because they look busy anyway most of the time and they frequently move around from place to place inside the ER doing paper work, looking at computer data, checking patients, then disappearing to other rooms. I don't want to get in their way by asking random things like "Why did you choose to become a doctor?" or introducing myself. Talking to patients is also EXTREMELY uncomfortable.... to be honest, I'm just really really scared of them....... Am I not cut out for med school?

Theoretically, I know what an ideal volunteer should do. S/he should approach patients, introduce themselves, then ask if they need anything. Then s/he should keep the conversation flowing by asking things like what brought them to the ER, what's wrong with them, and so on, basically making them talk about themselves....... I also know that most doctors would be happy to talk with volunteers.
But in reality, I just can't do this......................

 

[Narmerguy]

I Am I not cut out for med school?

No. You're simply experiencing the worthlessness that is most ER volunteering. Don't feel bad most people aren't crazy about what they do either and I find it impractical that a total stranger should feel comfortable approaching other total strangers.

Don't worry 👍

 

[Fakesmile]

No. You're simply experiencing the worthlessness that is most ER volunteering. Don't feel bad most people aren't crazy about what they do either and I find it impractical that a total stranger should feel comfortable approaching other total strangers.

Don't worry 👍

But adcoms (from what I've heard) would like to see people who can talk passionately about their experience in these things in application writings and during interview, don't they? If you can't do that during interview, then I think you lose some interview points... It's just ridiculous...... I think I should change my mind and not apply in the first place and instead choose another career, because based on my own evaluation of my performance in these volunteering experience, I'm an automatic reject, though I may have the numbers.... SIGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Lukkie]

try another department. ER is so overrated, especially if you're not in some major trauma center.

 

[JacksonInTheBox]

Talking to patients is also EXTREMELY uncomfortable.... to be honest, I'm just really really scared of them....... Am I not cut out for med school?

Theoretically, I know what an ideal volunteer should do. S/he should approach patients, introduce themselves, then ask if they need anything. Then s/he should keep the conversation flowing by asking things like what brought them to the ER, what's wrong with them, and so on, basically making them talk about themselves....... I also know that most doctors would be happy to talk with volunteers.
But in reality, I just can't do this......................

Dont worry its ok to feel nervious talking with patients and docs in the ER. But this is something you are going to have to get over and the best way is to just to do it. Are there any specifics docs you work with or shadow? I think that would be the best way to getting used to talking to docs and stuff.

But if you only work in the ER, try to get to know some of the docs before you go up and just start asking questions. Thats what did. I just struck up conversations with a few residents and before I knew it I was eating lunch with them.

 

[Fakesmile]

But if you only work in the ER, try to get to know some of the docs before you go up and just start asking questions. Thats what did. I just struck up conversations with a few residents and before I knew it I was eating lunch with them.

I can never do that...... Again, I know ideally what actions should be taken and how to get to know docs and patients, but I just can't carry that out in reality.. sigh.. I'm just shy and awkward.... not just ordinarily shy, but EXTREMELY and UNIQUELY shy.. I swear I might even rank in the World's Top 1% Shy People list, if there was such a thing.. I'm so depressed. I always try to avoid social mix or social meetings at school or in community, and the few things I extremely abhor in this world are doing ice breakers with random strangers...

 

[Lukkie]

well it seems like you talk a lot here

 

[Fakesmile]

I hate to say this, but I seem to have two opposite personalities: One that is really social and likes to meet and be among people, and the one described above. I suppress the social part of me with strangers. I'll not go into depth here because SDN is not a place for psychological counselling. I'm mainly interested in knowing if someone like me is med school material, in terms of social aspects, because I'm pretty sure that most, if not all, people who got into med school are those who can strike up conversation with strangers and be social, regardless of whether they are naturally like that or they force it.

 

[DrYoda]

because based on my own evaluation of my performance in these volunteering experience, I'm an automatic reject, though I may have the numbers.... SIGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't worry the ADCOMs don't evaluate your performance, they evaluate your hours and your talking about it. There would probably be alot of people failing this requirement if performance was taken into account.

I can never do that...... Again, I know ideally what actions should be taken and how to get to know docs and patients, but I just can't carry that out in reality.. sigh.. I'm just shy and awkward.... not just ordinarily shy, but EXTREMELY and UNIQUELY shy.. I swear I might even rank in the World's Top 1% Shy People list, if there was such a thing.. I'm so depressed. I always try to avoid social mix or social meetings at school or in community, and the few things I really hate in this world is doing ice breakers with random strangers...

If you're this shy it would probably be a good thing for you practice addressing strangers. Face your fears! Remember that people aren't going to judge you harshly on your "hi how are you doing" conversations with ER patients. They'll probably be happy to have someone to talk to, the ER can be boring place.

 

[Lukkie]

honestly though its just something you have to push through and you can't be afraid of rejection. when i volunteered in surgical post-op way back when it was just scut work, grabbing charts, running things around the hospital. i was always bothering the nurses, asking them to teach me about charts, all the different drugs they were using on the patients, asking them if i could follow them around. some of them actually got annoyed sometimes and told me to just answer the phones. but most were pretty cool and taught me a lot of things.

 

[Bartelby]

I can never do that...... Again, I know ideally what actions should be taken and how to get to know docs and patients, but I just can't carry that out in reality.. sigh.. I'm just shy and awkward.... not just ordinarily shy, but EXTREMELY and UNIQUELY shy.. I might rank in World's Top 10 Shy People, if there was such a thing.. I'm so depressed.

ER volunteering kind of sucks (been there, done that) but as you've mentioned it's not an "ER volunteering" problem, it's a "you" problem.

Cheer up, though! The last thing you should do is start telling yourself "I'm shy, and awkward, and I can't talk to people, and that's just how I am, and this is gonna screw my career up, and this sucks so bad, and there's nothing I can do, and..." That kind of talk is just going to keep you where you are!

Try to improve yourself. You can start slow; for example you might want to go volunteer at a retirement home. There would be plenty of kind and nonthreatening residents who would be very glad to talk to you, even if you don't talk much. You could join school clubs and activities and try talking to those people. You could just try looking the checkout guy at the grocery store in the eye and asking how he's doing. Just start consciously developing the ability to talk to people and move it up to the ability to talk to strangers. Wandering into a patient's room who may or may not want to talk to you and who may or may not be in their right mind (pain, psychiatric problems, emotional turmoil) is not an easy place to start; the fact that you haven't been able to do it doesn't say much!

I also find when I get nervous about talking to strangers (mostly girls at bars, but it can be anybody!) I try to just blank out my mind and walk up and say "hi." No plan, it just throws you into things. And it's almost never as bad as the situations you would dream up if you tried to run through what to say and do in your mind before you act.

To sum it up: getting depressed over this is the worst thing you can do. Get out there and develop socializing skills (practice makes perfect, even for something like talking to people). You won't regret it.

 

[JacksonInTheBox]

I can never do that...... Again, I know ideally what actions should be taken and how to get to know docs and patients, but I just can't carry that out in reality.. sigh.. I'm just shy and awkward.... not just ordinarily shy, but EXTREMELY and UNIQUELY shy.. I swear I might even rank in the World's Top 1% Shy People list, if there was such a thing.. I'm so depressed. I always try to avoid social mix or social meetings at school or in community, and the few things I extremely abhor in this world are doing ice breakers with random strangers...

Your gonna need to get over the shyness. I understand Im not the best either but Ive been working on it. Interacting with people is pretty important in medicine. Really try to find a doc to shadow, that is glad to get questions and get to know you. It makes it SO much easier. Then you'll also be interact with patients with him their as well.

 

[Ibn Rushd]

Doctors are generally receptive to students, so I would recommend approaching one sometime, and just kindly asking them if they would be willing to let you observe them work. I bet that eight out of ten doctors would be ready to engage with you. And even if one or two of them say no, then big deal! Try again with someone else. If you find someone to shadow, you'll start enjoying the ER.

 

[redlight]

uh, honestly, stop doing scut work in that department. maybe ER is too hostile an environment to start 'coming out of you shell.' and talking to patients. whatever the case is, you must get rid of this fear. just walk up to ppl and ask how you can help. find the head nurse or resident or attending or whoever is in charge of the floor and be proactive... and like i said, if ER is too daunting try a friendlier/ess stressful department.
I did ER in hs. it mostly sucked. it was rather boring (even though i volunteered friday nights). i spent most of my time in the staff lounge when there was nothing to do and chatted it up with nurses, techs, etc. however, when there was activity it was a blast. just approach patients with honest intentions to help and you'll be fine.
if you want to get chummy with docs, go when hours are slower.. usually before rush our. make friends and they will take you under their wing. gl!

 

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[pathophys17]

Afraid of patients? Maybe it is awkward at first to just go in & start talking to them but there's no reason to be afraid of them. They're people too, just sick and probably would enjoy someone to pay attention and talk to them. Except for the old people with chest pain and complaints they could write a book about. Although when I volunteered in an ER one summer, I was a bit afraid when I walked into a room & this lady was screaming at her younger daughter to stop hitting her older son with a videotape, and she went on to hit the daughter with the videotape herself. ER volunteering is a bit overrated. I didn't get to do much except hand out warm blankets, get paper, punch holes in progress notes, and hand out water if the nurses allowed it. And you can only hand out so many warm blankets! You really have to bring yourself to talk to teh doctors or the charge nurse (when they aren't terribly busy). They'll probably let you see some pretty cool stuff and sort of shadow them for the few hours you're there. This is what I did and got to see some awesome traumas (though not for the patients) and watch them stitch someone's forehead and a few other cool things.

But in the end, you have to be able to talk passionately about your experience in interviews so your desire/interest shows through genuinely, so maybe think about changing volunteer assignments? I switched to a Children's hospital where I got to do a lot more and still interact with the patients who can be pretty interesting! It's all about finding something valuable and that you love to do.
Edit: just read the rest of the thread about the shyness. I'm extremely shy also around strangers, but when I'm with close friends/family/someone I can get a convo going with, sometimes you can't shut me up. I feel like volunteering actually helped me to be able to get over my shyness, so even though it's hard, maybe try to start small & you'll become more comfortable too, the more you do it. You said you feel like there are 2 parts to you; one loves to be social & meet people, so it's there somewhere. Just have to work at it.

 

[Vulcan]

Hey man I feel ya...I went through a similar problem. I was very shy when I started volunteering in my ER. All the docs and nurses were so busy and irritable and I always felt like I was getting in the way. I never spoke to patients and everything confused me so much. It took me the better part of a year to start speaking to people and the better part of a year and a half to begin understanding what was going on in terms of treatments and such.

A few people on this thread said that ER volunteering sucks and I believe they are right. What does not suck is shadowing...if done correctly. Since you said you can "do what you want" as a volunteer, I think that you have a real opportunity to turn this into a great position.

You shouldn't judge your success in this career path by who you are now...it's gonna change. You will, however, need to become less shy. I know it's easier said than done; as I said, I had the same problem. What I did was I decided one day that I was gonna speak to 3 patients that day and one ER doc. I just took a deep breath and did it. I asked the doc if I could follow him and he was surprisingly receptive. I introduced myself to 3 patients, and yea it was a bit awkward, but you're not gonna get it right the first few times...it's alright. The experience is what counts. I suggest you try it.

The other thing I did was try my best to learn what was going on. This only came after I had gotten comfortable with at least 2 doctors there. Once you've found an MD that likes students, begin slowly asking questions. Start with things like 'whats that lab for?' or 'what does (insert weird medicine here) do?' Learn from them. Once you've become more comfortable, then you can start asking about why they went into medicine and stuff like that. It's a slow process, but it can be very rewarding. I did exactly that, and 3 years later I know almost all of the docs in my ER and can predict labs, diagnoses, and treatment plans just from what I've learned. I also have had a chance to get a variety of questions about the field itself answered from each of them. They may look frazzled, but they know that you're there to learn and most of them will be willing to talk to you. Just learn to avoid the ones that hate students 😉

Also remember, the ER is a high stress area where you have very little time with patients. Learning to establish a connection with them in that environment will definitely be favorable to your application 🙂

Now go! Go learn things and talk to people and have a great time doing it! Keep us posted 🙂

 

[jove122]

I work in an ER and will tell you that our volunteers don't have the kind of great opportunities you might hope for clinical experience/exposure. That said, it's great advice to work your way up with a question here and there. Perhaps a general medicine floor or even long-term care facility will give you a more relaxed environment to get to know patients and health care professionals.

All of that said, the ER is a great learning experience once you find yourself comfortable with its rhythms. If you get "in" with the doctors (or, for that matter, the nurses are as much the people to know), you can see all kinds of neat things. But they aren't gonna come looking for you when an opportunity arises so be aware of the patient flow and be available!

And thank you for volunteering. There are so many shifts I'd never get through without our fantasic volunteers.

 

[Vulcan]

All of that said, the ER is a great learning experience once you find yourself comfortable with its rhythms. But they aren't gonna come looking for you when an opportunity arises so be aware of the patient flow and be available!

This is also great advice which I forgot to mention. The ER is extremely fast paced and you're gonna hafta kind of press yourself on the attendings you are following. Don't be rude, but be persistent. In the middle of a busy day when the doc you are following has 10 different patients to keep track of, they are not going to seek you out to let you know where they are going.

I have a trick that helps me keep on top of where I should be. You may notice next time you go in that the docs there keep little 'cheat sheets.' I know mine do. They keep a check list handy which has each patients name, chief complaint, and treatment plan. as they add procedures/labs/meds/consults, they add a box to the list. When that lab/procedure/consult/treatment is done, they cross it off or check the box.

I started doing a cheat sheet of my own as of late. It's very simple, just with the room number, age, gender, chief complaint, and treatments/labs/procedures/consults. At the end, I put an A for admitted or a D/C for discharged. This sheet has many benefits: it allows you to keep track of patient flow, it helps you learn what orders would be given for certain complaints, it shows that you are organized and really in this to learn (this has been a start to conversations with new doctors for me), and on those really busy days it may even help the attending out! I've had attendings check their cheat sheet against mine, not only to see if I'm predicting the treatments correctly, but to see if THEY missed something. It happens rarely 😛

Once you get the hang of talking to the docs, this idea may help you out 🙂

 

[jove122]

I started doing a cheat sheet of my own as of late. It's very simple, just with the room number, age, gender, chief complaint, and treatments/labs/procedures/consults.

It's funny you mention this. I have one of these as well (though not a doc) to keep up with my pt's orders due, etc. Otherwise, you will miss out! Not only is it a good organizational tool (and a good habit to develop), but it also helps you to think critically about care of a pt. I also have many attendings look over my shoulder onto my sheet (I keep it taped down at my work station.) to get an idea of what's going on with my pts.

This would probably be a great conversation starter with some of the physicians in the ER.

 

[redlight]

yes amazing what simple lists can do (MacArthur genius grant)

 

[TheMagicCookie]

I also can't talk to doctors because they look busy anyway most of the time and they frequently move around from place to place inside the ER doing paper work, looking at computer data, checking patients, then disappearing to other rooms. I don't want to get in their way by asking random things like "Why did you choose to become a doctor?"

You are right, doctors are very busy, but that doesn't mean that most of them have lost the decency to speak with people. Remember that MDs are human just like you, and they have all been in the same situation at some point in their lives(some forget this quicker than others). Just choose a time wisely(ie not during a code or in front of patients) and politely go up and begin speaking with the doc. as Ibn said above, probably 8 out of 10 MDs will welcome the conversation. You'll sense within a minute or so whether or not the MD is receptive to the discussion.

 

[8744]

This is also great advice which I forgot to mention. The ER is extremely fast paced and you're gonna hafta kind of press yourself on the attendings you are following. Don't be rude, but be persistent. In the middle of a busy day when the doc you are following has 10 different patients to keep track of, they are not going to seek you out to let you know where they are going.

I have a trick that helps me keep on top of where I should be. You may notice next time you go in that the docs there keep little 'cheat sheets.' I know mine do. They keep a check list handy which has each patients name, chief complaint, and treatment plan. as they add procedures/labs/meds/consults, they add a box to the list. When that lab/procedure/consult/treatment is done, they cross it off or check the box.

I started doing a cheat sheet of my own as of late. It's very simple, just with the room number, age, gender, chief complaint, and treatments/labs/procedures/consults. At the end, I put an A for admitted or a D/C for discharged. This sheet has many benefits: it allows you to keep track of patient flow, it helps you learn what orders would be given for certain complaints, it shows that you are organized and really in this to learn (this has been a start to conversations with new doctors for me), and on those really busy days it may even help the attending out! I've had attendings check their cheat sheet against mine, not only to see if I'm predicting the treatments correctly, but to see if THEY missed something. It happens rarely 😛

Once you get the hang of talking to the docs, this idea may help you out 🙂

That is the most ridculous thing I have ever heard on SDN. Attendings and residents do not need the "candystriper" to help them keep track of their patients. Your job is to pretend to be useful and then to blow your experiences out of proportion on your medical school application. It doesn't matter in the slightest what you did or didn't do because the admission officers have no way of checking on your level of enthusiasm or whatever it is that you're supposed to display as you hand pillows to patients. It's just a box to check, another pointless exercise in the poodle circus of medical school admissions.

 

[8744]

It's funny you mention this. I have one of these as well (though not a doc) to keep up with my pt's orders due, etc. Otherwise, you will miss out! Not only is it a good organizational tool (and a good habit to develop), but it also helps you to think critically about care of a pt. I also have many attendings look over my shoulder onto my sheet (I keep it taped down at my work station.) to get an idea of what's going on with my pts.

This would probably be a great conversation starter with some of the physicians in the ER.

I see 24 patients or so in a 12-hour shift. My attending is responsible for twice as many (from two EM residents and a rotator). If your attending is relyiing on you he should be fired. Please do not relate stories like this at your interviews because I think it will sink your chances of admission.

 

[8744]

You are right, doctors are very busy, but that doesn't mean that most of them have lost the decency to speak with people. Remember that MDs are human just like you, and they have all been in the same situation at some point in their lives(some forget this quicker than others). Just choose a time wisely(ie not during a code or in front of patients) and politely go up and begin speaking with the doc. as Ibn said above, probably 8 out of 10 MDs will welcome the conversation. You'll sense within a minute or so whether or not the MD is receptive to the discussion.

I like volunteers and don't mind being shadowed or explaining what we are doing as time permits.

 

[Lukkie]

oh my stars

 

[rocketbooster]

volunteer at a free clinic where they actually let premeds take patients back to the rooms, take their vitals, record why they're there, etc. they will teach you how to take vitals at the clinic. it's great patient exposure and you learn a lot. you also feel like you're doing something and at least think you're needed. it helps out the nurses because it frees them up to work on other things.

 

[closer23]

.

 

[Kaustikos]

That is the most ridculous thing I have ever heard on SDN. Attendings and residents do not need the "candystriper" to help them keep track of their patients. Your job is to pretend to be useful and then to blow your experiences out of proportion on your medical school application. It doesn't matter in the slightest what you did or didn't do because the admission officers have no way of checking on your level of enthusiasm or whatever it is that you're supposed to display as you hand pillows to patients. It's just a box to check, another pointless exercise in the poodle circus of medical school admissions.

too true. Med school interviews are like acting - just make them believe you.

I see 24 patients or so in a 12-hour shift. My attending is responsible for twice as many (from two EM residents and a rotator). If your attending is relyiing on you he should be fired. Please do not relate stories like this at your interviews because I think it will sink your chances of admission.

I like volunteers and don't mind being shadowed or explaining what we are doing as time permits.

Weren't you, or your group, partly responsible for helping someone not choose medicine? I can't remember the specifics, but it involved some premeds shadowing/volunteering and one of them backing out of going into medicine completely because of seeing what medicine was. Correct me if I'm wrong, but was the event rare or a common occurrence when you work/ed?

 

[236116]

That is the most ridculous thing I have ever heard on SDN. Attendings and residents do not need the "candystriper" to help them keep track of their patients. Your job is to pretend to be useful and then to blow your experiences out of proportion on your medical school application. It doesn't matter in the slightest what you did or didn't do because the admission officers have no way of checking on your level of enthusiasm or whatever it is that you're supposed to display as you hand pillows to patients. It's just a box to check, another pointless exercise in the poodle circus of medical school admissions.

I don't even like you but I've got to QFT this.

too true. Med school interviews are like acting - just make them believe you.

And the Oscar for best premed performance goes to...

 

[armybound]

I like volunteers and don't mind being shadowed or explaining what we are doing as time permits.

what's the best way and best time to approach you? what would you prefer the volunteer say or do?

 

[rocketbooster]

That is the most ridculous thing I have ever heard on SDN. Attendings and residents do not need the "candystriper" to help them keep track of their patients. Your job is to pretend to be useful and then to blow your experiences out of proportion on your medical school application. It doesn't matter in the slightest what you did or didn't do because the admission officers have no way of checking on your level of enthusiasm or whatever it is that you're supposed to display as you hand pillows to patients. It's just a box to check, another pointless exercise in the poodle circus of medical school admissions.

No. Not if you volunteer at the right place. Volunteering to take vitals and checking in patients at an understaffed clinic frees up the staff to do other things. Wheelchair pushing, although may seem boring to the volunteer, definitely helps the hospital out. That's 1 less paid employee needed to transport patients around.

 

[Lukkie]

volunteer at a free clinic where they actually let premeds take patients back to the rooms, take their vitals, record why they're there, etc. they will teach you how to take vitals at the clinic. it's great patient exposure and you learn a lot. you also feel like you're doing something and at least think you're needed. it helps out the nurses because it frees them up to work on other things.

thats the same impression i got from friends that have volunteered at the free clinic here (Venice free clinic). my friends got a lot to do, much more than having volunteered at the UCLA or USC country hospitals. not speaking from personal experience though.

 

[Lukkie]

Not possible. Do you not remember the old posts from wisconsindocter before he got banned? And you cannot forget about this goldmine:



(can be found here: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=517920)

on top of that post, panda's previous posts in this thread, and LizzyM talking about that applicant that put his feet up on the interviewers desk, this has been the funniest sunday SDN morning ever

 

[rocketbooster]

thats the same impression i got from friends that have volunteered at the free clinic here (Venice free clinic). my friends got a lot to do, much more than having volunteered at the UCLA or USC country hospitals. not speaking from personal experience though.

yep because free clinics are much more in need for volunteers. free clinics run on donations and volunteers. they obviously aren't going to have a large budget to hire many employees when they are giving out extremely inexpensive, if not totally free, health care.

 

[Forthegood]

thats not what he was talking about. He was talking about CLINICAL aspects, like diagnostics/treatment etc. Yes, volunteers are great at putting linen on stretchers, and moving patients, and getting blankets. Not so good at reading xrays, prescribing medicine, ordering labs.

 

[J1515]

No. Not if you volunteer at the right place. Volunteering to take vitals and checking in patients at an understaffed clinic frees up the staff to do other things. Wheelchair pushing, although may seem boring to the volunteer, definitely helps the hospital out. That's 1 less paid employee needed to transport patients around.

Volunteering to take vitals is worthless. The doctor/nurse will have to double check them anyway. If you accidentaly write a pt's BP to be 130/90 and it's really 90/60, the doctors and nurses will be named in the lawsuit, not a volunteer.

 

[rocketbooster]

Volunteering to take vitals is worthless. The doctor/nurse will have to double check them anyway. If you accidentaly write a pt's BP to be 130/90 and it's really 90/60, the doctors and nurses will be named in the lawsuit, not a volunteer.

No. the doctor/mid-level care provider only double checks them if the patient is specifically there to have their BP rechecked. the nurses never recheck the BP because the POINT of the volunteer is to save the nurses time.

this is how the clinic is run:

1) premed volunteer checks in patient, takes vitals and asks why they're there - the volunteer RECORDS all this info on the actual patient chart UNDER the top part of the chart generally designated for the nurse to fill out.

2) premed volunteer finishes and notifies the doctor/mid-level provider that the patient is ready to be seen. the provider does not recheck the vitals UNLESS the patient is specifically there for that reason.

#1 is sometimes done by the nurse instead of the premed volunteer IF there is no volunteer that day or if it is a special appointment, i.e. a women's health issue like a breast exam. there is never a nurse who comes in between #1 and #2. if the doctor rechecks the BP, this is done regardless if a volunteer or nurse initially takes it.

do you understand now? perhaps you should have some experience on the issue before making unfounded, incorrect assumptions.

 

[236116]

blather

Note to self: Ensure clinics are not run this way before referring patients there. If necessary, start own. Economic status is no reason to relegate people to sub-standard care a la the above.

 

[rocketbooster]

blather

a free clinic is run this way because it is short-staffed and has little money. free clinics are run on donations and volunteers. obviously, the health care from a free clinic is not going to be as good as at a private practice. when patients do not have money and are uninsured, would they rather seek some health care or none? hmmm, let's think about this, shall we?

the provider probably does recheck the BP quite often, but they do so regardless if it was initially checked by a nurse or volunteer. many volunteers are certified to take vitals, anyways, but many aren't, either. have you taken a BP before? it's not very hard. 🙂

also, the main hospital and doctors in the area refer every uninsured patient to us. it saves the hospital/provider money and gives the patients a place to receive free primary care. I can tell you that the primary care here isn't any worse than the primary care at university clinics.

 

[PharMed2016]

No. the doctor/mid-level care provider only double checks them if the patient is specifically there to have their BP rechecked. the nurses never recheck the BP because the POINT of the volunteer is to save the nurses time.

this is how the clinic is run:

1) premed volunteer checks in patient, takes vitals and asks why they're there - the volunteer RECORDS all this info on the actual patient chart UNDER the top part of the chart generally designated for the nurse to fill out.

2) premed volunteer finishes and notifies the doctor/mid-level provider that the patient is ready to be seen. the provider does not recheck the vitals UNLESS the patient is specifically there for that reason.

#1 is sometimes done by the nurse instead of the premed volunteer IF there is no volunteer that day or if it is a special appointment, i.e. a women's health issue like a breast exam. there is never a nurse who comes in between #1 and #2. if the doctor rechecks the BP, this is done regardless if a volunteer or nurse initially takes it.

do you understand now? perhaps you should have some experience on the issue before making unfounded, incorrect assumptions.

Is this even legal? I remember at my hospital, only licensed professionals are allowed to write things into the charts (any medically significant - like vitals). Eh, could be hospital policy.

 

[rocketbooster]

Is this even legal? I remember at my hospital, only licensed professionals are allowed to write things into the charts (any medically significant - like vitals). Eh, could be hospital policy.

apparently, since that's what the clinic does. they allow it on-site since licensed professionals are there. they do not allow it off-site at like an outreach event or something, though.

also, I know plenty of ppl who work as uncertified medical assistants. they do even more than what I can do at my place. they are paid a little above minimum wage and have even drawn blood occasionally haha. this is for a private practice housing a few different speciality docs. the providers can allow whatever they want but are obviously liable if something goes wrong. they don't just throw someone who doesn't know how to take vitals in with a patient. they train you, but not officially, to take vitals, follow you for a while to make sure you know what you're doing, and you're off!

 

[DrYoda]

Is this even legal? I remember at my hospital, only licensed professionals are allowed to write things into the charts (any medically significant - like vitals). Eh, could be hospital policy.

I don't know if it's legal or not. But if some volunteer was taking and recording my vitals in the ER; I would run the risk death and leave for another hospital.

 

[236116]

i don't know if it's legal or not. But if some volunteer was taking and recording my vitals in the er; i would run the risk death and leave for another hospital.

qft.

 

[s1lver]

I also can't talk to doctors because they look busy anyway most of the time and they frequently move around from place to place inside the ER doing paper work, looking at computer data, checking patients, then disappearing to other rooms. I don't want to get in their way by asking random things like "Why did you choose to become a doctor?" or introducing myself. Talking to patients is also EXTREMELY uncomfortable.... to be honest, I'm just really really scared of them.

LOL! You need a crash course in ppl skills and/or the art of making small talk. 😛

 

[DrYoda]

LOL! You need a crash course in ppl skills and/or the art of making small talk. 😛

On this count, learn some stuff about sports. Lot's of people like talking about the local sports teams.

 

[PharMed2016]

On this count, learn some stuff about sports. Lot's of people like talking about the local sports teams.

Unfortunately, I'm probably one of the rare guys that don't watch sports. I know... If their old, they almost always love talking about kids... etc grandchildren, children... (polite nod w/ smile). 😳

Small talk with geriatric patients is the easiest in my book, lol.

 

[Ibn Rushd]

Start by saying this:

"So ... uh ... how about that local sports team, eh? Is this our year or what?"

 

[Retsage]

I like volunteers and don't mind being shadowed or explaining what we are doing as time permits.

Admit it! You only like them because you need premeds to cheat off of. I'm onto you, Dr. Panda Bear, if that is your real name!

 

[rocketbooster]

I don't know if it's legal or not. But if some volunteer was taking and recording my vitals in the ER; I would run the risk death and leave for another hospital.

I guess you'll be coming to our free clinic then where I, a volunteer, will be taking your vitals. 🙂 You definitely won't have any money left over after stopping by that overly expensive ER! I'm sure you would still be billed for the bill that's 10x more than if you were to go to a private clinic for primary care!