Scribe chronicles shift uno

Monday Dec. 2, 2013

Dr. Laguisetty 4pm-1am

Today was my first solo shift ever as a medical scribe and to be honest, it was a difficult shift to work, especially being my first one. Before this, I had been with dr. Dunn for two that didn't require much work. Also,whenever I was falling behind, there were other scribes that would help me out for a little bit so I wouldn't feel drowned or stressed. But not this time. It was a new experience that I definitely learned from. Dr. Laguisetty is a sweet lady but she moved a little fast due to the volume of patients. Also, I didn't like how she wanted me to collect and document all of the medications. That took most of the time and it was getting annoying trying to figure out how to find and write every one of them down. One thing I noticed is that time went by flying; I didn't even have time to eat. I guess I'll have to get used to that. I wish my first shift would've been a little more manageable but now I know what this job entails and I can learn every time I am here. 

Blog Week 10

Today was my last day of volunteering in the clinic.  Through these blogs, I have reported my experiences in this clinic that serves under-privileged people.  I am very grateful for this experience because it allowed me, not only to shadow experienced doctors in a medical setting, but also allowed me to play an important role in the doctor-patient communication process.  As I have said, proper understanding between the doctor and the patient is crucial for the patient to receive the best treatment that he or she needs.  I am proud to say that I was part of this process and will cherish these experiences and hopefully apply these skills sometime in the future.  At the same time, I got to see how the doctors work and interact with the patients, and got feedback from some patients saying what they thought about the doctors that were attending them.  The stories that some patients told me about their past and, the ways they approach their lives living with a disease such as diabetes were extremely humbling and taught me many life lessons.  After this semester, I plan on going back starting next semester and hopefully earn more of these invaluable experiences.


After my shift was over, I went to the volunteer coordinator and told me that I had volunteered a total of 38 hours throughout the semester.

Blog Week 9

Last Friday in the clinic, I was not placed in the schedule for some reason, and since all the doctors that needed translators were already taken, the medical assistant asked me to organize patient paperwork in the special software that they use.  I had to see the patient's files and place them in the appropriate folder that belonged to that specific patient, as well as checking if the information in the paper matched the information in the computer.  This allowed me to see the behind-the-scenes work that the medical assistants do to have every patient in order.  Even the medical assistants said that it was a very tedious job but it made me realize that the proper and careful organization of patient information is also very essential to the better care of the patient, in addition to saving time for the doctor.  If the doctor wants to know something about the patient, the medical assistants can pull out the files in seconds and inform the doctor. Without this organization, a lot of time could be wasted, or more importantly, essential information on the patient could be lost.

Blog Week 8

Last Friday, I was assigned to be working with the eye doctors in the optometry wing of the clinic.  As mentioned in a prior blog, students from the UH optometry school were attending the patients and then reporting the results to the doctors in charge.  Generally, they know how to get their way through questioning a patient, but in this particular one, they needed my help.  After I was translating for the students and they left to reveal the results to the doctors, I started a conversation with this woman.  After some small talk, she told me the very sad story of why she moved to the United States with her son.  Back in a little town in a town in Mexico, she was living with her husband and one of her children.  She did not know this at the time but her son was affiliated with the Mexican cartel and was in the middle of an operation that organized the transport of drugs to the United States.  One time in the news, she heard her son's name being mentioned in the news saying that he had been killed in a shooting not very far from where they lived.  Devastated by the news, she got into a depression that lasted a couple of months and later started having some symptoms of diabetes.  After a couple of weeks, however, one of the cartel leaders called her through the phone and mentioned that her son owed them a significant amount of money and wanted her or her husband to pay them.  they called the police, but they assured them that it was probably an extortionist trying to get money out of them.  (This was very popular at this time, especially in border cities.  My mom almost gave $300 to one of these people, who claimed to be a cousin who had some problems).  However, that was not a hoax.  A couple of weeks later, the same people that had called went to their house and robbed it.  As they were leaving, she said, her husband was arriving to the house and he tried to oppose them and started to fight them.  Sadly, one of the robbers had a gun and shot him twice in the chest, killing him instantly.  She arrived to her house when policemen had surrounded the area and the body was being transported out of the scene.  I can't even begin to imagine what she must have felt when she found out what had happened.  Afterwards, her son that lives in Houston offered her to live with him over here, and she had no other option but to accept.  With her depression, she did not want to get treated, her symptoms got worse and her health deteriorated as a result.
I will always remember this story because it was so sad and it is what many people in Mexico and other Latin American countries go through and to think how corrupted the system has become.  It is such a sad situation that has escalated to a very high level and seemingly impossible to control.  I can relate a little bit to this story because living in El Paso, I get to hear the injustices and violence that happen across the border in Cd. Juarez, one of the most violent cities in Mexico.

Blog Week 7

Last Friday in the clinic was definitely one of the worst times I've ever had volunteering here.  I worked with an ER doctor that did not really know what she was doing.  The week before this the medical assistant had warned me that it was very difficult to work with her.  The reason is that as an ER doctor, she does not encounter patients with these kinds of problems.  She would question the patient normally but once outside, she would look up information online, ask the medical assistants, or even myself, questions concerning the patient's disease and wondered what the next mode of action should be.   At one point, she asked me what the best treatment would be for the person's high cholesterol, since Lipitor had resulted on mild side effects.  My opinion is that if her skills have deteriorated to this point, it would be best for the doctor and especially for the sake of the patient to stop practicing in this setting. This makes the doctor look really bad and it may be harmful to the patient's health, which ultimately, it is the most important thing.  At first, when the medical assistant told me about it, I thought that she maybe was exaggerating or just making it up, but then I got to see it first-hand and I was very surprised at what I was witnessing.

Blog Week 6

Last Friday in the clinic, I was able to work with the doctor that I enjoy the most working with.  One of the reasons why she is a very god and efficient doctor is because she lets the medical assistants transcribe her notes into the computer software that they use, and as a result, she goes from patient to patient relatively quickly.  As most days in this clinic, many diabetics attend to be treated and checked, and since most are Hispanic, I get to translate to the doctors.  The reason why I like to work with this doctor is because I can seethe attributes of a good and caring doctor and how I feel every medical professional should act in front of the patient.  Because I get to work with different doctors every time, I can compare the different ways that they show as they are dealing with a patient that does not speak English.  Unlike some doctors that tend to ignore the patient and only focus on what I say, she speaks directly to them showing care and concern, which in turn create a sense of comfort in the patient.  Outside of the examination room, in the small window of free time that we have, we talked about medically related issues as well as medical school and her work outside the clinic.  I think this attitude is essential to make a good working environment, and more importantly it enables for the better servie to the patient.

Blog Week 5

Last Friday I went to the clinic and it was a little different than the other times that I had gone.  I was in the optometry section of the clinic and, since they did not need translators in this wing, the medical assistant asked me to do some paperwork.  I had to transfer PDF files saved in the computer into the special program where they save all of the patient's information.  I had to analyze each document, place it under the patient's file and briefly summarize what the document was about and place this information as a cover sheet.  I enjoyed this work because it showed me another part of how the clinic runs.  It is essential for the patient's health to have their records straight and easily accessible so that the doctor can analyze them and make the best judgement for each case.