Monday, March 15th: Today at Mercy, I triaged 5 patients and sent 1 of them home with a FIT test to screen for colon cancer. I spent a lot of time calling patients ages 65 and older to help connect them with Medicare resources and transition their care to their new providers. One patient in particular was struggling with this transition more than the others, and we spoke on the phone for over 20 minutes trying to figure out the best way to transition his care. He was unhappy with the lack of resources to explain the different options and choose which plan would best fit with his medical needs. I am no Medicare expert, but I tried my best to research plans with him and help him understand his options a little better. In doing so, I came across Athens Community Council on Aging and decided to give them a call. They were able to connect me with a service through GA Care that offers individual counseling services to help new Medicare patients find the optimal plan that best covers their health needs, including medications, specialists, procedures and services, all while keeping their financial situation in mind. I was so relieved to connect him with them and he immediately scheduled his first session with GA care after our call. Today, I learned how to be resourceful when helping patients. I feel like I was able to go the extra mile with that patient and give him a solution to his problem, even though it was not right in front of me initially. Even though it is not in my job description to be a Medicare expert, I think taking that extra time to research for him and ask for help will have a huge impact on his healthcare in the future.
6.1.1 Assess needs for health-related information
6.1.2 Identify valid information resources
6.3.1 Assess and prioritize requests for advice/consultation
6.3.3 Provide expert assistance and guidance
Tuesday, March 16th: Today, our schedule was pretty light and I only triaged 2 patients. The other MA and I spent our day going through 6 large boxes of donated supplies and chose what we needed to keep and what we should get rid of. We received tons of useful supplies which was AMAZING because Mercy runs entirely on donations and grants, so we were able to restock a lot of things that were running low. There were a lot of things that we didn’t need too, but we didn’t want to just throw it away. The MA and I researched organizations in the area that may get use of the extra medical supplies, and we came across Project Safe. We decided this would be the best place to donate to because they are in constant need of wound supplies to treat the abused women in their shelters. We created a procedure for other MA’s in the future to follow so the supplies can continue to be donated to organizations like Project Safe. Today, I learned how to pass it forward and share the love that we get at Mercy to other amazing organizations in Athens.
2.4.7 Analyze the opportunity for integrating health education/promotion into other programs
5.5.3 Develop strategies to reinforce or change organizational culture to support health education/promotion
Wednesday, March 17th: Today, we had a full schedule of patients the entire day. I triaged 13 patients and spent most of my day in the rooms with them. I enjoy days like these because I love creating that relationship with the patients when we are in the exam rooms together, and this is when I spark many health promotional conversations about their diet, exercise habits, adherence to medical advice, etc. I conducted 1 health literacy assessment and added it to the growing database. I sent two patients home with FIT tests to screen for colon cancer, and I also received 3 completed FIT tests from patients and entered them into the gift card raffle. I am so excited to see this raffle incentive actually working, and we have been able to identify 5 positive tests so far and refer them to a GI specialists for a colonoscopy. It is so important to prevent instead of treat, and this FIT test program is a wonderful representation of how to incorporate screening methods into a medical practice. This showed me that health promotion can be much easier if it is appealing to the patients, and creating the $25 gift card campaign was the perfect incentive to have them complete the tests.
After work, we had a fundraising event at Creature Comforts that I volunteered at. We had a station where people could put together sanitation kits for our patients and write encouraging notes to them. These kits included hand sanitizer, a water bottle, Kleenex, a mask, hygiene products, and a small calendar for the patients to mark their appointments on. We made over 100 kits throughout the night, and I can’t wait to start giving them to the patients! The night was a total success and we got 100% of the profits donated back to Mercy! I loved seeing everyone come together for a fun time and giving back to their community simultaneously. I learned how impactful communities can be when they come together for a cause.
2.1.2 Use strategies to convene priority populations, partners, and other stakeholders
2.1.3 Facilitate collaborative efforts among priority populations, partners, and other stakeholders
5.1.2 Evaluate financial needs and resources
Thursday, March 18th: Today, I came in for night clinic and mostly triaged patients. Our EMR system went down right before our first appointment, so the entire Mercy team had to transition to using paper for all of our appointments tonight. Although it was not what we usually do, we were all able to come together quickly and make it work! The paper medical records were new to all of us, so we had to simultaneously learn, train, and implement a new protocol. Everything ended up going well, and I was very proud of how the Mercy team handled this complication!
5.6.11 Facilitate team development
Friday, March 19th: Today at Mercy, our schedule was very busy with appointments. I triaged 10 patients throughout the day and caught up on returned FIT tests in between appointments. Of the 4 FIT tests that I ran today, there were two positive results. I called those patients to inform them of the results and scheduled them for a colonoscopy that will either confirm the presence of cancer or rule it out. I educated the patients about how important it is to show up for their colonoscopy because of the high treatment success rate for colon cancer in its early stage, and they expressed verbal understanding.
While running FIT tests in the lab, I came across one sample that a patient had done incorrectly. Instead of bringing back a tube with a diluted stool sample, she brought back an empty tube and the stool sample in a napkin in the envelope. I realized that this was one of our Spanish speaking patients, so she had a difficult time following the directions on the FIT kit because they were in English. This made me realize that we need to be more inclusive with the FIT kit directions to ensure both English and Spanish speakers can follow along, so I started drafting up a Spanish instruction sheet to include in the FIT tests when we give them to Spanish speakers. Today, I further realized how difficult it is to live in a country and not speak the language, and I think it is incredible important for society to cater to all cultures and backgrounds.
2.3.4 Apply principles of culture competence in selecting and/or designing strategies/interventions
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