Crossroad Health Center - OTR

Zach Graham, Summer 2013

As a UHP intern, I worked at Crossroad Health Center (CHC) in a variety of capacities. I worked extensively in its EMR, NextGen, both as a project researcher and medical assistant (MA), allowing me to gain a much better understanding of how EMRs work. I was also able to shadow some of the providers — physicians, nurses, and nurse practitioners — to observe how their roles function and fit together in a family practice that has both adult and pediatric providers. However, my role as a MA provided me with the greatest exposure to both the benefits of an adapting clinic like CHC and its limitations.

MAs conduct a multitude of tasks at Crossroad; they bring the patients back to their rooms, taking appropriate vitals and measurements; interview patients through brief social and family histories; administer vaccines; perform blood draws when CHC's phlebotomist is off duty; coordinate care by calling patients, phoning in prescriptions, acquiring medical records, placing reminding calls to boost the percentage of patients who show for their appointments, and setting up appointments using physician referrals to other practices. By the end of my eight week internship, I had completed all of these tasks, but only helping to administer vaccines and blood draws rather than conducting them myself. This allowed me to observe all areas of family practice at a clinic stressing coordination of care, and the firsthand experiences are what makes this internship so memorable.

I shadowed for a patient who had blood-oxygen saturation of 83% and declined at first to go to the emergency room because she didn't feel like it. I did an intake interview with a patient whose first question was whether I was going to give her Percocet for her daily headaches. I helped another MA to place leads and obtain an EKG on an older woman who had had a stroke; there were bed bugs crawling on her and her clothes the entire time. For every one of these moments, there are hundreds more of patients who care about their health and are more fortunate, but these experiences are important in comprehending the full scope of medical practice. The moments all paint a picture of health care that's become much clearer for me after seeing it from the perspective of primary care, especially for such an extended period of time and in so many different facets.

Being able to witness how current providers and their assistants approach the barriers to health has both strengthened my awareness and improved my understanding of how to best navigate similar situations in the future. Despite the limitations CHC faces on a daily basis, it provides great patient management, especially considering the population it treats that would and could not otherwise receive care. I spoke to and worked with all sorts of employees at Crossroad, and they all fit together for the sole purpose of improving health care. It was very refreshing to witness a practice doing all it can to help both adults and children.

Seeing this commitment from all its employees, I volunteered to complete projects and tasks for MDs, MAs, nurses, care coordinators, grant writers, and even the CEO. There were many areas that required help: chart audits, grant narratives, data analysis for quality of care, physician protocols and more. CHC made sure I had a nice blend of working on projects and getting clinical experience. This balance of clinical practice and research was an amazing opportunity that opened my eyes to family practice, improved my understanding of total patient care, and left me with a lasting impression of the importance of compassion for everyone.