day 4 - roberts 15

Roberts 15 is one of the general medicine patient care floors. There are 30 patients, 7 nurses, and 2 technicians that run this floor. (I don't know how many doctors there are.) In this area, I get to experience the behind the scenes of how the this floor operates. There is one main secretary that answers all incoming calls and patient intercom calls, enters the data for every patient online, receives notification of each incoming and outgoing patient, keeps all the nurses, doctors and technicians in check and directs visitors accordingly. How this one lady can manage to do all of these things at one time and is still able to breathe, amazes me.

Behind the front desk is basically a bunch of desks where all the nurses, doctors and technicians do their write ups. It's shocking how much paperwork there is to fill out for each patient. For each patient, their medical file is about two inches thick. This area behind the front desk is always packed. (I don't know how people can work in this area because you can hardly breathe.) Most of the doctors sit by the phones for consultation about their patients while performing their write ups.

Today, I prepared incoming patient packets and charts, organized and restocked paperwork for each patient file, serviced each of the patient charts and assisted the secretary by answering incoming phone calls and the patient intercom calls.

Things I learned:
- It is very beneficial to know who everyone is so when a patient calls, you are able to contact the direct nurse or doctor behind the front desk.
- Behind every patient, there is a bunch of paperwork to be filled out before, during, and after patient consultation.
- In the hospital, everyone helps each other out whether you are a nurse, doctor, janitor, or patient transporter.
- Always be confident and attentive and wear a smile on your face in the hospital.
- Communication is very important.
- Once you understand the hospital lingo, everything will make sense to you.

Favorite thing of the day:
Usually, I absolutely HATE answering the phone, but today, it's growing on me. There may be times when the caller speaks so quickly with hospital lingo or when grumpy patients call requesting for help immediately, but luckily, Miss Annie is there by my side to help me get through it. Hopefully, I'll be able to grow accustomed to the hospital lingo and be more confident in my work.

Things to look forward to:
- Observing patient doctor interaction.
- Attending to patients.
- Getting to talk to more doctors about their experience