I feel really connected to my medical assistant at clinic. The most incredible thing about her is she just “gets it.” She gets the pace of parenthood, the pace necessary to keep patient care moving in clinic, and the pace of my patient–even the very little ones and the big ones. She’s compassionate. She’s invested in being kind. She really treats children like children. When, for example, she doesn’t trust her gut on how a child is completing their screening vision exam, she’ll wait until end of the visit and repeat it. She’ll switch out letters for pictures, she’ll grab stickers to incentivize. This week, she was solving problems before I even noticed they were slowing us down.
She remembers patients like I do. The details, some health related, and some not. Glittery shoes, a nickname, a chronic ear infection, a mother’s need for extra time, a worry that a parent repeats. She says things like, “Did you hear about Angela’s CT at Children’s”” randomly on a Thursday two weeks after we last saw Angela.
She worries like a mom. She performs like a professional. She calls children by their name.
Not everyone in health care delivery is invested in what matters most. Unfortunately, it can be very easy to lose sight of patients in health care, however bizarre and inane that sounds. And so it’s an utter privilege to work with my MA. But more, it’s just so nice to have such an incredible partner. It’s, of course, teams of people that care for patients, not just doctors and the nurses you see. But teams of receptionists, labs techs, schedulers, assistants, insurers, leadership, specialists, nurses, generalists, and so many more.
Teams are good. But sincere, tactile partnerships change everything. Sometimes I feel very alone in my work–right now thanks to my MA, I don’t. To you, Katie, I say thank you so much for making 2011 far better and for all of the hope you bring to 2012…
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Dr Mary says
Kudos to Katie for the high quality, compassionate medical professional that you are. What you do and how you do it really matters.
Thank you to members of medical teams who, like Katie, excel in caring for others.
Julie says
This is a wonderful ode – many forget about the tactile partnerships that make or break a clinic!! Thanks for sharing.
Heidi Roman says
What a lovely post! I can so relate to this. My MA is currently on maternity leave and I am missing her so much. Working with a smart, efficient, compassionate MA can make so much difference in how a clinic runs and how happy the patients are with their care.
Ora says
Kudos to you, doc. I would guess U R quite easy/nice to work with…and appreciative, and also FUN ♪♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♪. Nurse’s Note…LOL!
Viki says
Oh go ahead and make me cry!
Megan says
Thank you Katie!! I take my son my first born in there sometimes a lot for little things cause I just worry a little to much:) but it really is great hard working people like you that help us new moms threw it. I remember we came in for my sons child wellness check up of course his shots and he screamed but you tried to make him happy again with bubbles!!! Thank you other nurses would of say awe baby and left. Thank for not and trying to make him smile.
Becca says
We were in last week for our well child visits. Katie remembered my son from her son’s football team.
The part you wrote about the vision screening could have been about my daughter. She failed the vision screen, even after Katie tried several different tactics. We went across the street to my eye doctor, after our appointment, and we were able to get right in. The eye doctor said that he was impressed that you guys caught the vision problem. It turns out she’s far sighted, which was straining her eyes, making her distance vision blurry too. Thanks for catching this problem before it got too big, Katie! My little one loves her new glasses!
Katie says
I’m glad she’s happy with her new glasses and can see! I hope she has a great “clear” 2012!
Katie says
Dr.Swanson told me you replied. What a nice suprise to hear from you. Thank you for your kind words. You are a very compassionate provider. I hope you are doing well.
Jen B says
Our MAs are so vital to everything we do. They are a fantastic team and keep the clinic alive and well. I try to tell them as often as I can without sounding too weird how great they are; sometimes I worry that fantastic MAs feel taken for granted! How wonderful that Katie knows for sure that she is not. 🙂 Congratulations, Katie, you are obviously a very talented and valued medical assistant!