Emergency Department: Filling in the Gaps
Of the several activities I participated in the past, the Emergency Department at University Medical Center has been the place I've served the longest and made the most impact. When I was initially placed in the ED, my tasks were very simple. I mainly escorted the patient's family members to see them. However, each day I returned, there were more tasks assigned to me so that I was never sitting still for too long. If I wasn't already guiding people into rooms, I was calling nurses, technicians, and other hospital staff to relay messages about patients or finding medical equipment such as wheelchairs which seem to inexplicably disappear at a moment's notice. The task I found myself mired with the most was, however, simply talking to patients and assuring them everything was going to be alright. As it turns out, most of the patients that checked in at this location had very long average wait times before they can even be seen by a physician. Another job I was gi