Day 25- Patients and Vitals

Today was a VERY BIG day for me. For the first time EVER, I checked patients. I was sooooo excited. I couldn’t believe that I could even do that. I spent the day at the Sun City clinic, which is part of MHMR. I shadowed a medical technician named Joe. And his responsibilities basically entailed providing an initial assessment of the patient who will be seeing the psychiatrist shortly. Joe was in charge of recording the patient’s vitals which includes body weight, height, and blood pressure. In addition, we had to transcribe the consumer’s current medication, the amount taken, their medical history, and their current behavior such as anxiety or depression. I DID ALL THAT. I took down the patient’s weight, measured their height, sat them down and wrapped the pump around the patient’s arm and recorded their blood pressure and I inquired about their medical history and current medication. OMG. I was sooo hyped.

As I was taking the height of patients, I could not help but wonder about every doctor visit I have been to and followed the doctor’s instructions about what to do. And now, I was doing that!! I know it was simply taking down the vitals of patients but it was really a big deal for me and still is. I think what I loved the most about it was that some patients were so well in tune with what they were feeling whether it was anxiety or panic attacks or having difficulty breathing that they tried so hard to make sure I knew exactly what they were talking about. They used facial expressions, their hand movements and maintained eye contact with me so I would understand them fully. And I appreciated that so much. Meeting with patients has by far been the highlight of my week. Hands down.