2008 Woodie Awards
Health center embraces appointment system
SHANNESSA FAKOUR
Issue date: 10/6/08 Section: News
Eight weeks after the University Health Center implemented a new appointment system, students, physicians and nurses express overall positive reactions to the change.
The new system assigns every student to a primary clinician who is a member of a medical team. There are four medical teams, which are identified by color - gold, red, blue and green.
The purpose for having teams is to serve as a backup for when a student's physician is not there, a group of University physicians and nurses told The Red & Black Oct. 1.
If a doctor is not present one day, the student will be seen by other clinicians, or health professionals, within the same team, they said. Working in a team, which uses the same nurses, increases the clinicians' familiarity with one another's patients.
Natalie Russo, a family physician on the green team, said if she sees another teammate's patient, she sends him or her a note using the electronic health record.
"We're communicating much better," Russo said. "Before, there was no one to send a note to."
It feels like everyone within the team is working toward a common goal, said Linda Thurmond, a registered nurse on the blue team. "The big positive thing is the relationship. We are getting to know our patients."
Some students weighed in on the changes as well.
"I like the thought of seeing the same doctor every time," said Abby Howe, a senior from Atlanta. "The only negative thing about the system is it wasn't clear when I went through the process. I went on a Friday afternoon and got right in."
"I went online to make the appointment, and there was a long list of available times," said Kim Neal, a sophomore from Suwanee. "I had another appointment with the women's clinic and finished early so they took me early."
But the changes caused inconveniences for others.
Stephanie Jackson, a junior from Birmingham, said she contracted a staph infection when she couldn't make an appointment with her assigned doctor.
The new system assigns every student to a primary clinician who is a member of a medical team. There are four medical teams, which are identified by color - gold, red, blue and green.
The purpose for having teams is to serve as a backup for when a student's physician is not there, a group of University physicians and nurses told The Red & Black Oct. 1.
If a doctor is not present one day, the student will be seen by other clinicians, or health professionals, within the same team, they said. Working in a team, which uses the same nurses, increases the clinicians' familiarity with one another's patients.
Natalie Russo, a family physician on the green team, said if she sees another teammate's patient, she sends him or her a note using the electronic health record.
"We're communicating much better," Russo said. "Before, there was no one to send a note to."
It feels like everyone within the team is working toward a common goal, said Linda Thurmond, a registered nurse on the blue team. "The big positive thing is the relationship. We are getting to know our patients."
Some students weighed in on the changes as well.
"I like the thought of seeing the same doctor every time," said Abby Howe, a senior from Atlanta. "The only negative thing about the system is it wasn't clear when I went through the process. I went on a Friday afternoon and got right in."
"I went online to make the appointment, and there was a long list of available times," said Kim Neal, a sophomore from Suwanee. "I had another appointment with the women's clinic and finished early so they took me early."
But the changes caused inconveniences for others.
Stephanie Jackson, a junior from Birmingham, said she contracted a staph infection when she couldn't make an appointment with her assigned doctor.
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