During Spring 2012, I pursued an internship at the Central Texas Medical Center (CTMC) based on my recent choice to apply eventually to medical school and become a physician. CTMC is a 178-bed hospital providing a wide range of health services managed by more than 220 active and consulting physicians. The hospital includes a basic Level IV Emergency and Trauma Center and a Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, both of which are partnered with the hospital’s Air Evac Lifeteam. Ambulatory services and the Air Evac Lifeteam work separately to transfer patients who are in need of an increased level of care to other hospitals along the Austin-San Antonio corridor. Along with an established Emergency Department and Women’s Center, the hospital is also equipped with an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), a Progressive Care Unit (PCU), a Surgery Department, a Medical/Surgical floor, a cardiopulmonary unit, and a Medical Imaging Department.
My duties at CTMC were limited yet appropriate for a first-time anthropology and pre-medical extern. I worked my hospital shifts in three different areas: the volunteer desk, the information desk, and the emergency room (ER).
The information desk is the first thing anyone will see when entering the hospital, and it is the main area accessed by guests and patients who require general assistance. Volunteers occupying the information desk are responsible for directing hospital visitors, providing general information, making sure guests find the hospital staff member they are looking for, and managing paperwork for the hospital.
Transferring patients for admissions and discharges is the principle job responsibility for individuals at the volunteer desk. Volunteers work together with registration staff to transfer patients to the PCU, the cardiopulmonary unit, the radiology center, the outpatient surgery floor, or the med/surg floor. Volunteers are responsible for making sure that the patient’s paperwork is turned in to their receiving nurse or the desk clerk. For discharges, volunteers are called by the nursing staff in their respective area of the hospital to collect a patient and wheel them to the front of the hospital to be picked up. Patients are often weak, clumsy, or disoriented after their stay in the hospital, so it is imperative that the volunteer physically assist them into their wheelchair if necessary. It is the volunteer’s responsibility to keep the patient company throughout the transfer process until they are picked up, meaning that a volunteer might spend an extended amount of time with a patient if they are required to visit the pharmacy before they leave or if they have a voucher from the hospital to be picked up by a taxi.
In the ER, volunteer responsibilities include transporting patients for admissions and discharges, organizing and disinfecting patient rooms, conducting patient rounds, delivering patient samples to the lab, transporting patients to other sections in the hospital, and assisting techs and nursing staff with any requests they might make. Most of the ER volunteer’s time is spent helping the techs and nurses by cleaning up rooms and preparing them for new patients. Volunteers also spend a significant amount of time meeting every available patient to make sure they are comfortable. Patients will often ask for things like pillows, blankets, water, or a snack. It is the volunteer’s responsibility to always ask the attending physician if their patient is allowed to consume anything that they request.
Working at CTMC was a great experience, and I would strongly recommend interning there to any anthropology student, especially if they have an interest in medicine. My goal for this internship was to gain knowledge of the medical universe, secure a general idea of what it would be like to work in a hospital, and obtain some kind of notion as to what it might be like working as a physician. My advice for anyone hoping to work at the hospital or its affiliated clinics is to inquire about a position early and broadly. Speak with the volunteer coordinator, but also make sure to poke and prod individual departments.