Members of Inspiration (Our Health Care Heroes) – July 2020

We are SO thankful for these ladies and their dedication to helping others in the health care field, especially over the past few months.  Here is a different version of our usual “Members of Inspiration” page:

What is your job title and description?
Crystal: I am the Clinic Supervisor for the OrthoCarolina South Park office. I manage the daily operations of the office, coordinate with physicians/PA’s, field patient complaints/issues, manage staff, and ensure everyone is following the correct procedures/policies as outlined by the law and OC as an organization. Before this, I was a Radiology Technologist for about 6 years.

Rachel: Nurse Practitioner. I am a nurse who has a Masters degree and have been trained to provide wellness care, diagnose and manage acute and chronic conditions, provide prenatal care, order and interpret labs and other diagnostic testing, and prescribe medications and treatment regimens. Very similar job role to a physician assistant (PA). Except cooler because I was a nurse for several years before I went back to school 🙂   I work for Novant Health in an OBGYN office.

Danielle: Flight RN/RRT

 

What made you decide to go into healthcare?
Crystal: My grandmother had a lot of health problems and I saw firsthand how medical personnel can make or break a person’s experience with healthcare. It was important to me that I was able to make a difference, even a small difference, in someone’s life. In healthcare, it really does come down to the small things sometimes.

Rachel: I wanted to do something to help others. At 22, I had graduated with a BA in dance but had zero interest in being a dance teacher or owning a studio. I was pretty lost. A friend suggested I look into nursing so I did a teeny bit of research and applied to nursing school.

Danielle: I’ve always loved helping others and knew it was my calling since I was a child

 

How has your job been different over the past few months?
Crystal: UGH, let me count the ways. Some days I’ve been Manager and X-ray tech, some days I’ve assisted with telemedicine visits. On one scary occasion, I was Manager, X-ray tech, and Clinical assistant. We’ve had to implement unpopular policies regarding social distancing, masks, and screening patients before their visits, not allowing visitors, etc. One of the most challenging things I’ve dealt with is the rationing of PPE supplies. We cannot order the things we need directly, we have to wait for our purchasing department to send it because they are trying to make sure we are only given what we need. My job has definitely been about 20 times harder in the last 3 months.

Rachel: MORE STRESSFUL!  In March we were forced to get telehealth up and going much faster than we were ready to. We had to “scrub” schedules and prioritize visit types, cancel or reschedule those visit types we thought could wait (annuals, non-urgent things, etc). We had to start wearing masks all day, every day.
We have had to be very adaptable because as there are more cases and more data, processes and procedures change. Not so frequently anymore, but in the beginning things were changing daily or it seemed sometimes even hourly.
In women’s health I have never worried about being exposed to an infectious disease before because our patients are generally healthy. Now it’s something I have to think about every day.

Danielle: It’s been hard to see patients without their loved ones there to support them due to visitor restrictions.

 

What is your favorite part of your job?
Crystal: Solving issues that are brought to me by my staff and our physicians/PA’s. The main purpose of my job is to make their lives easier and to ensure they have the tools they need to take care of our patients in the very best possible way.

Rachel: The female body is just COOL. I love teaching and helping women to understand how their bodies work and how they should take care of themselves.
I also really love developing relationships with my patients and being a trusted resource for them. Patients discuss things in my exam rooms that they don’t tell anyone else, and I don’t take that lightly.

Danielle:  I love being there for patients in their time of need. I hope that I am able to provide them with comfort and compassion when they need it the most.

 

What role does the gym/fitness play in your own health?
Crystal: One benefit of working in orthopedics is that it’s a constant reminder of the importance of staying active and being healthy. This gym allows me the ability to develop functional fitness that has aided me more times than I can count, but the community fosters my mental health. There’s nothing better than some laughs and a spiked heart rate at 5am to set a precedent for your day.

Rachel: It’s huge for me mentally and physically. It’s my outlet and how I deal with stress, so when it was shut down amidst the world initially being on fire, it made it much harder to cope.
Maintaining the connection to this community (and OF COURSE the #5amIsLife thread) has been a lifeline for me these last few months. <3

Danielle: CrossFit has been an outlet for me both physically and emotionally. When I feel physically well my mental health follows suit. I’m forever grateful for the CrossFit community.