The “on-boarding” process for this locum assignment turned out to be one of the most time-consuming and disorganized processes I’ve experienced to date.

I was tasked with completing online EHR training for the hospital. The “playground” I was to do this training on had a “broken link,” and no matter how many times I tried to access it, I was unable to. I was getting emails left and right about my “delinquent status,” telling me I would have to do “remediative” training in person. 

Finally, after many trials and exasperated phone calls with IT, I was DONE. I had spent nearly six hours of my personal time trying to complete training for a temporary assignment that should have taken no more than an hour. I told my recruiter to sign me up for the in-person “Remediation” session with an IT specialist.

I was jetlagged when I drove almost two hours to the main hospital system’s IT training building where I attended a one-hour class with two other Physicians. Most of our questions could not be addressed by the trainer because it was “beyond her scope.” I was finally able to complete everything needed and was assured that I would be “good to go” the following morning.

When I logged on the next morning, my profile had not been created correctly. I spent an additional six hours on the phone that day with IT who were finally able to fix my profile.

Unfortunately, this has become the norm in hospitals and practices across America. Imagine if Walmart decided it was a good idea to have different models of cash registers at every one of their stores, where buttons for transactions were placed in different locations on the keypad or screen. Imagine further that instead of just ringing the customer’s purchases out, the cashier ALSO was expected to verify demographics, sex of the customer, address, phone number and size of their family. This is exactly what Physicians are expected to do.

This story DOES have a happy ending. Despite everything, I ended up having a great experience in Ohio. The nurses I worked with are lovely, smart, helpful, kind and well-trained. The Doctor I signed out to and from is an excellent teacher and a born leader who is not afraid to stand up to administration. But the main reason that I ended up enjoying my time in Ohio is that I was able to volunteer at a camp for sick children called Flying Horse Farms. One of my best friends from medical school (Dr. Barbara Galantowicz) is the camp’s medical director. She was able to get me interviewed and credentialed, and I started work two days later. What a gift for the soul that camp is. I am hooked and plan on being back next year and for years to come. Volunteering my time to those less fortunate is something I have done since I was a young child and throughout high school and college.  In medical school, however, opportunities to volunteer were scarce.  I’ve continued to try to help, but I needed this trip to Ohio to remind me of a simple truth: we need to give more than we receive.