Well that was a vlusterfuvk

[minoanmiss]

Go me I made someone hate me.

A patients mother came in to make Covid vaccine appointments for er 3 kids AND to get a doctors note for school for her daughter who had not been seen by a doctor. I went to as G ( the institutional memory) but she was busy. So I asked around. 1 person said we do Covid vaccinations [ he was wrong] and another said the doctors note would require a televisit [ she was wrong] and we kept getting o terrupted by patients arriving and patients leaving and eventually the mom told me off for putting other people ahead of her( but what could I do not check people in for their appts?). And by the time she’d been there two hours she started to cry

I very nearly cried. The angry parent flagged down a tech who probably thought I was jerking the lady around. I had to flee to the side room and send G out to clean up my mess while I tried really hard to not cry. Eventually I got on the phones etc.

I managed to get a chance to apologize to G and she told me that were too understaffed for her to properly train me so she knows I’ll make mistakes. But still ugh. Ugh. What a fuckup I caused. I am ashamed of myself.

Comments

[ex_flameandsong751]

-hugs if you want them-

[acelightning73]

As I said, it's too soon for you to know all the internal procedures yet. And the frantic mother doesn't hateYOU, she hates the bureaucratic bullshit all health care providers seem to think is an irreplaceable part of providing care. Someone should tell the mother it's a whole lot easier and cheaper to get vaccinations from a drugstore.

Breathe, dear friend. Nobody hates you. You annoyed someone who's already reached her annoyance limit for the day. Go someplace private and stomp your feet and shout obscenities. And then get your sweetie to hug you until you calm down.

[lynnenne]

And the frantic mother doesn't hate YOU, she hates the bureaucratic bullshit

I second this. I recently was in an ER waiting room for 7 hours and never did see a doctor. I was so frustrated I got up and left. We all know that healthcare is underfunded and understaffed, and we don't blame the staff for it at all.

*hugs* to you.

[acelightning73]

I've spent far too much time in waiting rooms lately. The last time I went to an ER, I could see how few nurses, technicians, and caregivers there were. I know they're understaffed and underpaid, and I think they deserve better.

[sabotabby]

This.

[kore]

//just hugs you

[sovay]

*hugs*

It may have to do less with you than the entire medical-institutional nightmare. I am not often upset with individuals as opposed to the systems they are stuck in.

[bikergeek]

*hugs you*

[mific]

Not getting a proper orientation really sucks. Big hugs, and remember what a friend of mine says about life's hassles - "they'll never see it from the motorway".

[china_shop]

*hugs and hugs*

[princessofgeeks]

I do not see how ANY of this was your fault. You did the best you could with the info you had.

HUGS

[vex_verlain]

*hugs* That most certainly wasn't your fault, though I know it feels like it when things like that happen. But understaffed + undertrained means the place is failing the patients and the employees. You were doing your best with two wrong answers and no support, hon.

And as someone who is so frequently in hospitals and other types of health clinics: if something is going wrong administratively, I only ever have mean feelings toward those who are unkind to me.

[flamingsword]

Same. As long as minoanmiss was not rude or mean to her, she has not earned her ire.

[hitchhiker]

:(

[dine]

that parent's frustration is understandable, but as other said, it's not really on you. you tried, but given inadequate training, and incorrect answers (you asked!) how could you get it right? and of course you cannot ignore the other patients who are checking in for appointments.

[julian]

Man, that sucks.

In looking at the way you describe it, I think the only thing *you* could have done differently would have been to pause somewhere in the middle of all the Asking Questions part to tell the mother this was becoming unexpectedly complicated, and she might want to come back and/or call later. But like , none of it's *your* fault. Seriously.

[amaebi]

This sounds precisely right to me.

[chanter1944]

*hugs offered*

[amaebi]

Thank goodness for G, if G is as understanding and supportive as I hope, not expressing exasperation relatively benignly.

[flamingsword]

This mother could also have called and asked these questions before showing up and getting standard care for walk-ins. 🤷 You didn’t pick that for her, or most of the things about this situation. It’s not on you, even though someone rudely decided to tell you off for … *checks notes* … doing what was asked of you, to the best of your ability.

Again I say: it’s not on you.

[marcelo]

You're put as the front of a system that works badly and can't change much, with people often near their most stressful, and without sufficient resources.

*hugs* You have nothing to be ashamed of. Moments like this won't be your fault - you're putting in the time and the emotions, don't take in the guilt.

[radiantfracture]

It sounds like you made a really strong good-faith effort to help this person and the resources weren't there for either of you.

[lunabee34]

*hugs*

This is not your fault. I'm so sorry.

[gwydion]

They didnt train you. how are you supposed to know answers they haven't given you?

[lemonsharks]

Write it down (already done), and calendar a note to review in six months for a "what you know which would prevent this happening in the future" / "a similar thing happened and didn't result in chaos some time later".

Then you'll have something for professional growth in your review/self-assessment when it eventually rolls around.

(I'm also preemptively side-eying the daughter's school, which probably has consequences for absenteeism which are far outsized compared to the actual seriousness of the missed school.)

[cellio]

That sounds like a systemic failure. It's not your fault, or G's fault, or the mother's fault... it's a messed-up system where training is insufficient to the needs and people who've been there way longer than you don't know the right answers either. :-(

{hugs}