I started clinicals with Robbi at Southcentral Foundation primary care facilities yesterday (Tuesday). It’s an amazing building with at least 6 separate primary care clinics. I worked with a nurse case manager today and yesterday and learned about their role through observation. Yesterday, I got to talk a lot to the case management support specialist and the team pharmacist as well. All of these clinics are set up in amazing little care teams. There’s the provider (MD, PA-C, NP), a BSN RN case manager, certified medical assistant and case management support specialist in each team, with a pharmacist, a dietician, a midwife, and behavior health specialists in each clinic as well. It’s incredibly holistic and they call their patients “customer-owners” because the native care system is there to serve natives only. This whole system is called the Nuka System of Care, (https://www.southcentralfoundation.com/nuka-system-of-care/) they are one of the world’s leading examples in healthcare design. They are a holistic system with integrated care that is focused entirely on the wellness of the individual. It really shone through in clinical as well, they were well staffed and worked at a very comfortable pace contacting customer-owners and managing their day. The main role of the nurse manager is to follow up with patients. The providers see the patient with the CMA and order labs, tests, etc. then the nurse manager follows up with them and explains results and checks in with them about their care plans. They can also triage customer-owners if they call wanting to know if they should come in.
I thought it was super interesting how so many people had their masters in public health, a few pharmacists, some traditional healers, multiple nurses and doctors all had it. I think it’s very pertinent to this state. The population overall is so important to the culture here that having a masters most likely helps them treat them as a whole and understand the significance of their health. I also got to read through the CHAM, community health aide manual, and it was incredible how functional it was. There were only two pages of step-by-step directions of how to deliver a baby. It's designed to just give the basics of things, but they are super detailed and on just about every medical situation you could think of. Like my nurse manager said, they are much less qualified than her but do much more than she does. It's a very eye opening program that will hopefully expand into more types of communities and populations.
I also got to just know some of the people of Anchorage and learn about the city. Everyone here loves their job and where they live. It’s amazing to hear about how much they love their state and how much they respect the native culture. I would love to live and work here someday!!
I thought it was super interesting how so many people had their masters in public health, a few pharmacists, some traditional healers, multiple nurses and doctors all had it. I think it’s very pertinent to this state. The population overall is so important to the culture here that having a masters most likely helps them treat them as a whole and understand the significance of their health. I also got to read through the CHAM, community health aide manual, and it was incredible how functional it was. There were only two pages of step-by-step directions of how to deliver a baby. It's designed to just give the basics of things, but they are super detailed and on just about every medical situation you could think of. Like my nurse manager said, they are much less qualified than her but do much more than she does. It's a very eye opening program that will hopefully expand into more types of communities and populations.
I also got to just know some of the people of Anchorage and learn about the city. Everyone here loves their job and where they live. It’s amazing to hear about how much they love their state and how much they respect the native culture. I would love to live and work here someday!!