Week 3: TSC

Week 3 has been bit of craziness. I am so posting all these late since I’ve been super busy.

So this week I decided to split my days up between HIV services and TSC. I did Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at HIV Services and Thursday and Friday at TSC because I needed to do an interview with Tom Young, the Nurse Practitioner (NP).

Thursday

I polished up and finished two protocols for the policies and procedures manual so that TSC could quality for the Ryan White Grant. These two protocols were for security measures and in case of breaches. Surprisingly this effort took longer than I anticipated. It took a good week to do all the research necessary to mold our own individualized protocol here because it is such a small clinic and does not have all the as I like to describe it “guns and steel walls” . In addition, I never knew just how difficult and it was to find properly written policies and procedures online. Some were mediocre and others were just too detailed and didn’t apply to what I was doing. Hopefully, what I have complete passes as a qualified protocol to be used. I feel like a lot of me was winging it and molding a piece of clay to fit the designated mold. Alas, it is done.

Friday

Today was really interesting. So I got to meet the NP here and I got to have lunch with Poliana, Tom, and a pharmaceutical representative.

One word: wow. I find it so amazing just how knowledgeable she was about all the recent news and studies on HIV medications. They were throwing around names that I could barely keep up but did have some insight on thanks to Jackie. And the way Tom and the pharmaceutical rep were tossing out ways to use different drugs to treat different severity of Aids/HIV was amazing. It was like hearing the scientific method in normal conversation and applying to real people and scenarios. Another thing I found really interesting was just the politics of it all. It’s all business and social exchanges all rolled up together with health care problems and ways to fix it. The synergy that was going on was astounding.

Something I think I’d like to point out and a piece of life advice that truly transcends all aspects: there is good and bad in everything–people, places, situations, and cultures. It’s something I’ve learned not only from my living experiences but also being exposed to the pharmaceutical rep. I say this because for the past year I have been reading about how terrible the pharmaceutical industry is with all it’s representatives and monopolies. Yes, these are all bad, but there are good people in the industry too. At  the end of it, something that Tom said that really resounded>>>> to me..it’s all business as much as people don’t like to hear that health care is a business. There isn’t a point at saying how bad it is or how we need to fix it…as sad as I am to say this, it is a necessary “evil” or “good” call it whatever you want to call it. So you might as well just deal with, work with it, and mold it to your own needs.

Nurse Practitioner interview! 

My interview with Tom was awesome also. I feel so blessed for being exposed to such amazing individuals I have met thus far. Tom is an NP from Hawaii who has seen HIV/AIDS from its beginnings basically in 1981 and has dabbled in just about everything from R&D to HMO’s to primary practice and he’s getting his PHD!? This man does it all and it just goes to show that no matter what  I end up doing that I can still continue to learn and go forth if I want and that most of all I am not restricted by whatever my initial degree or what I choose. Life is really what you make of it and meeting people like Jackie and Tom just goes to show me that I can do it. I just have to commit to something and pour my heart out and I can keep learning and do whatever if I choose to.