Peripherals

Today I really became aware of all the little things I do in a work day. Oh yeah I see my four to five clients, interact with the psychiatrist and will contact mental health providers for additional information. That is a given. However that is just the beginning of the job.

On a typical day, I get called to the front waiting room, will interview somebody to see if they are appropriate for our service. If not I will give them referrals and send them away. Sometimes I have to play peace maker if somebody is too violent or paranoid to enter our facility. Other times, if we are too busy I need to send people away which has insensed them into being violent.

Today a person came back to our facility after being sent away for a medical clearence - many times we need to see if someone is using substances, pregnant, or needing to get back on their antiseizure medication. When they return we need to search down their chart, look through it, find their medication script, or track down the psychiatrist and make him fill out one. Often their charts are located in another building in which we have to walk through a group of psychiatric clients held for life and looking for an excuse to lash out at somebody.

Now the phones are another issue. Often the calls are from pharmacies that need the doctor to change medication because the insurance doesn't cover it. Once again we have to search for the chart and search for the doctor and call the pharmacy back.

THe worst is placing clients on a hold. At this time we have to make a million calls, fill out more forms, deal with an ambulance who have to transport people in a gurney - bolted down - which often triggers them to violence.

If you are good at boxing, crisis work is a perfect match for you.

I laugh about all this because I thought I went into this field to help people. Little did I know it was helping people find their chart so I can scribble into it.