An Immunization Saga

So, when I transferred to Northeastern I was told I would need a physical and to submit my immunization record. When I make my appointment for a physical, they tell me not to worry about the immunizations for a few months until I need clinical clearance (so I can work in a health setting in January). At any rate, I decided to bring a copy of my immunization record to my physical, so it would be in my chart.

At the beginning of November, I suddenly see that I have a registration block due to health reasons. I go to the health center and ask what's wrong. They claimed they never received any immunization information on me. When I told them I had given it to the doctor, the receptionist gave me this look with a raised eyebrow and said, "Oh, you gave it to the doctor. You should never have done that. You should have given it to us." So then I gave my argument that the doctor I saw was in that health center, and shouldn't my medical record be easily accessible on file? The woman continued with the scathing look and said I would need to make a special appointment to deal with the immunizations and this time I better give them the record.

So I come back a couple days later, get my TB test, and the nurse jots down some of my immunization info. I asked if I should take the record to the front desk people like they had told me. She says no, that she's the one who needs it. But apparently the way my hep B shots were recorded was insufficient, so I had to go over to the lab (in the same health center) and get blood drawn. Let me tell you, I don't think I've ever had a more violent, angry person take my blood. It hurt so bad I was trying not to cry, and I had a huge bruise for a week.

I go back a couple days later, and my TB test is fine, but my blood work isn't back yet. So the nurse says she'll call me next week and let me know if I need shots or not. Nothing.

So the week after that I went back into the health center, and tell another receptionist the whole story. She looks up my ID number, gets this puzzled look on her face, and disappears into the back office. When she comes back, she makes up some excuse about how they're having trouble finding my stuff because I brought some of it in by hand, and had some of it done there (don't ask). She swears up and down that they'll call me this time. Nothing.

I go back the week of Thanksgiving, but they've decided to close the health center a day early, so I had to wait until Monday after. Now, that's the day I have to register, and it's time sensitive, with fierce competition for a specific lab in the summer. The center doesn't open until my first class starts, so I go in afterward. I tell yet another receptionist my whole story and how I REALLY need the block lifted in the next three hours. She also can't seem to find out any information about me, so she sends me back to the waiting room and promises a supervisor will come out.

About an hour after I walked in, another woman comes out and I have to give the entire story again. She gives me the identical look of scorn when I tell her I brought my immunization record during my physical, and repeats, "Oh, you gave it to doctor. That means it's in your medical record." I blink a few times at her, wondering why this is a problem since my file is probably less than fifty feet away. I've decided that they must send medical records to Pluto and then set the spaceship on fire just to make sure they're never accessible again. When I ask about the blood work, she says they can't find the results. She says that she will lift the block for me (as a big favor), but I have to come back in and see her again so we can sort things out, and I better bring my immunization record this time. The whole time, she's kind of edgy, like she's expecting me to start screaming at her, but I stayed very pleasant. You know, that syrupy sweet voice you only get when you're really pissed off.

On Wednesday of this week I went in to see the woman like she told me. She looks at my record on the computer and gives me this look like I'm an idiot for coming to her. She then informs me that she can't do anything, because I have to see a nurse for clinical clearance and have the nurse fill out a form. I tell her that I've done that over a month ago, and that I've come back several times since and that the last time I came she told me to see her. She insists again that I have to make another appointment to come in on my day off, and once there the nurse will have to go over to the lab and hunt down the results. Oh joy.

Today I went in, but fortunately the nurse had actually gotten my results already. I didn't even have to get any more shots. This surprised me, since as far as I knew I had never had chicken pox, but I seemingly have (I guess I didn't get the rash). Anyway, I stand waiting in a tiny room for twenty minutes while she wanders off to make a copy of the clinical clearance form, wondering why I even needed to be there for this.

Once I had the damn form, I headed over to the pharmacy office to turn it in, because I sure as hell didn't want to deal with it anymore. The girl at the desk takes it and asks if my CPR is up to date. I look at her blankly, racking my brain for what the term means, wondering if there's some other pharmacy thing I was supposed to do that someone had neglected to tell me. When I asked what she meant by CPR, she and the other woman at the counter look at me like I have a third eye sprouting from my forehead. "CPR?" the other woman asks. She helpfully demonstrates with her hands while explaining, "You know, where you press down on a person's chest to resuscitate them?" At this point I feel like a total idiot, and explained I thought it was some pharmacy thing, not actual "CPR". The people at the counter then realize I'm not a nursing student, and no I can't turn the form in there, but they're not sure who I'm supposed to turn it into instead. They make several calls, but almost no one is there because classes ended on Wednesday. Finally, someone knows the name of the person, and I got to trek all the way across campus to drop it off.

Thus ends my sad tale...hopefully. I must say, the whole experience has really gotten me excited about working in health care.