Eight weeks after the University Health Center implemented a new appointment system, students, physicians and nurses express overall positive reactions to the change.

The new system assigns every student to a primary clinician who is a member of a medical team. There are four medical teams, which are identified by color – gold, red, blue and green.

The purpose for having teams is to serve as a backup for when a student’s physician is not there, a group of University physicians and nurses told The Red & Black Oct. 1.

If a doctor is not present one day, the student will be seen by other clinicians, or health professionals, within the same team, they said. Working in a team, which uses the same nurses, increases the clinicians’ familiarity with one another’s patients.

Natalie Russo, a family physician on the green team, said if she sees another teammate’s patient, she sends him or her a note using the electronic health record.

“We’re communicating much better,” Russo said. “Before, there was no one to send a note to.”

It feels like everyone within the team is working toward a common goal, said Linda Thurmond, a registered nurse on the blue team. “The big positive thing is the relationship. We are getting to know our patients.”

Some students weighed in on the changes as well.

“I like the thought of seeing the same doctor every time,” said Abby Howe, a senior from Atlanta. “The only negative thing about the system is it wasn’t clear when I went through the process. I went on a Friday afternoon and got right in.”

“I went online to make the appointment, and there was a long list of available times,” said Kim Neal, a sophomore from Suwanee. “I had another appointment with the women’s clinic and finished early so they took me early.”

But the changes caused inconveniences for others.

Stephanie Jackson, a junior from Birmingham, said she contracted a staph infection when she couldn’t make an appointment with her assigned doctor.

“On a Friday, I tried to call in and just go in, but they said I couldn’t see anyone other than my assigned person,” she said. “The next time available was Wednesday, and by then it turned into a staph infection. Two and a half weeks later and I’m still on medicine and not fully healed.”

Jackson said though her doctor was helpful, it took two 8 a.m. appointments to figure out what the infection was.

“It probably would have been easier to take care of, and now I’m on four medications with a high chance of reocurrance,” she said.

Sandy Pyle, a registered nurse and clinic manager for the blue and green teams, said nurses are much busier now because they have to keep a closer eye on the schedule throughout the day.

Though the green and blue clinics have to take walk-ins, the Health Center is primarily an appointment-based system now, Pyle said. Nurses are happier because they see a greater variety of issues than they previously did, but are much busier in trying to anticipate and take care of needs.

The appointment system has significantly changed how Garth Russo, a lead physician for the gold team, looks at his work. It “changes the framework of how you see the problem and person, much more so than the actual work you do per appointment,” he said.

“There is always discomfort to change,” said Meg Cramer, an OBGYN and lead physician in the women’s clinic. She did not expect to see the full benefits of the new policy for a while but could see a difference in follow-up patients.

“Things are becoming habitual,” Russo said. “We’re learning to cope with the discomforts,” of a new work flow. He said they’re not working harder but working smarter.