Patient Advocacy Volunteer in Emergency Research Services (PAVERS)

As a PAVER, I agree to the following rules and regulations:

Dress Code:

•  I will wear my PAVER attire and volunteer I.D.
•  I will not wear jeans, shorts, scrubs, sandals or open-toed shoes, or shoes that have thin soles, as this is a safety issue.

Safety:

•  I will, in addition to the other precautions reviewed in orientation, wear gloves when appropriate, wash my hands before and after patient contact, report needle sticks immediately, wear an HEPA mask (not a surgical mask, ask a nurse if unsure) if entering an isolation room.
•  I will not handle sharps.
•  If I sense that a patient may be physically aggressive, I will notify a staff member.
•  I will not have direct involvement with medical procedures that are not permissible for volunteers to perform, such as drawing blood.

Check-in:

•  I will correctly sign in and out in the PAVER sign-in book.

Patient Advocacy:

•  I will pay careful attention to patients' needs and requests.
•  I will encourage patients to ask questions about their care. I will find out if they are clear about discharge plans, and if not, alert the nursing staff.
•  I will pay particular attention to any infraction of a patient's rights.
•  I will inform the social workers of situations that need their follow-up, such as patients' requests for a detoxification program, a shelter bed, or intervention for domestic violence.
•  I will encourage patients to stay until they have been medically discharged.
•  I will respect patients' need for privacy and confidentiality, and will speak gently to them. I will not discuss details of a patient's case with anyone except members of his/her medical team. I will not even discuss such details with the patient's family.
•  I will, on weekdays, direct families with children to the Child Life Playroom.
•  I will accompany patients, when appropriate, to floors where they have been admitted. I will notify the nurses on the floor that the patient has arrived.
•  I will treat prisoners like other patients, with the exception that I will not make telephone calls for them, accompany them to the bathroom, or arrange for visitors to see them.
•  I will offer to make critical phone calls for people recently brought into the Emergency Department by ambulance.
•  I will notify registration clerks or nurses if valuables must be secured, and will warn patients to watch their belongings.
•  I will follow up on issues with the nursing supervisor and/or the administrator on hand, and will notify the Program Coordinator.
•  I will not become antagonistic with staff over patient advocacy issues.
•  I will not disclose personal information inappropriately, especially regarding HIV status.
•  I will never report a death to patient or family members.

Medical Questions/Procedures:

•  I will always, in case of any doubts, ask the ER staff for guidance. For example, I will check with nursing before providing food, drink, or assisting patients to the bathroom, as this may interfere with lab tests and medical procedures. I will direct all medical questions to nursing and medical staff.
•  I will not enter an exam area with a drawn curtain unless first asking to do so. I will be sure to introduce myself to the patient and doctor, and I will not interrupt a medical exam.
•  If a “trauma in the slot” is announced, I will go into the Critical Resuscitation Unit only if the medical team permits me to do so, and in this case I will stand at the very back of the room to quietly observe.
•  I understand that a maximum of two volunteers are allowed to observe a trauma resuscitation at one time, and that I will leave immediately if asked to do so.

Research:

•  I will check for new on-going studies.
•  I will make sure that I have been briefed by the investigator on the protocol, and that I understand it thoroughly before I attempt to collect data for a particular study.
•  I realize that for a given study, candidate patients must (1) fit the target group, and (2) not meet any exclusion criteria. This information can be obtained from either the nurses of residents attending the patient.
•  I understand that once a patient has been identified, I must introduce myself as a research volunteer, briefly describe the purpose of the study and what it involves, and get expressed consent from the patient. This requires that I explicitly ask if this would be okay, and that the patient is competent and answers “yes.” Only at this point may I proceed with the data collection.
•  I understand that I should wear business casual attire when I am on a research shift.

 

Attendance/Volunteer Commitment:

•  I will notify the Coordinator when I am unable to make my shift.
•  I will request a change in schedule if my work/school does not allow me to keep my present schedule, as I'm not allowed to change it on my own.
•  I will be prompt and consistent.
•  I will, at the time of my resignation from the program, return my volunteer I.D.
•  I will make up any/all missed shifts in a timely manner.