Watch the AMA's daily COVID-19 update, with insights from AMA leaders and experts about the pandemic.
Featured topic and speakers
In today’s COVID-19 Update, Karin Kultgen, MD, a retired family physician from Pewaukee, Wisconsin, talks about her experience as a volunteer vaccinator, and the important role physicians can play beyond the exam room.
Learn more at the AMA COVID-19 resource center.
Speaker
- Karin Kultgen, MD, family physician
Transcript
Unger: Hello, this is the American Medical Association's COVID-19 Update. Today, we're talking with Dr. Karin Kultgen, a retired family physician from Pewaukee, Wisconsin, about her experience as a volunteer vaccinator and the important role of physicians beyond the exam room. I'm Todd Unger, AMA's chief experience officer in Chicago. Dr. Kultgen, thanks for joining us today. Let's start when you were thinking about kind of contemplating volunteering, was that a difficult decision for you?
Dr. Kultgen: It wasn't a difficult decision other than figuring out how to go about it. It really kind of came front and center with the onset of COVID. I was recently retired at that point, hadn't quite figured out what I wanted to do. I wanted to do some kind of volunteer work and then an opportunity was presented. It came via email from the Wisconsin Emergency Registry. So that made it actually really easy to register and to get ready to do some kind of volunteering.
Unger: Were you concerned about getting COVID? Or what were your kind of fears around doing this, anything?
Dr. Kultgen: Well, originally, vaccination wasn't an option when we started. We didn't have a vaccine. So the original opportunities that came through the registry were ones that I didn't feel I could participate in. I have an elderly parent that lives in my household so I wasn't willing to go out and staff nursing homes and that sort of thing, which is what some of the original requests came through. But I did go about getting her vaccinated and myself vaccinated. Then at that point, I felt that I had a lot more leeway as to what I could do.
Unger: So after you were kind of up and running, ready to do this, what kind of environments were you doing your vaccinations in?
Dr. Kultgen: So my original … when we started at the end of March and the beginning of April, mass vaccination sites, I did all my work through actually the Ho-Chunk Tribal Nation. It was in big gymnasiums set up with multiple tables and a whole host of volunteers. Some were part of the tribe and they were doing their registry work. Some were pharmacists, nurses, physicians, but it was a big room full of people.
Unger: I myself was vaccinated at a mass vaccination center here in Chicago. I was impressed by the number of people there. Everyone from health care professionals to military. Was that the kind of mix that you're seeing in the places you were working in?
Dr. Kultgen: I don't think we had any military, but we definitely had local people. We had individuals that were just passing water around to volunteers, others that were guiding people, directing. Then as you said, the professionals that were there, which was ... also students were coming in, so there were pharmacy students, there were nursing students. It was a big organizational situation. I was impressed with how organized they were.
Unger: I think impressed was one of the words I know I thought of myself. I mean, did you get a kind of behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to operate a center like that?
Dr. Kultgen: Most of it was right out there. I didn't see the registration process. I understand that they were requesting people to kind of call and register so they had some idea how many people were going to show up that day. But no appointments were required. When I pulled up the first day, there was a line of people going around the building. I felt kind of bad. It was a rainy day. People were standing in line. But with the number of volunteers they had, they actually cleared that sort of backlog pretty darn quick. We were able to just kind of take people as they came through. But there were other providers there that had done vaccination clinics in other places. They also indicated that this was really well organized group.
Unger: A lot's changed, kind of shocking amount in the last few months since we first started, when you're referencing lines around the corner and people standing in the rain. Fortunately, we are going to a situation where we have a supply that exceeds demand, at least for now. Are you seeing those kinds of changes on the ground right now?
Dr. Kultgen: We did. We pivoted. So there was a whole group of people that were came through there for initial vaccines. I think one of the days had 1,500 people come through and it was quite a scramble. A lot of those individuals have gotten their second vaccine now. So we kept the mass vaccination clinics going through the majority of the second vaccine, but now it's slowed down. So now we have just a small group of vaccinators. They're coming in by appointments. You have to figure out now how are we going to convince some of the people who are holding out or resistant.
Unger: We hope now that we see the kind of supply, that vaccine is going to make its way to physician, the offices, where a lot of that vaccine hesitancy can be addressed. Did you deal with any of that kind of hesitancy through your volunteering or otherwise?
Dr. Kultgen: Not directly because the people that I was seeing were happy to be there, grateful to be there, had come purposefully for that. Although, just this past week, as we pivoted to the appointments, I came across somebody who was in line for another reason. I said, "Oh, are you here for your vaccine?" "No, and I'm not going to." So short conversation, but that requires, I think, like you said, more of a personal interaction. So hopefully people that they trust, whether it be family members or personal physicians will be able to have those kinds of change in impacts.
Unger: You've been doing this for a number of different months. I'm curious about are there any moments in particular that stand out for you in regard to the interactions you've had with people?
Dr. Kultgen: Early on, I had a lady who came in, and she came for a vaccine, and she then launched into a story about her twin sister who had passed from COVID before vaccines were available. So she herself was incredibly grateful, but looked back and wished it was available to her sister before that. I think there are some individuals who are coming in again. They come in, I've seen a lady came in and she was like, "My husband won't come, but I'm here anyway." So I'm like, "All right, hopefully you'll be able to convince him." Last week, I had a lady who brought me a little painted rock as a thank you. So she'd been through. It's been a really rewarding experience.
Unger: I know that I felt grateful and basically thanked every person on the street, regardless of their involvement in the operation. As a volunteer and something, I'd say, that just is so incredibly important to health care and to our nation right now, what would you say about the act of volunteering? What would you say to your fellow physicians about being able to do that?
Dr. Kultgen: As a retired physician, I felt like I still had skills and abilities, and I think that we're really highly trained. We spent a lot of years becoming educated and really do have things to offer in one way or another. So this was sort of is very meaningful at this point, but I think there are always opportunities and it sure is gratifying for me. It makes me feel better. I really enjoy the interaction with people. So as a physician, I was interacting with lots of people every day. As a retired physician, not so much. So that's really been a nice experience.
Unger: Well, thank you so much for volunteering and for supporting such an important initiative that's underway and we hope continues to hit those targets that we need by the summer. So thank you again, Dr. Kultgen, for being here today. That's it for today's COVID-19 Update. We'll be back with another segment shortly. In the meantime, for resources on COVID-19, visit ama-assn.org/COVID-19. Thanks for joining us. Please take care.
Disclaimer: The viewpoints expressed in this video are those of the participants and/or do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the AMA.
