Personal Narrative: My Experience At The Aspire Clinic

Getting into the specialty center would mean a lot to me. I love art and want to learn more about how I could improve to become better and better. I have always wanted to become a famous artist or just any regular art teacher when I grow older throughout the years. My favorite art media to use is just using pencil or making objects out of clay. I take art as a way of focusing on what you feel by not physically talking it out like an art therapist. It gives me confidence knowing that what I feel like doing is the best thing for me to do.

Day four of clinicals was really long. The first patient was scheduled from 8 until 1, he was getting fitted for 4 crowns and an implant crown. When the patient came in he had a horrible odor and looked like he hasn’t taken care of himself in months. I seated him down and the dental assistant just glanced at his teeth and looked at me strangely and whispered come here and look. I look in this old man’s mouth and saw nothing but a brown layer of plaque and calculus build up and it disgusted me. How could someone not take care of their selves? Anyways, we ended up sending him to the hygienist's room next to us and they cleaned his teeth extra good. He came back into the room and Dr. Williams came in and quickly did a check up on his teeth and

Through my experience with the healthcare field, I have seen that low socioeconomic status, culture, and access are the major contributors to the health disparities today. Whether it is not being able to afford health insurance/medical costs, a culture that’s attitude and beliefs does not put much value on preventative care, or simply not having appropriate transportation to the doctor, all these factors work together against the patient. Medical professions can best tackle these issues by first knowing and understanding the needs of the population in which they practice. Theoretically, if one is aware of specific needs then those needs can be better addressed, whether they are financial or cultural needs. Also, medical professionals can work

My commitment to my goal of receiving a Master’s degree in counseling has been demonstrated throughout my studies at Rollins by maintaining a GPA of 4.0, my willingness to support my cohort, and by exhibiting an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Although I had retired on a fixed income from a business career due to a disability, I have confirmed my potential, stamina, and desire to counsel through my volunteer work as a guardian advocate, working with people who suffer from addiction, and by remaining an advocate for the LGBTQ community. I have thrived with my undergraduate internship at the Center for Drug Free Living and with my prepracticum at Centaur.

Before deciding where I wanted to do my service learning, I knew I wanted to do something that had some relevance to my degree that I will be receiving in healthcare management. I was eager to gain more experience and become more knowledgeable of how an organization operates as it relates to healthcare management. I was able to secure an opportunity to volunteer at the Dallas Veterans Affairs (VA) Hospital. After completing the required VA forms, I got partnered with Mr. Alonzo Price Jr. who is a Management Analyst in Ambulatory Care, which is the department that oversees the Primary Care Providers.

My second clinic rotation is internal medicine and I’ve had many encounters, both with patients and colleagues, which have made me pause and reflect. One of those encounters, in particular, will still be on my mind long after I finish typing this reflective journal. The patient at the center of it all is a lady I’ll refer to from here on as “Mrs. Flowers.” Mrs. Flowers is an 81 year old female with dementia and diabetes. She arrived on our unit with a diabetic foot infection that had progressed from a simple toe ulcer to wet gangrene. Over the last 2-3 months, gangrenous changes encompassed the distal half of her left foot. During pre-rounds, our medical team unanimously agreed that we would contact surgery for a consult. At time, it was obvious

Week three in clinical was difficult for me, I had a great experience overall but I hated seeing and holding a baby that had passed away at 21 weeks. To know what the family could possibly be going through was heartbreaking. I wouldn’t exactly know what to do if I was with the patient and her family exactly. I do know that I did place her in the room when she was admitted to triage. I do feel good about seeing the scenario play out, while being a student rather than being in the field alone. Other than that I was able to see the beginning stage of labor as well as a C-section. Everyone was so bent out of shape on making sure I eat and that I don’t faint, but it seriously wasn’t bad. As a matter of fact I was too intrigued with the mother rather

A unique experience that I had at Norton Women’s and Children’s Hospital was that we also covered labor and delivery and the mother-baby unit. Most of our programming and interventions on these units involved bereavement and grief support, sibling education/support, and memory/legacy making. From my coursework and volunteer experiences at the University of Charleston, South Carolina, I had a solid foundational background with grief and bereavement through our child life courses, our death and dying course, our experiences with Shannon’s Hope, and our experiences with Rainbows. A family is forever changed when there is a loss of a family member, specifically a child (Pearson, 2005). A parents reaction to the death of a child greatly differs

The phone was ringing as I stepped into my house. My mother picked up the phone without realizing she would shortly be sent to her knees. She yelled for me to get into the car and we rushed into the hospital. As hectic as the situation felt, time seemed to pass by very slow in that car. We finally arrived to the hospital to find my father nervously talking to the doctor. I learned that my brother had been brutally beaten up by a couple of teenagers on his way home from school and, as a result, had lost most of his teeth.

My moment of epiphany came when I started working for Upstate Medical University’s Student Affair Department in their Student Success Center as an Office Manager. The Student Success Center focuses on underrepresented medical students through its CSTEP Program. As an Office Manager, I have had the pleasure with working with the medical students and upper faculty members. I have developed a camaraderie with a number of medical students. Many of the medical students come to me to converse about challenges or obstacles that they have had to encounter and/or hurdles they need to overcome. I truly believe my students come to me because I have a benevolent attitude and assiduously work ethic that they have observed. Although, I am not a counselor I appreciate that they feel comfortable to confide in me and these are extra responsibilities that I have embraced has a mentor and an advisor to my students. Then, I had this” aha moment,” that I should do more investment in myself and be a role model for these students as a Higher Education Administration Admission faculty member.

I went to Free Clinic on Wednesday in part to get away from all that is going on currently, and I quickly realized that I couldn’t escape the realities many face today in America.

I had such a great day at clinical yesterday. I was finally able to see a vaginal delivery and that entire process. When I arrived in the morning, the mom had just received Cytotec, to help induce labor and ripen her cervix. She was forty-one weeks and zero. Around ten thirty in the morning, she asked for her epidural to manage her pain. We bolused her with fifteen hundred milliliters of lactated ringers to prevent hypotension. Shane was the certified registered nurse anesthesiologist (CRNA) who administered the epidural. It was very cool watching him administer all the needed pain relief medication before he administered the epidural to make sure that it would be placed in the epidural space in the spine. Then administered a small test dose, waited till a few blood pressures were taken, then administered the remaining about through an epidural pump. After the epidural was administered, I was able to administer her foley catheter. I was so happy that I was finally able to place one. I learned a few tricks from Maura (my nurse) as well. She taught me that it was easier to take the top off of the lubricant syringe and to place the tip of the foley inside of the syringe, that way it will not wiggle around and become unsterile. She also taught me to grab from the bottom of the labia and pull up, that way it ensures that I will have a clear entrance to

Imagine a connected healthcare interface where your medications are linked to your smartphone, smart pill bottles remind you of when it’s time to take your medications, and prescription medications or surgeries are customized towards your individual genetic and physical needs. This is the future of healthcare - we just have a long way to go before we get there. As you look at startups in the healthtech space - many of them are well on their way to having one piece of the puzzle - AdhereTech with smart wireless pill bottle to TalkSpace with customized online mental health counseling. To create that integrated network I believe the buy-in will need to come from some of the largest healthcare companies currently, such as Johnson & Johnson, Cardinal

Ever since I can remember, I have always had a strong passion for supporting and helping others achieve their goals. This passion intensified when I was selected as the student assistant and intern for The University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK) Greek Life Office and Student Life Office. By working as a student assistant for the university, a CNA at a nursing home, and an ABA Therapist for children on the Autism spectrum, I have gained life skills that could not have been learned in a classroom setting alone. Working with elderly, college students, and children has taught me how to relate and help others at any age and stage in life.

Over the past year I have gained experience working with disadvantaged populations. My most meaningful and influential experience has been working as a Spanish intern at Will Grundy Medical Clinic. A significant portion of my time was spent as a healthy lifestyle coach. After referral from the physicians, the patients would come see us biweekly for basic information about common chronic illness. On one such occasion, after I gave a general overview about diabetes in Spanish, the patient was smiling because she was finally able to understand and explain it to her other family members. Some of my other responsibilities as an intern include assisting with community activities, one of which was the healthy wellness fair. From this fair, my fellow interns and I picked one chronic illness, researched content that would be pertinent to the patients and made posters for short