Personal Narrative: My Internship At St. Clair Hospital

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 second clinical day at Mercy Defiance Hospital, progressive care unit, was overwhelming but rewarding and very educational. Through the 8 hours I was there, I learned a lot. I engaged myself in many self-directing learning practices to futher promote my professional growth. My first time interaccting with my patient,I was joined with my clinical instructor. While in the room, I got to listen to to my patients heart, lungs, and bowel sounds. I was able to see and examine the patients ostomy bag, as well as help them to the bathroom. There were ways that I can improve my professional growth, suchas,having the confidence to not second guess my self about things to do in assessments. For example, I know how to assess the lungs, I should not second guess where to listen for the sounds. One of my goals for next week dealing with professional growth would be to have the confidence to know what I have learned and use it. My second one being to go into the room with a confident attitude and believe in myself.

During my shadowing experiences at UAB Hospital, one particular event was prominent in my decision to pursue a career in nursing. While in the emergency department, a suicidal patient, a quadriplegic who lost her limbs due to a spinal cord injury, was brought in for her second visit. This experience caused me to tap into my ability to stay calm and reassuring during an emergent situation, and it reminded me of my father, who lost two of his limbs in a train accident. My father’s accident in itself taught me strength and courage because he, like the patient, occasionally feels forlorn, which leads to suicidal thoughts. Watching the nurses care for my father made me realize that a nurse must be perceptive and knowledgeable about their patient’s

I decided to do my practicum at the ASANTE Ashland Community Hospital. My site supervisor is Dawn Dille, who is the volunteering coordinator there. I chose ASANTE Ashland Community Hospital as part of my practicum experience because I am interested in becoming a nurse one day. I like what ASANTE stands for and how community orientated they are. I also had previous volunteering experience there. The location is easy for me to commute back and forth between school and work.

I started my internship at Cook Children Healthcare System in January 2016. I selected mental health as an area of focus on which I wanted to work. Initially the learning goal was to study Community-wide Children 's Health Assessment & Planning Survey (CCHAPS) data well and look for factors causing mental health problems in six North Texas Counties. Initial task was to study as much literature as possible to get an idea what factors are causing mental health problems in children. After studying literature and CCHAPS survey data I discussed the goals and objectives of my research with supervisor Dr Jackie Meeks. I decided to work on the relation between not breastfeeding during early infancy and the development of mental health problems. I included known covariates like gender, bullying, age of the child, marital status of the parent, alcohol exposure during pregnancy, tobacco exposure during pregnancy and annual household income which are known to cause mental health problems in children. I was introduced to Mackenzie and Sheryl who are data analysts and know CCHAPS survey thoroughly. Entire Cook Children staff was very helpful and friendly. Experience at Cook Children was great in terms of learning and getting real world experience. I could not have asked for a better internship site than Cook Children. It is rated among top job in the DFW because everyone is so positive and helpful. I was hesitant initially to perform data

This summer has by far been the most meaningful due to my internship at the Lloyd Moss Free Clinic. I had a wonderful opportunity to use my summer before college to explore healthcare professions and learn how a free clinic functions. Throughout my experience, I was exposed to many different professions within a clinic. My daily task consists of a wide variety of activities. I would begin by sorting and filing patient document, gathering charts for upcoming appointments, and helping the clinical operations director with projects regarding referrals. Then, I would continue my day at the call center. While assisting at the call center, I was able to learn what exactly each department handles at the clinic and I was exposed to a variety of terms

After graduation from New York University in 2013, I decided take time off before applying to medical school. I took this time off in order to gain more experience both in healthcare and life. I felt there was stillroom for me to learn about medicine and more importantly about myself. Firstly, I found a job working in the front office of a newly opened dermatology practice, learning about the business, insurance, and paperwork that goes into running a medical practice. Wanting more exposure to medical procedures and interaction between doctor and patient, I became a medical assistant. This was one of the most valuable experiences of my gap years. I was able to gain first hand experience of the daily life of a doctor and develop my communication

Since March 2015, I volunteer weekly at Memorial Hospital West, where I assist in both patient and nursing staff needs. As a volunteer, I serve as a reception area greeter while giving out general information to visitors and answering phones. I also assist in patient discharge, answering patient call buttons, distribution of meals and water, as well as running errands for the nursing staff which include the pharmacy, lab, and cafeteria. I have also sporadically volunteered at Feeding South Florida, a hunger relief food bank. I assisted in the inspecting, sorting, and organizing of donated can goods which are then distributed to food pantries and shelters. The last two years with the assistance of my mother I have raised money towards the Leukemia

Starting my clinical internship at the Crisis Stabilization Unit brought many emotions. The realization that this internship was one of the final steps towards identifying myself as a professional social worker hit me. During the first two weeks, it did become apparent that one of my challenges is my self-confidence as a social worker. I still struggle knowing if I am making a right decision or saying the correct thing to a client. That is shown when I am doing group therapy. I start to get anxious when I speak to clients as a group. I hope that the more I practice and interact with the clients that I will be able to gain more confidence and comfortable doing group sessions with them.

This week I found myself in the OR. Lakewood Ranch Medical Center specializes in orthopedics. Specifically hips and knee replacements. This day one hip and three knee revisions were on the list for the day that I was able to witness. The surgeries themselves were something to see but the meat of the day was the nurse I was assigned to. He demonstrated and educated me to the duties of the RN in the OR: Stocking the general supplies needed, assisting in bringing the specific tools and supplies needed for that surgery, documenting everything from orders to supplies to medications, prepping the patient physically- cleaning and draping the patient leaving the surgical site exposed, assisting in the cleanup and turnover of the surgical suite.

One extra-curricular activity that helped me learn about myself, impacted my life, and helped me with my future was my experience at the ACMC Academy. The Ashtabula County Medical Center Academy was an educational internship at my local hospital that I competed for, and was selected to participate in over the summer of 2015. Out of over three hundred applicants throughout the local high schools, I was one of only ten students selected. In the Academy program, I had the opportunity to shadow two different departments within the hospital and witness real-life job situations that happen every day.

Imagine there are four children with their own fully functioning hospital where we nursed the ill back to health. Some may question why I, an eight-year-old, was one of those four children who maintained a hospital. The thing is, it wasn’t just any hospital, it was a “Roly Poly Hospital” that my friends and I felt was necessary to create to save their lives. From a young age, I always enjoyed studying life and that’s how this little hospital started. It sounds a bit odd, but I promise my intentions were pure. I just wanted to help animals and this was my way. Looking back, I definitely wasn’t doing any good for those poor bugs, but I was certainly enjoying learning about their basic functions. This was probably my first and fondest memory of

I grew up in New York City a place where people from all over the world call home. Although fast paced everywhere you look there are people with different types of hair, eye color, skin color, accents etc. These same people are the ones whose stories are waiting to be told. Since very little I knew everyone was unique in their own way but I wanted to know how. I found it fascinating to explore and so my sense of social responsibility, as well as a commitment to service, grew. Through multiple service projects specifically that of my internship in Methodist hospital, I familiarized myself with many different cultures and their tradition. During my weekly visits to patients, I learned much more than just their name and the reason why they were

My first week at St. Kates has been very exciting. I feel like I haven’t had a chance to calm down from all of the hype of orientation. I’ve been constantly moving with work, friends, skating, and school. I haven’t had the chance to actually talk to my family since I’ve arrived in Minnesota. I had expected to be the odd person out again because everyone had already known a lot of people from high school and such. I was expecting to be completely in-over my head, and not know the correct way to do things. I was fearful of not liking what I saw, and spending a lot of money being somewhere I hate. So far however, I have enjoyed my time here. I have come to realize that a lot of people are in the same boat I’m in, and they are nervous too. All

At the end of Year 10 I completed my work experience at the Monash Children’s Hospital. Although I mostly observed, on the first day, simply seeing a list of emergency numbers ordered from interns, registrars, residents and finally surgeons to call made me realise the long, hard road to reaching my goals. Along with grasping an idea of the time commitment the career involves in the work hours and the level of experience, I also saw snapshots of the highly stressful situations in the hospitals of doctors and nurses frantically running towards the wards in a code blue situations. I have also seen patients under critical conditions, screaming out and refusing treatment. However what I remember most from my time there was the way the doctors