My internship has really helped me visualize myself working with patients and being apart of the medical field. It helped me confirm what I already knew. Also, because of my internship I came to the revitalization that I could open my own little clinic. I want to work with organisations and companies who want to help low income families and people from different backgrounds just like Las Palmas Medical Group. Even though I spent most of my time with the medical assistants I could not picture myself doing their job everyday. The MAs work so hard, but through out my internship I observed that they don't get treated with the respect they deserve. There is usually a difference between the way the patient treats the MA and the doctor. I do not feel like their work gets recognized enough. I still want to be a neuropsychologist. My internship gave me a better perspective on how I should work with medical assistants and nurses when I hopefully become a doctor.
My internship left me very excited. It reminded me of how important it is to me to help people. Often times we saw patients on a really bad day and I always tried to make them smile. It is a very rewarding feeling. It left me inspired to continue my academic path so I can get where I want to go. My Internship helped me shape what kind of doctor I want to be.
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Photo # 1: I decided to include this photo because it captures how I start my every morning. I usually wait inside my parents' car until 8:55 am so I am always 5 minutes early. Photo #2 and 3: I chose to show this document because I get to help the doctor explain this document to many patients. I translate it for the patient. I have done it so many times; I pretty much know it by heart. Photo 4: This is basically our entire clinic it looks small, but it has twelve main rooms: 4 are offices, 3 are rooms for the patients, 1 is the lab, 1 bathroom, 1 break room, 1 closet and 1 is the vitals room. The hallway is so long and I get to go up and down the hallway multiple times a day. Photo 5: These are items that I need to have on me at all times. I need to have my school ID on display so patients know I am student and for them to know my name. I also need to have pens on me at all times to take notes and fill out paperwork. I usually end up accumulating a lot of pens by the end of the day. Photo 6 and 7: I am in charge of logging all of the lab referral forms we give out to patients. I have to put the patient's name, Date of birth, and the lab work they were ordered. Photo 8: This is our main work space in the vitals room. We our main computer and printer. This is the neatest the desk has ever looked, there is usually papers and pens all over the place. I cleaned it for the photo. Photo 9: These are some of the tools I use to take patients vitals. I take their temperature, pulse, and blood pressure. Photo 10: This is the laptop I use sometimes when the main computer is being used. I use it to look up patient's charts to fill out referrals or to look up Icd 10. Photo 11: This is a map of the clinic. The map makes it seem very big but it is a very small and cozy clinic. I spend most of my time in the vitals room. Photo 12: Other vitals I take are patient's weight and height. Also, when there is not a patient in the room I sit on the chair on the right. Photo 13: While I sit on my chair I do my tasks and talk to my coworker. I usually only sit for about 5 minutes before we need to bring someone in. Photo 14: This is the machine and computer where I learned to scan documents and fax them. I was very proud of myself. Photo 15: This is a shelf in my mentor's office. I leave my bag in here. I come into my mentor's office throughout the day to get water from my bag or just to talk to my mentor. Part 2 - Internship Project:
For my internship project I created a brochure about mental health awareness. My main questions for the brochure were, What is mental health? and why is it important? The project was important because In the clinic they do not talk about mental health, and also because overall mental health is not a topic that everyone is willing to talk about. Especially in Latino culture, It has a bad connotation. The steps I took to make the brochure were fairly simple. I started of by doing research and compiling information. Than I took the information I compiled and formatted it into a brochure. Lastly I had both of my mentors look over it and the doctor of the clinic. Part 1:
How did you make a meaningful contribution to your workplace? I made meaningful contributions by helping In any way I could to lighten the load of the work. I would do this by doing the tasks that the other medical assistants were to busy to do. I would log the lab request forms (daily), fill out referral forms, fax referrals, upload documents to patient's chart, file paperwork, fill out paperwork, and clean up after everyone. I know my work is meaningful because It helps them out. They appreciate my work because they have time to do other tasks. How was your work as an intern meaningful to your education? It showed me that working in the medical field isn't just about interacting with patients but filling out tons and tons of paperwork. I was taught how to fill out all different kinds of forms that I didn't even know were necessary. It also taught me to put attention to detail, because of all of the little things on the paperwork. Placing notice to detail is very important for my education. It can be important when writing an essay or reading a math problem. What did you learn about your own work from your internship project? I learned how productive I could be. When I am at my internship site, I am in my zone. My main task is to make sure my work is getting done as effectively and as fast as possible. Patients want to be in and out of the clinic as soon as they can. I amaze myself when I am filling out paperwork. For example, I need to log every single patient that went in for labs in a day. I need to write down their name, date of birth, and what type of blood test they had. I need to log multiple forms. In the clinic, I can get through about ten forms in 8 minutes. If I were to be doing that task at home or school, it would probably take me double the time because I would get distracted. In the clinic, I work fast but carefully. It is shocking how much good work I can get done. It shows me that I have a great work ethic. Part 2: What new appreciations did you develop while working as an intern? Why? Throughout my internship, I developed a deep appreciation for nurses and medical assistants. Before my internship, I gave the doctor all the credit for the way the clinic runs and the treatment of the patients. I thought all that nurses and medical assistants did is take vitals and sort files, but I was so wrong. The amount of work they do is overwhelming. After having to do it myself, I was exhausted. Nurses and medical assistants are not treated the same way as the doctor by the patients. Nurses and medical assistants are often not given the same respect as the doctor. Nurses and medical assistants are so hardworking and dedicated, a hospital or a clinic could not run without them. What qualities or characteristics did you see in the people around you that you want to develop in yourself? Why? Some qualities that I would like to continue to develop is multitasking and retaining information. This is because often, I would find myself doing multiple tasks at once. An example of that is when I have to write down vitals, write the chief complaint, and look over a patient’s chart. Multitasking is something I am still working because sometimes I get confused and lost, so I need to take a moment to gather myself. I want to work on retaining information because sometimes, I am being told multiple things at once, and they are all important to remember. Sometimes I am being given numerous tasks to do or patient’s information that I need to write down or pass on to someone. How might internship influence the direction of your life? Internship has solidified my plans of wanting to be a part of the medical field. I know for a fact that I want to work with people and help them. It also helped me realize that I want to work with children and not adults because adults are complicated. It also showed me that I want to work in a clinic that has morals and policies that I believe in. Las Palmas Medical Group’s mission is to have quality service at an affordable price. Photo # 1: I decided to include this photo because it captures how I start my every morning. I usually wait inside my parents' car until 8:55 am so I am always 5 minutes early. Photo #2 and 3: I chose to show this document because I get to help the doctor explain this document to many patients. I translate it for the patient. I have done it so many times; I pretty much know it by heart. Photo 4: This is basically our entire clinic it looks small, but it has twelve main rooms: 4 are offices, 3 are rooms for the patients, 1 is the lab, 1 bathroom, 1 break room, 1 closet and 1 is the vitals room. The hallway is so long and I get to go up and down the hallway multiple times a day. Photo 5: These are items that I need to have on me at all times. I need to have my school ID on display so patients know I am student and for them to know my name. I also need to have pens on me at all times to take notes and fill out paperwork. I usually end up accumulating a lot of pens by the end of the day.
Asking questions is very important for me. I am not afraid of asking questions or asking the same question multiple times. Most times, I get the procedures repeated to me numerous times, ask questions, and take notes. Everyone is very patient with me. They encourage me to ask questions and to take notes. For example, when learning how fax referrals, I asked questions like, What do I title the document? What is the fax number? How do I archive the referral? I asked a lot of basic questions.
At my internship site, I try to stand out by doing tasks that need to get done when the others are busy. I do things like logging Lab Request, logging vaccines, filling out referral forms, cleaning out rooms, filing paperwork, translating documents, among other things. Also, when the other medical assistants are busy, I assist Dr. Donna by translating for patients who speak Spanish. I try to make myself useful. They all seem to appreciate my work. For my internship project, I am creating a mental health awareness brochure. I decided to focus on mental health awareness because, in Latino culture, mental health has a negative connotation. I wanted to give people more information on what mental health is, what does it mean to have good mental health, what are signs you have bad mental health, and resources. I decided on a brochure because they can have a lot of information on them, and they are straightforward. I will need good researching skills to find good and reliable information. I will need good writing skills to articulate my main points across in the brochure. I will need support when it comes to printing my brochure. I am not sure who I need to ask to make that happen.
Internship Site: Las Palmas Medical Group
Title: Medical Assistant PART 1: Mentor Interview: I Interviewed my mentor, Guadalupe Nolasco. I asked her the following questions and took notes on her responses. What is your job title? My mentor Guadalupe Nolasco is the executive assistant of the owners of Las Palmas Medical Group, Office Manager (Esco Clinic), HR coordinator for all three clinics, among other titles. What are your main duties and responsibilities? She is in charge of…
Why did you choose to work here? Lupita started working in the company in 2003. She began as a receptionist and slowly started working her way up. Lupita taught herself almost everything she knows and the few things she did not teach herself she learned from experience. She didn’t have access to higher education, but she pushed herself to learn. Lupita is very passionate about working with low-income families and helping people. Her passion is reflected in how she runs the clinic. What does it take to be successful in Las Palmas Medical Group?
How important is getting along with other people in your career? It is essential to get along with people in this career. You are always working with people and having to talk to someone. Lupita said whenever problems arise in the Escondido clinic; she immediately makes sure the staff talks about it and addresses the issue. Because if they don’t, the problem will get worse. Communication is essential, the clinic relies on everyone communicating with each other to get stuff done. PART 2: Internship journal What new skills are you developing (or will you need to develop) for this internship? A skill that I have been developing is being cordial with every single patient. Some patients are friendly and pleasant; others are rude for no reason. In those situations, I need to keep a smile on my face and be nice, but It is very hard not to be rude back. I haven’t lashed out on anyone, but my face expressions need work. Another thing I am working on is multitasking. I am often asked to keep tabs on each room and keep people informed, so that takes a lot of brain power, or I am often given a list of task that I am working on at the same time. What have you learned about your organization's mission and purpose? I have learned that Las Palmas Medical Group Clinic specializes in working with low-income families. They try to make everything as affordable as possible. They offer a variety of plans people can apply for that makes medical treatments more affordable. They have partnerships with organizations that share their ideas. They often meet with them to discuss ideas and develop plans. They also have programs for birth control and STD testing. Lastly, they do Immigration medical exams that are required for becoming a citizen. Internship Site: Las Palmas Medical Group
Title: Medical Assistant What strikes you most about your workplace? Something that strikes me about my workplace is how well organized everything/everyone is. Everything is very well placed, and everyone knows exactly what they need to do, but they are willing to go out of there way to help each other out. What strikes you most about your colleagues? Something that strikes me about my colleagues is how nice they are. Every single person I have worked with was very patient and understanding towards me. They answered all of my questions thoroughly. Everyone there is ready to help each other out. They are like family. What strikes you most about the job you're doing? Something that strikes me about my job is how much I get to do. I thought I was going to get put at the reception and every once and awhile I was going to be allowed to follow a medical assistant, but they treat me like a medical assistant. Within the first hour of my first day, I was already working with patients and learning how to use medical equipment. I excited to get a lot of hands-on experience. What are you excited about? I am excited about a lot of things. I am excited to continue to learn how to work with patients and how a clinic works. I am looking forward to making my connections with my coworkers stronger. I want to get to know them more so I can understand why they chose this career. I am excited to get my project going. What are you worried about? I am worried about my mentor not agreeing with my project. I am concerned about accidentally breaking the rules (since they are so many of them), or forgetting how to do use/do something in the clinic. I am also not looking forward to all the paperwork I have to do and file. Internship Site: Las Palmas Medical Group
Job title: Medical Assitant Describe your first impressions of the place. Focus on descriptive language and making the reader picture where you are. I am doing my internship at a Las Palmas Medical Group. It is a small clinic in Escondido. When I first saw the building, I noticed it looked like one of the houses that are near the clinic. It really blends in with the neighborhood. The inside of the clinic also resembles a small home it is small and cozy. The clinic has a small waiting room, it is like half the size of our big conference room. It only has three patient rooms. The clinic is never quiet. There is always something happening either the phone is ringing, the nurses are talking among themselves, or they are all laughing over something. The clinic staff consists of only women, there is about 10 of them. Everyone there is like family. Describe what you think a typical work day is like at this site. How big is the site? How many people work there? What is the athmosphere? Business? Business casual? A typical workday begins with the workers eating donuts. They take turns bringing them, they have them in the break room in the morning. Then everyone goes to their little area in the clinic. Patients start showing up around 9 am, but the first appointment is at 9:30 am. The atmosphere is friendly and happy. The staff is always smiling and laughing, but they are very professional. The clinic is very much business. The team is either wearing scrubs or professional attire. What do you think the business's general work policies are (tardiness, absence, etc.)? In the clinic, the work policies are taken very seriously. Even though everyone gets along like family professionalism is essential. Being on time is very important because the team relies on each other. If you are going to be absent, you need to communicate that to Lupita, the site manager. Another crucial thing is confidentiality. Cell phones are not allowed to be used during work hours. Only during lunch. Describe the dress code. What does that mean to you? The dress code depends on your position in the clinic. The receptionist wears black scrubs, white tennis shoe, and is allowed to have her hair down. While the nurses wear pink scrubs, white tennis shoes, and need to have their hair up. The site manager and other important staff wear business clothing. I am wearing black scrubs, white tennis shoes, and I need to have my hair up. The dress code matches what each individual does. Please write a reflection about your Career Day experience. What do you expect the professional world there to be like? I had a pleasant time at my internship site. Everyone is very friendly and welcoming to me. When I first walked in my mentor gave me a tour of the place. After that, I sat in the reception area for the rest of the day. Guadalupe, the receptionist, taught me how to use their computer system, plans the clinic offers, and the different kind of paperwork there is. During my actual internship time I will be allowed to shadow and nurses and work in the front desk. I will be able to do a lot of hands-on work at my internship site. In what ways do you expect your high school classes and the skills you have learned to apply to this profession? Biology has helped me develop my Graph interpreting skills. This helped me during career day because I had to look at different graphs and analyze them, that is something we did a lot in biology this year. Humanities has helped me with my cultural awareness skills. This will help me in my internship site. It is essential to be culturally aware because we see people from all backgrounds. I feel that throughout my HTH career, my humanities classes have done an excellent job teaching about other cultures. |