The early intervention Program: A brief introduction in Public Health
Heading into my junior year, I knew I wanted to get more clinical or more hands-on interactions with patients. Up to this point I had not had much experience with people in a medical setting so I wanted to gain some experience with patients and increase my interpersonal skills. In order to accomplish this, I attacked the problem from two fronts. On the Eastern front I started to volunteer in the Endoscopy unit of Good Samaritan Hospital. On the Western front, I knew of a internship program for pre-health students that places students in a wide variety healthcare settings. I had three interviews at different healthcare settings that were all very different. I had a phone interview with a physical medicine clinic, an in-person interview with a public health lab and then an in-person interview with the Early Intervention Program (EIP). In early January 2016 I was offered a position with EIP that I accepted.
The Early Intervention Program (website link here med.uc.edu/emergencymedicine/divisions/publichealth) provides a variety of services such as HIV testing, linkage to care and overdose prevention to patients in the Emergency Room. For the first several weeks of my internship I was focused on completing the forms and online training necessary to obtain hospital privileges. After that I began to start testing people for HIV as well as doing a little work with the Facebook page that exists for the program.
As it seems to go for everything thing I do, what I am taking away from this experience is not at all what I thought I would be taking away. Going into this experience I thought I would gain some insight into medicine, how the ED operates and how to talk to people about sensitive subjects. I of course learned all of these things but the most important thing I learned was how much I love working in public health. I really enjoy having the opportunity to talk to patients and listen to their stories. I have learned how to in twenty minutes create enough of a rapport with my patients that they feel comfortable enough with me to open up about subjects that most people consider to be taboo. These skills along with my new found love of public health will be great assets as I figure out the next steps in my life.
The Early Intervention Program (website link here med.uc.edu/emergencymedicine/divisions/publichealth) provides a variety of services such as HIV testing, linkage to care and overdose prevention to patients in the Emergency Room. For the first several weeks of my internship I was focused on completing the forms and online training necessary to obtain hospital privileges. After that I began to start testing people for HIV as well as doing a little work with the Facebook page that exists for the program.
As it seems to go for everything thing I do, what I am taking away from this experience is not at all what I thought I would be taking away. Going into this experience I thought I would gain some insight into medicine, how the ED operates and how to talk to people about sensitive subjects. I of course learned all of these things but the most important thing I learned was how much I love working in public health. I really enjoy having the opportunity to talk to patients and listen to their stories. I have learned how to in twenty minutes create enough of a rapport with my patients that they feel comfortable enough with me to open up about subjects that most people consider to be taboo. These skills along with my new found love of public health will be great assets as I figure out the next steps in my life.