This summer I was given the opportunity to intern at the Will Grundy Medical Clinic which is a non-profit that aims to offer free healthcare to people living in both Will and Grundy County who are unable to receive care from other sources. During my time there I was allowed to work with both the clinical side of the organization as well as the community outreach program. During my time at the clinic, I was given extensive training on how to handle patient documents while maintaining HIPPA compliance as well as being taught how to scribe using the EMR Athena. With these lessons, I was able to organize patient data charts as well as proficiently scribe for several doctors per day. At first, I was overwhelmed having no prior experience working in the healthcare field, and terrified I would make a mistake. However, as I went along during my eight weeks at the WGMC I came to learn that everyone is human and that errors are common and relatively easy to fix. I was also able to learn so much from the visiting doctors as they were always willing to slow down checkups and explain how and why they were performing certain procedures/ examinations. As for the patient outreach side of the WGMC, it was an eye-opening experience as our main focus was interacting with the local homeless population and helping them get the proper amenities they needed. By entering their info into our system, we were able to offer dental care, and basic healthcare, as well as help create a step-by-step plan to help our clients get into a living unit. During this time, I was able to talk with and learn the stories of our clients of how their current living situation came to be and I was truly amazed by some of the struggles they had to endure. All in all, I am so grateful for this experience and the life lessons I have gained from it. It wouldn’t have been able to happen without the help and support of the WGMC, Jill Rodgers, and our amazing alumni network and I just like to say thank you for all that you have done for me I hope the pay it forward someday!
