This summer I had the opportunity to work as a clinical intern at the St. Clare Health Mission in La Crosse, Wisconsin. At St. Clare, I worked in both the clinic as well as on a mobile medicine team that worked with rural and unhoused communities in the
surrounding regions. Through these experiences, I developed a deeper understanding of the socioeconomic and physical barriers that prevent patients from accessing healthcare. Every week, our team traveled to farms, the Salvation Army, and schools to provide treatment to those who otherwise cannot access it. To achieve this, St. Clare utilizes the community health worker model which closely echoes that of Wabash’s Global Health Initiative in Peru, which I had the opportunity to experience during an immersion trip last summer. Seeing the challenges faced by two very different health systems trying to implement similar methodology was incredibly fascinating.
In addition to my work at St. Clare, I completed physician shadowing rotations at Gundersen Health System, a local hospital. Here I had the opportunity to learn about many different medical specialties and how they differ in their responsibilities and approaches to patient care. I spent time in hematology, oncology, endocrinology, otolaryngology, and anesthesiology just to name a few. Additionally, I had the opportunity to learn about how clinical care teams work together across specialties to resolve complex cases, as well as how research is conducted in the hospital.
Thank you to the Rathgaber family, Sandy Brekke, Mitchell Mollway, Jason Larsen, and everyone at St. Clare for making this an incredible internship experience. I hope to apply the things that I have learned and skills I have developed as I continue my academic and professional journey toward becoming a physician.
