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About the Internship
When I first applied to university, I decided to become a pharmacist. I wanted to help as many people as I could, and I am fascinated that medication can be the difference between life and death. During my freshman year, I learned how disparities in healthcare systems lead to many being unable to get the medication they need. I believe changing my path to public health will help me help more communities by finding disease treatment and prevention.
Public Health aims to define the top causes of early death and common illnesses in a given area and organize events to combat them. As COVID has affected the world, public health professionals organized vaccine clinics. As mental health and burnout were acknowledged, mental health resources were created.
I assisted my team on public health projects for the university and county. My work impacted the community, either directly providing necessary health care items and information, or indirectly supporting their health care providers. Some of my duties during my internship includes research, data collection for spreadsheets, and assistance in Stop the Bleed training.
Some projects I have worked on (not an exhausitive list)
Some projects I have worked on (not an exhausitive list)
Researching Urgent Cares so the Marion County Health Department would have an up to date list.
Verified data across four databases to assure the information was accurate.
Organized Stop The Bleed training materials, as well as completed the training myself.Organized and summaried resources to support mental health in the workplace.
Researched the public health internships at universities in Indiana.
Created a contact list on everyone who attended a public health event, locating their instution affilation and office address.
Created a list of public health research projects at universities across the USA.
Proposed improvements in the faulty search system on the Fairbanks website based on other institutions systems.
Workplace
My biggest strength as a team member is my ability to absorb myself into a task. From updating a spreadsheet to composing a research project, I give my 100% to every project I am assigned.
Let's take a quick trip to Metaphor Town, but first watch the video on the left! My first few projects at Fairbanks felt like I was doing small tasks my coworkers didn't want to do. I got familiar with Excel spreadsheets, searching for contact information from many universities, and reading public health articles. Eventually, these skills added up. I learned many things during this time, like Excel shortcuts, the type of public health research being done nationwide, and the foundations of public health. This culminated in my desire to do a small public health project to give IUPUI students information to support their health on campus.
At the beginning of my internship, I wanted to improve my ability to sit through meetings. Improving this skill manifested itself in a different manner than intended. I did sit in on several meetings. However, I still have a degree of shyness speaking to my coworkers as equals, due to the age gap between most of us. Sitting through the meetings was not the issue, it was merely a symptom. I hope to cultivate confident speaking as I gain more experience in this field. When I do speak up during meetings, I try to include a perspective that has yet to be mentioned. This typically addresses a problem that my age group is more vocal about. I have to remember speaking up isn't about sounding smart, but the collaborative process.
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