Injury Prevention

Jessica

"I did my internship in Winter 2012 (Jan-Apr). My supervisor was Carrie Bennett. She was super amazing to work with! She is friendly, bubbly, and taught me so much. I really enjoyed doing my internship with her at the Utah County Health Department. I learned so much regarding child/infant car seat safety, bike safety, poison prevention, and earthquake preparedness. Everyone in the office was so friendly and made an effort to include me as well as the other interns in lots of projects. They made me feel like I was a part of the office, part of the team.

The main focus of my internship was to do child/infant car seat safety and bike safety. I helped out with car seat classes and a few car seat checks, I set up a booth at a health fair, put together information packets, held drawings for booster seats, and created newsletters. For bike safety, I was able to team up with the Provo Bike Committee to create bike cards for an upcoming "Road Respect" event. I also created a "Road Respect" newsletter for them. I brought a bunch of "Road Respect" materials for them and they distributed them to lots of bike-friendly places around Provo. I also got to help out some nice ladies over in Environmental Health with earthquake preparedness presentations at elementary schools. One of the other interns (Katie Allred) and I did 12 presentations at elementary schools throughout Utah County. I enjoyed giving those presentations. Katie and I also put together a poison prevention booth for the Diabetes Health Fair and answered questions for those that came by.

During my internship I got to practice a lot of public speaking and networking with other people. For each project I was in charge of connecting with someone for help with resources, events or volunteers. Through that I was able to learn how important it is to network--sometimes that's the only way an event happens! Also requesting others inputs and ideas helps when you run out creative ideas. Throughout this internship I felt that I really got to practice the things I learned in public health."

Loralee

"I would like to say a couple of things about my internship under Carrie Bennett.

It was fantastic.

I learned so much about what health educators actually do in the local health department. Before this internship, I was dead set on not working in a health department. Because of my experiences, I have decided that I would like to work in an environment like this one. Everyone was very friendly and willing to help me learn and make mistakes.

I would like to thank you for the experience!"

Loralee educating the public about the importance of car seat safety

Natalie

"Interning at the Utah County Health Department in the Injury Prevention area has been a wonderful opportunity for me to experience and understand some of the duties and responsibilities of full-time health educators. I was involved in planning, preparing, and evaluating health education interventions and programs, including the Countodwn2Drive event, Car Seat Checkpoint, and the Stepping On Program. The purpose of the Countdown2Drive program was to help 13-15 year old teens and their parents negotiate a Passenger Agreement that helps young teens practice safe behaviors now as passengers in hopes that they will decrease their risks when driving later. The car seat checkpoint provided a good opportunity for community residents to have their child car seats checked and inspected by a certified technician and learn how to correctly install and use it. Lastly, the Stepping On program was a 7 week workshop for older adults to help them prevent future falls by improving balance and strength and educating them about home environmental safety, medications, and vision. I also conducted a needs assessment for older adults and for people 15-24 years of age. Conducting needs assessments is essential in knowing what interventions and programs to implement because it provides statistical data.

Throughout my internship, I also attended various health fairs and events which allowed me develop my communication skills as I conveyed health-related information to people of different ages and backgrounds. Knowing how to communicate and educate people of different ages and backgrounds is important because health educators work with various age groups and ethnicities. At the health fairs and community events I educated the public about car seats/boosters, bike and helmet safety, road safety, and spot the tot. At the Provo and Orem Bike to work days, I informed participants about Utah cycling laws, road respect, helmet safety, and correct hand signals. Furthermore, this internship provided me with the opportunity to get involved with the Safe Kids Coalition, Provo Bike Committee, and collaborate with different partners.

In addition to communication skills, I also developed technological and computer skills. I learned how to create fliers and posters through Word Publisher, produce a 2-3 minute Countdown2Drive video, format evaluation responses for an asthma class, and enter seatbelt observation data onto an excel spreadsheet. In addition, I learned how to use databases for research purposes like IBIS-PH as well as evaluation purposes like UDART.

During my internship my 5 major responsibilities included:

  1. Conduct a needs assessment on the top injury morbidity and fatalities for Utah County children from 0-14 years of age.
  2. Plan, implement, and evaluate a bike to work day event for Provo and Orem targeting adults.
  3. Evaluate seat belt usage at two south county high schools.
  4. Act as a resource for the community at different health fairs and events.
  5. Coordinate a senior's fall prevention 7 week workshop call Stepping On.

This internship experience was a wonderful opportunity to develop my skills and apply what I have learned in the classroom. Everyone at the health department is really nice, friendly, and welcoming. Carrie was a wonderful supervisor and I’m glad I had the opportunity to have interned in Injury Prevention."