Health Sciences Major: ‘This Type of Work is Preparing Me for Medical School’

The start of my time as an intern at St. Vincent’s Medical Center was a success. I was able to meet a lot of new interns like me who were from an array of different colleges. I learned about the company by studying the specific details of the research being conducted in the emergency department and practiced protocol until I was judged proficient.

I would describe the culture as fast-paced because you are constantly busy. However, the questions and surveys I read in a patient's room have to come off slow and friendly for correct responses. This type of work is preparing me for medical school, by enabling me to be around patients in an emergency department setting. I was really excited to work with patients.

Communication is necessary when it comes to my internship. I have to communicate with the patients and visitors I see in the room to discuss what the research is for and what the questions mean. Also, I have to communicate with the nurses or doctors there to make sure I can go into a patient's room, and that they are not on psychiatric hold or in extreme pain.

In my opinion, the most effective communication I have seen at my internship is when we are switching shifts and have to quickly communicate with each other about what patients still need to be seen and what ones have already been seen. This has to be done in a quick manner so one intern can clock out and one can start their day.

Another communication tactic I have used in my internship is stating phrases clearly. A lot of patients are older, or they could have trouble understanding what exactly you are asking them, so having a clear and carrying voice helps.

Some ways that I have been able to use knowledge from class is that in my Health Economics and Finance class, I learned about the relevance of economics to health care, and I applied economic reasoning to better understand health care and health-related issues. I was also able to analyze public health policy issues in the healthcare sector from an economic perspective.

Rilee Jessee ’24, a health sciences major at the University of New Haven, is completing an internship at St. Vincent’s Medical Center as part of the University’s Bergami Summer Internship Program.