HEALTH SCIENCE
INTERNSHIP
JOSEPH F. SULLIVAN CENTER101 Edwards Hall
Clemson SC 29631
Melissa G. McCool
Health Science Intern
August – December 2016
Clemson University
Introduction
As a Health Science student at Clemson University, it is a requirement to obtain a health related internship with the opportunity to gain on-the-job experiences and develop professional skills.
I had the privilege of serving as a Health Science Intern in the Joseph F. Sullivan Center, which is located in Edwards Hall on Clemson University's campus.
This PowerPoint will serve as an overview of my experiences interning at the Joseph F. Sullivan Center. It provides a description of the site and department I worked for, a list of my roles and daily duties, and some of the projects I completed.
JOSEPH F. SULLIVAN
CENTERThe Joseph F. Sullivan Center is an interdisciplinary health center at Clemson University, which is one of the oldest continuously operating nurse managed health centers. The center originally started as a “Family Health Center” in the 1970s providing services by nursing faculty free of charge. The first director, Dr. Barger, did a community assessment and evolved the clinic throughout the next 20 years while also creating a purpose and long term goals for the center. He established relationships with key community leaders, physicians, and public health advocates to expand the center's capabilities. In 1992, Blue Cross/Blue Shield provided an endowment to help fund the employee wellness program at Clemson University.
Today the Sullivan Center offers a range of services from health promotion and annual physicals with the CU4Health program, to lab services, immunizations, and disease management.
Joseph F. Sullivan Center
Vision
Vision: The Joseph F. Sullivan Center is an
integrating force for creating multidisciplinary
partnerships focused on innovative methods
to enhance community well-being that
promotes positive human development, skill
building and creative leadership.
Joseph F. Sullivan CenterMission & Values
Values:
Relationships define health.
Holistic balance is wellness.
Affordable care is a right of all.
Transdiciplinary teams promote
positive skills.
A global and environmental
perspective is critical to human
development.
Mission: The Joseph F.
Sullivan Center will drive
community health research
initiatives providing
innovative, real-life student
learning.
101 Edwards Hall
Daily Responsibilities and
Duties Patient intake: height, weight, waist circumference,
blood pressure, temperature, reason for visit, target health histories, primary care provider to fax labs to
Entry of all patient information into Allscripts
Lab duties include urinalysis, hemoglobin and glucose checks, pregnancy testing
Clean exam rooms after each patient and restocking rooms
Assisting front staff with paperwork, as needed
Preparing for BCN offsite clinics and making Wise Women binders
CU4Health Counseling
CU WELL: CU4Health
Counseling
As a part of my internship I also had the
opportunity to intern for the CU Well program at
the JFSC.
CU Well is a comprehensive wellness program for
employees, faculty and staff on campus at
Clemson University. The CU Well program
includes the CU4Health health risk appraisal,
which is available annually for employees and
staff.
CU4Health includes blood work, BMI screening,
blood pressure screening and an individual
counseling session with a trained health educator,
which was the position I served as under
Responsibilities and Duties:
CU4Health
Assessment consists of:
Online health risk assessment that generates a risk
for chronic conditions through questionnaire. Also
involves weight management (BMI), blood pressure
analysis, eating habits, etc.
Lab Work
Blood Lipid Panel, Complete Blood Chemistry, and Basic
Metabolic Panel
The online health risk assessment is comprised of an array of questions that ask
about current fitness level, stress coping mechanisms, eating habits, and general
lifestyle questions. It then generates an overall wellness rating that incorporates
family history and all personal health measurements like BMI, height, weight, waist
circumference, etc. It also provides a wellness overview that generates a risk for
each category (example is provided below)
Responsibilities and Duties:
CU4Health Counseling
The patient would come in for blood work and then schedule a follow up counseling visit for one week later.
They would also complete the online health risk assessment before coming in for counseling.
My roles/responsibilities as the health counselor included:
Printing all lab work before the patient’s appointment
Reviewing any additional labs and referring them to their primary care provider
Counseling patient on lab work and online assessment
Providing health counseling after assessing the patient’s health score and lab work
Charting any health history and goals established
CU 4 Health Counseling
This is a picture of me counseling a
patient for the CU4Health program.
Counseling sessions usually last
about 20-30 minutes. We start with
reviewing their lab work and online
health risk appraisal and then end
the session with setting goals and
answering any questions they may
have.
Daily Responsibilities and
Duties
I performed patient intake daily which included collecting information such as
height, weight, waist circumference, blood pressure, temperature, reason for
visit, target health histories. It was then my duty to enter the information into
the patient’s chart electronically through Allscripts
Daily Responsibilities and
Duties
My lab duties included urinalysis, hemoglobin, glucose checks, and pregnancy
testing. I also helped prepare the blood samples before being sent off to the
lab.
Daily Responsibilities and
Duties
This is a picture of the lab where
blood was drawn daily in order to be
tested and vaccinations were
administered.
The picture below depicts what a
standard patient room looks like. The
Joseph F. Sullivan Center has three
standard patient rooms and one
operation room. It was my
responsibility to clean the rooms after
every patient and verify the rooms were
stocked.
Daily Responsibilities and
Duties
This is a picture of the stock room. It
was my responsibility to make sure we
had everything in stock and up to date.
We also used these supplies to prepare
for off site clinics.
This is the autoclave machine. I
had to use this multiple times to
sterilize instruments used
during procedures.
Intern Project
The intern project I was assigned was to update the MSDS lab manual and ensure that all materials used in the center were current.
Material Safety Data Sheets are important because they raise awareness about the hazards of chemical materials and provide information on the precautions one should take around the chemical materials.
Employers are responsible to make sure that all controlled products have an up-to-date (less than three years old) MSDS when it enters the workplace.
Internship Outcomes and
Conclusion Completing my internship at the Joseph F. Sullivan center
allowed me to reach many personal goals and further
prepared me for a career in the medical profession. This
experience expanded my knowledge of the health care field
and built my confidence when dealing with patients. I truly
benefited in all aspects of life through this experience.
I understand and feel more prepared for the emotional aspect of
working in the health field specifically with at risk or difficult
patients.
I understand the purpose of a health promotion plan and am fully
prepared to counsel patients on blood work and a health risk
assessment.
I feel more confident communicating with professionals, patients,
and other medical staff.
I understand the purpose of proper medical procedure and
confidential of medical records.