First Day Orientation

Today, Jackson and I had the pleasure to meet with our internship coordinator, Mrs. Melody Billman. Mrs. Billman also works as the Clinical Services Health Outcomes department at Christie Clinic. Aside from a single miscue on my behalf (I made the stupid mistake [F] of forgetting to turn off my phone, now Mrs. Billman is aware that I have assigned Beethoven’s 5^th symphony to my mom’s contact. So, Fellow interns DO NOT FORGET TO TURN OFF YOUR PHONES!!!!), the meeting went well. Mrs. Billman urged us to ask any questions we had in the beginning, so I opened by asking about the economics and money circulation of a medical institution. Mrs. Billman began by distinguishing between a hospital and a clinic. Hospitals are for non-profit public use, where as a clinic, such as Christie, is for profit. The government places certain criteria to determine whether a medical institution is profit or non-profit. This depends heavily on the services the institution provides for the community (such as the number of patients without health coverage treated in emergency situations) and whether or not the institution is dependent on federal and state funds. Mrs. Billman added that medical institutions that operate for profit pay taxes, while non-profit do not. However, non-profit hospitals cannot refuse to treat patients in emergency situations. Profitable clinics such as Christie have more sovereignty over such situations. Mrs. Billman also mentioned that much of the funds come from government organizations and insurance companies [D].

Jackson brilliantly followed my question up by asking about the transactions that take place between Provena, Carle and Christie. Mrs. Billman inquired that interactions between the three medical firms were not common until recently. Tensions existed between the three organizations as they were growing. The facilities of one institute would often be unavailable for the use of another institute’s physicians and patients. At the realization of their mission to aid the community, the organizations began to build relationships with each other. Jackson also asked about the legal conflicts that physicians may encounter such as malpractice suits. We came to know that many of the discrepancies that take place are depositions which typically involve physician and representatives of the “victimized” patient’s insurance company. Mrs. Billman said that we may be able to meet with the clinic’s attorney, who can address questions regarding this issue. After our discussion and brief revision of the Christie Clinic handbook, we thoroughly went over safety procedures and precautions to take when placed in hazardous situations [D]. We also went over how to properly wear two different types of surgical masks as well as how to take off and dispose of medical gloves (which I epically failed at twice because I was mad that I forgot to turn my phone off; but I managed to rebound) [F]. After Mrs. Billman taught us about proper sanitation and how to wash our hands, we were free to go [D].

Our discussion with Mrs. Billman gave me a good idea of how the hospital/clinic system operates. I have a better understanding of what I might be getting into in the future. There are several other options presented to me, where I can choose to work in management along with shadowing a few physical therapists in the department [A]. I am excited for what takes place in the course of this semester and internship [F].