ACADEMIC INTERNSHIP:
NURS 459 CONCEPTS IN PRIMARY CARE
In this course, I have learned about the organization of primary care and its goals to improve the health of individuals, families, and communities. The purpose was to emphasize the importance of health education, health promotion and disease prevention, and management of chronic illnesses, especially for underserved populations and veterans. Throughout the course, I examined various topics related to primary care settings, like team configurations and their framework, communications with the patients, health promotions, and counseling. I gained a deeper understanding of how primary care practices manage to deliver patient and family -oriented continuous and comprehensive high-quality care.
During this course, I had the opportunity to propose an extended nursing role for primary care settings. The project's goals were to incorporate the nurse who would perform at the maximum trained scope of practice; it should aim to improve or maintain the community's health and bring additional revenue to the primary care setting. Once again, I was challenged to think creatively and optimize the available resources. I had to find the right balance between what the nurse could and could not do and how the practice would get reimbursed by insurance companies and benefit the population.
In addition, during this course, I had a chance to participate in the two-week telehealth workshop. This program had tremendous significance during those days' needs and demands related to COVID-19 pandemic management. I learned about telehealth's potential for time- and financially-limited populations, underserved, remote, and physically restricted populations. I gained knowledge about various modalities, legal and technological requirements, professional etiquette, and practical limitations. Also, part of the learning was role-playing, where each small group member had the opportunity to be a patient and a provider. This experience taught me to efficiently use technology to accommodate patients' needs, think critically, and resolve problems. At the end of the workshop, I earned a certificate from the Center for Telehealth Innovation, Education, and Research (C-TIER).
FUTURE
GOALS
This course gave me insight into primary care as a healthcare delivery modality. I learned what it takes to serve the population beyond acute illness and the interconnectedness of hospitals and primary care settings. I valued the opportunity to experience telehealth as it expanded my horizons on future nursing roles.