Internship Paper

Aminah Matthews
11/20/14

As of now, I am fairly confident that I want study in the field of

Neuroscience. However, my greatest dilemma is deciding whether or not I want to
be a Neurologist who interacts with patients to make diagnosis or if I want to be a
neural researcher who conducts experiments to further the worlds knowledge of
the brain. This past summer I was able to experience the research aspect of
Neuroscience by working in a lab at Georgia State. Although I thoroughly enjoyed
the experience and was given the opportunity to continue my internship throughout
the school year, I decided it would be more beneficial for me to assess all of my
options. Therefore I am currently interning for East Side Internal Medicine.
East Side Internal Medicine is a clinic that specializes in the prevention,
diagnosis, and treatment of diabetes, heart failure, depression, and other diseases.
Although this internship is not directly connected to Neurology, it has helped me
get a solid understanding of how a doctors office operates, the proper protocol for
handling patients, and universal techniques such as taking vitals, running urine
analysis, and taking x-rays.
Throughout my time working with East Side Internal Medicine I have come
to a few realizations. The first one is that I dont want to become a nurse. The past
few months, I have spent majority of my time shadowing the nurses rather than the
doctors. This has consisted of checking in patients, taking their blood pressure,

Internship Paper
Aminah Matthews
11/20/14

temperature, and pulse, handling administrative duties, gathering patients

information such as medical records, administering shots, and extending help to the
doctors whenever needed. Although I respect the work that they put in to make the
office function properly, I want to have a more direct hand in helping people. With
this in mind, I take every opportunity to observe the doctors as they interact with
their patients. Majority of the time, they are dealing with standard conditions that
are easy to diagnose. However the most exciting part for me is when they get
unique cases that require critical thinking and special operations.
My second realization is that I dislike germs. Unfortunately the number one
place for people to bring germs is to a doctors office such as the one I am working
in. Despite the fact that I aspire to help people, I prefer to do it in a manner that
doesnt require me to be constantly surrounded by patients who are coughing and
sneezing. This would be a major factor to consider, but luckily Neurologist deal
with disorders rather than colds and other contagious sickness like Internal
Medicine physicians do.
The most important realization Ive made is that I dont like working with
people as much as I thought I did. This is important because it applies to being a
Neurologist and could greatly influence the career path I choose to take. This
realization is surprising because I have always considered myself a people person.

Internship Paper
Aminah Matthews
11/20/14

I enjoy bringing a smile to someones face by offering guidance and comfort, but I
dont like to be frank with people which can be necessary when it comes to
patients who are not taking care of themselves properly. In addition, not everyone
is going to be the ideal patient. There are a lot of different personalities you have
be equip to handle and while some personalities will be pleasant others will not.
In conclusion, I am grateful for this internship opportunity because it served
its purpose in helping determine a career path by revealing the important
advantages and disadvantages to working in a clinic. Although I am leaning away
from being a Neurologist and toward being a neural researcher, working at East
Side Internal Medicine has enabled me to develop employability skills that will be
useful regardless of the career I choose to pursue. These skills include teamwork,
punctuality, effective communication, and flexibility. Although I was first
introduced to the concepts in school, the internship has allowed me to take what I
learned in class and apply it to the real world. In the clinic, we follow a system that
requires the interns, nurses, and doctors to work as a team. If we do not, the clinic
can become subject to mistakes, chaos, and as a result unhappy patients. With
teamwork comes effective communication.

I have to not only be able to

effectively communicate with the patients but with my coworkers as well. On some
days the clinic may be very busy so I have to help other interns and nurses with

Internship Paper
Aminah Matthews
11/20/14

their patients. On other days the clinic may be slow so my time would be better
served filing medical records. This requires me to be flexible so that I am efficient
regardless of the task I am assigned. Last but not least, I have learned that I always
have to be aware of my image. This means I need to be at work on time, I need to
dress appropriately, and always be prepared. When I fall short on these things, it
not only tarnishes my self-image by making me look irresponsible and
unprofessional but it also impacts my coworkers who are counting on me to do my
job.
In the future, I hope to continue interning not just for East Side Internal
Medicine but for other establishments as well. I think that internships are a great
way to help you select a career path best suited for you as well as strengthen
yourself as a successful employee.