THE JOSEPH F. SULLIVAN CENTER

INTERNSHIP PRESENTATIONBY: ANDREA LAW

INTRODUCTION

• The Joseph F. Sullivan Center is a multidisciplinary health center located on the campus

of Clemson University on the first floor of Edwards Hall. The clinic is one of the oldest

nurse practitioner managed health centers in the country and utilizes the skills of many

different medical professionals to provide comprehensive health care to patients.

• As an intern at the Sullivan Center I was able to work closely with nurses, doctors,

and nurse practitioners, as well as students studying to become nurse practitioners

and doctors.

• The mission of the Sullivan Center is to “ identify gaps, meet needs, provide unique

expertise, and help prepare graduates that understand and engage/are determined to

make a difference/and bring a determined spirit into their communities”

• When I first arrive in the morning I am responsible for opening all rooms and turning on all lights and computers

• I must then have someone log me onto the internet for each computer so everyone has access to Allscripts for the day

• I am responsible for making sure rooms are consistently clean and stocked with the necessary items

• I am responsible for triaging each patient that comes in for the day by taking vitals and health histories and asking questions pertaining to the reason for visit

GENERAL DUTIES

Here I am pictured cleaning an exam room bed

after a patient has checked out.

• Taking vitals is one of the most important duties that I perform as an intern. Each patient must have a set of vitals charted per visit so that providers have some basic background information.

• When a patient first arrives, I am given a paper chart for them that states their name and reason for visit. I am responsible for going to get the patient from the waiting room and taking them to get their blood pressure, pulse, temperature, height, and weight (and in some cases waist circumference)

• Once I have acquired this data on the patient, I take them in an exam room and go through their health history and reason for visit in detail

TAKING VITALS

Here I am depicted taking a patient’s blood

pressure as part of the vital signs.

• When going through a patient’s health

history I am responsible for either

confirming information that is already

present in the chart or for putting an

entire health history into the chart

(usually for new patients only)

• I go through the patient chart and ask

about past medical problems,

allergies, social history (alcohol use,

tobacco use, exercise, ect…), family

history (cancer, hypertension,

diabetes, ect…), current medications,

pregnancies/births (for female

patients), and past surgeries

TAKING HEALTH HISTORIES

Here I am depicted confirming a patient’s

health history with her.

THE REASON FOR VISIT

• The reason for visit is the most important piece of information that I gather when

interacting with patients. I am responsible for putting a reason for visit in each and every

patient’s chart. Once I have put in a reason for visit, I go through and ask as many

questions as necessary pertaining to the reason for visit to gather a full understanding of

the patient’s problem.

• Each reason for visit has a specific set of questions such as onset, symptoms,

quality of symptoms, location of symptoms, duration of symptoms, etc…

• Each day is different at the Sullivan

Center. We have a different set of

patients with different reasons for visit,

different practitioners, and different

students working.

• In addition to my general duties, I am

also responsible for various

miscellaneous tasks that arise

throughout the day. These include

things such as organizing the stock

room, restocking exam rooms,

analyzing urine and blood samples,

and creating Medical Surveillance

Program files.

SPECIFIC DUTIES

Here I am featured putting together a Wise

Woman Binder.

• Some patients that come in require a urinalysis in order to diagnose their medical problem

• I usually perform urinalysis for patients complaining of a urinary tract infection or for patients coming in for physicals

• I have the patient deposit a sample in a sterile cup and I read the dip stick (once I have dipped it in the urine) with a UA machine or manually

• I am not permitted to diagnose patients myself but I am able to determine based off of the reading if a patient has a urinary tract infection

• Once I have informed the practitioner of the results, I am responsible for logging the results in the patient’s chart

URINALYSIS

Here I am pictured inserting a dip stick into the

urinalysis machine.

• Patients that come in for physicals are

required to have their glucose and

hemoglobin read.

• I am responsible for preforming finger

sticks on patients and reading their

glucose and hemoglobin

• I am also responsible for logging the

results in the patient’s chart for the

practitioner

FINGER STICKS

Here I am featured using a lancet to prick a

patient’s finger to obtain hemoglobin and

glucose values.

• CU4Health is a wellness program that the Sullivan Center does for Clemson University employees. This program is designed to educate individuals based on a tailored annual program.

• Patient’s come in for a standard lab draw in which they receive a complete blood count, basic metabolic panel, and lipid panel and are then required to schedule a follow up appointment. Patients are asked to fill out an online survey pertaining to their daily lifestyle prior to their follow up appointment.

• Based on both the blood work and online survey results, I then educate the individual on ways to improve their overall health in a one on one counseling session on their follow up date.

CU4HEALTH

Here I am depicted conducting a

CU4Health counseling session with a

patient.

• Wise Woman is another program that

the Sullivan Center does for low

income women to educate them on

ways to improve nutrition and overall

health.

• These women receive binders with

nutrition fact sheets, stretch bands for

exercise, recipe books, and contact

sheets in addition to free dietary

counseling for up to 6 months.

• I am responsible for putting together

the Wise Women binders in both

Spanish and English in my spare time.

WISE WOMAN

Here I am featured putting together a Wise

Woman binder for health education.

• In my spare time I keep myself

occupied by organizing the stock

room, restocking exam rooms and the

lab, and preparing the suitcase for off-

site clinics.

• I have rearranged the stock room to

have a logical order of supplies and

stock the lab and exam rooms weekly.

ORGANIZATION

Here I am depicted organizing the off-site clinic

suit case.

MEDICAL SURVEILLANCE PROFILE FILES

• When patient flow is light , one of the ways I keep myself occupied is by creating medical

surveillance files for patients. Will Mayo runs the medical surveillance program here at the

Sullivan Center and acquires basic information from individuals pertaining to risk factors

for health. Based off of the files I create, Mr. Mayo is then able to see which patients are

at highest risk for certain diseases and which patient’s need updated vaccinations. I am

responsible for creating a chart for each individual I receive a chart for and for scanning

their information into the chart once I have created it. These charts are then used to put

individuals into groups based on their risk factors in order to keep immunizations up to

date (per group).

LABS

• In addition to assisting with lab draw, I also check for lab results in patient charts when

patient flow is light. The Sullivan Center prints out a lab manifest each day that

documents each individual lab draw per day. I am then responsible for taking the manifest

and checking for lab results for each listing on the manifest. I then highlight the lab result

that is present and leave labs that do not yet have results alone. Once I have an entire

manifest highlighted, I put it in the manifest binder (which is organized by date).

• This allows the Sullivan Center to keep up with patient results and keep patients informed

of their results as they become available.

• Each intern at the Sullivan Center is assigned an end of the year project in addition to daily duties. I was assigned to design an Intern Guideline Portfolio, which details daily duties, common reasons for visit, how to log results and perform urinalysis and finger sticks, and various miscellaneous advice. I designed the portfolio on a word document which is six pages in length with a twenty question quiz at the end.

• This project is meaningful to me because it has the potential to reach all future interns and help them through their initial few weeks of work as Sullivan Center interns. It also holds them accountable for the information due to the quiz at the end of the portfolio.

• Another “project” I am involved with is CU4Health counseling. When I interviewed for the internship position I voiced my interest in counseling and my preceptor told me she would involve me with CU4Health as part of my internship experience. I was trained by shadowing Jasmine Thomas conduct counseling sessions with patients. I also studied optimum ranges for blood work so as to properly inform patients of their health information. I am now conducting CU4Health counseling sessions on my own with patients.

PROJECTS

Featured is a snap shot of my Internship

Guidelines Portfolio as assigned by my

preceptor.

CONCLUSION

• The main goal I set for myself for this internship was to determine if the medical field was

the right career choice for me. Through my work at the Sullivan Center, I am confident

that the medical profession is the best occupation for me not only as an individual but as

a citizen of the world. My aspirations in life center around helping people in whatever way

I am able. I feel that the Sullivan Center has given me the opportunity to explore the

medical field in ways I had never considered before. Having the chance to become

involved in CU4Health especially opened my eyes to all of the different career options

within the medical profession.