Becoming Acquainted…

4/21

I worked on a Tuesday instead of a Monday this week because I was unable to work that Monday. Today involved continuing to keep up-to-date with COVID-19 news and relevant public information. I have been looking the the NIH website pertaining to the coronavirus because they are constantly posting about new findings and this is an incredible reputable website. They posted about a new clinical trial beginning with hydroxychloroquine as a potential therapy. I constructed a short social media post with the most important information from the study. President Trump has been speaking on this therapy in news reports many times so being able to explain in short what it is seemed important to do. Dr. Leach also emailed me a list of FAQs from the ACOG website with regards to coronavirus and womens health/pregnancy. I skimmed through them to figure out which ones I felt would be important to address questions that women are having at the moment. Thus, I posted about getting pregnant during this pandemic and whether someone should wait or not. Again, I also posted the daily status report from the Georgia Department of Public Health to add to the trends worth noting on the WHA Instagram Highlight.

Another overarching project I was focusing on accomplishing in my last week was updating parts of the website. On Friday, Dr. Allen and I acknowledged that the website did not look updated and needed some big changes. Today, I focused on constructing a portion on WHA’s new policies for COVID-19 to put on the homepage so that patients are updated and know that WHA is still open. I spent a considerable amount of time simply trying to navigate editing this website and trying to make everything look congruent on the page. Website editing can definitely be a challenge when using different software from what I have used in the past. I also emailed Cheryl in hopes to obtain pictures of the providers to add to the website. Dr. Allen and I talked about this as a necessary change because none of the patients are really seeing these doctors without masks and we want them to feel comfortable knowing who they are receiving care from. Per usual, I worked for 5 hours.

Competency 1.6.1– Determine the extent of available health education programs, interventions, and policies

4/22

Today entirely involved trying to figure out the website once again and sifting through the small details Dr. Allen wanted checked or changed. I compiled a list when on the phone with her this past Friday of changes she wanted to see made. The biggest one was someone getting an announcement about Telehealth services to pop up. I went to go figure that out just to find she had already figured it out herself! So next I began going page by page to make sure all of the hyperlinks went to actual pages. I also deleted portions of information that Dr. Allen said they no longer offered at their office to make sure patients weren’t reading false information and having false expectations coming into the clinic. This mainly included Essure and other in-office surgeries that are not actually available. The most tedious part of today was going through just about every paragraph and word on the website to check for grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors. In order for a business to look reliable, the website is one way for patients to immediate evaluate the care they take to their services. If things are misspelled, for example, that demonstrates lack of attention to detail which is not favorable when choosing an OB/GYN. I also checked with Dr. Allen to make sure the staff on the website was up-to-date and communicated with Cheryl about needing biographies for new employees since the website was last updated. I worked for 5 hours.

Competency 5.3.2.– Analyze an organization’s culture in relationship to health education goals

4/24

Today marked my last day at this internship- wrapping up with 161 hours with working for 5 hours today. To begin, I finished up going through the different pages on the website checking for typos and other grammatical or structural issues. I then spent a considerable amount of time trying to get pictures incorporated next to the physician’s biographies on the website. Each time I thought I got the picture aligned with the bio, when I put the website in view mode, it looked all messed up. It took forever to get these to look like they fit on the page correctly. I also received an email from the RedCross with resources they are providing during this time. One of these is a FREE mental health course people can take to help them as well as others cope during this time. This course is supposed to allow them identify stress and other mental health issues in others to be able to help them when they notice differences in their behavior. I put together a post for social media with information on this course. In this same email, they sent resources for parents to occupy their kids at home with activities that are are beneficial for them. These activities included color books for the younger age group and an activity book for the older age group all dealing with emergency preparedness plans in case of a health hazard. I compiled a social media post on this as well so that parents can have a way to occupy their child during this pandemic while they are busy working or something else of the sort.

Competency 6.1.4– Convey health-related information to priority populations

4/13/20

I had a couple of projects I needed to work on today. Interning in a healthcare setting has been an amazing experience this semester because I’m able to see how quickly practices need to change to benefit the health of their patients. Clinics have to be innovative in the ways they handle pressing health issues like this- especially something like this unprecedented pandemic. I received corrections for my online resources brochure from one of the employees at WHA to make it more understandable for patients. I also was able to get in touch with some companies about their services who I wasn’t able to get in touch with last week. I added their services to the brochure as well. From this resources document, I created a post on local virtual doula resources and tagged the respective companies on Instagram. This way, patients have a fast and easy way to get in touch with local resources to receive the doula support they want during their pregnancy. Many women have been worried about receiving that same quality care, so online services are a way to continue that care even though it won’t be face-to-face. I also emailed Cheryl with updates I would like to add to the homepage on our website for easy access to information about our practice during this pandemic. On Facebook, I updated our hours to not include Fridays which I will update again when our office reopens on that day of the week. I also found information on the NIH website about how to create DIY face masks from bandanas and t-shirts at home and posted this to Instagram. Finally, one of the doulas we recommend inquired about allowing fathers in the delivery room with the mothers at Piedmont Athens Regional/St. Mary’s Hospital. I found out they are allowed and contacted her letting her know this information. Again, I worked for 5 hours.

Competency 1.6.3.– Identify existing and potential partners for the provision of health education

4/15/20

Today consisted primarily of putting together other online resources to post on social media. I drew from the brochure I created on local, online pregnancy resources to create these posts since I completed the research prior. I created separate posts on online childbirth education resources as well as breastfeeding resources. These provided contact information, the respective websites, and logos of the companies. It’s incredibly important to make these resources as accessible as possible during this time through information dissemination. It is likely many woman feel they can no longer access these resources at all during this time and others do not know which places offer online services or which ones are still open. It’s important to know that options are still available so I am posting on as many platforms as I can to get this practical information out. I also have been keeping up with the NIH website at nih.gov/coronavirus to see new updates on COVID-19. I saw a new news release posted about a new study being conducted on 10,000 volunteers for antibody testing for the virus. The purpose of this is to get an idea about asymptomatic transmission since people are contracting and recovering for the virus without ever knowing they had it or getting over it on their own. This study will also allow us to see how demographics and geographic location are related to the virus. I put this information together into an easy-to-understand Instagram post and also sent this information to Cheryl and Dr. Leach. I worked 5 hours today.

Competency 1.6.3.– Identify existing and potential partners for the provision of health education

4/17/20

Today began by posting about different local breastfeeding resources and the Georgia DPH Daily Status report on COVID-19. I then began searching again for useful resources for the public to look at for relevant information on the spread of COVID-19. I came across the WHO COVID-19 Health System Response Monitor which was a really cool and innovative tool for the public to use. Essentially, it allows people to look at different country’s responses to this pandemic in a variety of different domains. Not only can you look at an individual country’s response, but you can look at countries side-by-side to see how they compare to each other. I spent a considerable amount of time figuring out how to navigate this site and figuring out the different ways it can be used. This allowed me to create a more comprehensible post on it and its benefits. Later in the day, I was on the phone with Dr. Allen for a while to discuss changes she wanted made to the WHA website. We both sat on our computers and went through different parts of the website to see what needed some updating. As we spoke, I compiled a list on a word document of things she wanted changed so that I could come back to them next week.

Competency 6.1.1– Assess information needs

4/6/20

My main project today was reviewing the Governor Kemp’s executive order for shelter-in-place as it just recently came out this past Friday. There have been a lot of questions surrounding what this “shelter-in-place” would mean for the general public and how everyone can go about their daily life. I read the order in details and picked out the relevant information for the general public to organize into an easy-to-read Instagram post. I included information on how long this would last, what it means, what reasonable reasons exist to leave the house, and what the repercussions would be for not following the order. I also created on Instagram post from the Georgia Department of Public Health website with demographics and the epidemiology of this virus. I was able to see how it was affecting different regions, genders, ages, etc. It was really interesting to see all of the precautions being taken and the direction this virus is seeming to head. I worked for 5 hours today.

Competency 1.7.4.– Identify emerging health education needs

4/8/20

Today, I once again channeled my focus towards updates on the Coronavirus and its status in Georgia. I looked up updated statistics on cases and hospitalizations and posted these as an Instagram story. I created a s “Highlight” on our Instagram page to post these statistics to show trends throughout the weeks. Hopefully, these trends will begin to go down and we will be able to see exactly what week this began to happen. I also posted on Instagram about general knowledge regarding Kemp’s shelter-in-place order and the CDC Self-Checker. I responded to Instagram messages from followers about best practices during this virus that they had questions about. I also found an assessment algorithm on ACOG for physicians to use when evaluating possible COVID-19 patients. I created an Instagram post from this document about elevated and moderate risk factors and on the updated finding that pregnant women are not at an increased risk of developing a severe disease than the general public. Finally, I did some research on OB/GYN best practices through ACOG to figure out what sorts of policies WHA is implementing and why. As usual, I worked for 5 hours.

Competency 1.2.3.– Select valid sources of information about health

4/10/20

Today I began by posting on Facebook about the updated shelter-in-place guidelines. It has been extended until the end of April when it was originally only until the 13th. I also looked up the GA Department of Public Health Daily Report to post on our Instagram story to keep people informed about the progression of this disease. My main project today consisted of creating a brochure with online pregnancy resources that WHA can distribute to their patients. From the other pregnancy resources brochure, I found phone numbers, emails, and websites of local resources to contact about their current services. I found that many of these places still offered virtual doula services, childbirth classes, prenatal education, and breastfeeding classes at a reduced price. I did not include those who did not answer the phone/did not have an updated website. I emailed those businesses and am waiting for a response. On Monday, I plan to contact some of these given a response to complete the brochure. I also added current mental health services for postpartum support as well as for counseling and crisis mental health services. I was overall very impressed by how quickly these businesses adjusted to this pandemic and quickly shifted to an online version of their services. Thanks to technology, women are still able to access all of the services they need throughout their pregnancy. The only difference is that I found out most hospitals will not allow women to take home their placentas if they wanted to during this time. There is fear of contamination within the placenta. As such, placenta encapsulation is not much of an option currently. However, AthensBorn is offering curbside placenta encapsulation services if women are able to obtain theirs after childbirth. I worked 5 hours today as well.

Competency 1.6.3.– Identify existing and potential partners for the provision of public health

3/30

Because COVID-19 is such a massive public health concern, that has been the entire focus of my internship towards the end of March. I am focusing on accurate and updated information dissemination to the public through our various social media sites. Today, I created and posted several topics of information on this virus. I posted educational materials from the CDC on our Facebook on how to prevent the spread of disease and what symptoms to be aware of. I also created a post on the difference between isolation and quarantine since these two terms have been used interchangeably during this time but have different meanings. I created a post about social distancing as well as the relationship between social distancing and anxiety and how this can be reduced. Finally, I created a post on available resources for women who are stuck at home. For many, this can be considered a nightmare due to their household conditions, mental health disorders, or the people they are quarantined with. These resources included those for postpartum support, domestic violence, and mental health. As with every other Monday and Wednesday, I worked on this material for 5 hours.

Competency 1.6.3.- Identify existing and potential partners for the provision of health education.

4/1

Today, I posted my social media creations on social distancing and the difference between isolation and quarantine. I also posted a reminder about closing the office that upcoming Friday. I checked with Cheryl and Dr. Leach about updated guidelines for their business to post on Facebook for the patients and families to be aware of before coming into the office. WHA will now be taking people’s temperatures prior to walking into the building. If an elevated temperature is detected, the patient will be asked to wait in their cars where they will be called by a healthcare provider from the office. They have also postponed all well-woman exams and routine mammograms until further notice. I included all of this information in the post as well as closing dates moving forward. In order to grow our following and likes on Facebook, I sent out 115 like requests to some of my friends on Facebook to like the WHA page. More likes and followers gives the business more credibility. Finally, I created posts on COVID-19 testing and the CDC Self-checker as provided by the CDC website. As with every other Monday and Wednesday, I worked for 5 hours.

Competency 1.4.3.– Identify factors that enhance or compromise health

3/25/20

The Coronavirus is only continuing to become more serious. For that reason, WHA establishes additional guidelines to accommodate for the notable infectiousness of the virus. As of now, no guests may accompany the patients under any circumstance. Previously, they were able to only for an ultrasound but there are no longer allowed to do so. I posted this information on our social media sites as well as certain dates when the office will be closed. I updated the flyer for the front of the office with this updated information as well. Finally, I posted a symptom comparison chart between cold, flu, seasonal allergy, and coronavirus symptoms. This is because many people with any sort of symptoms are jumping to conclusions during this time so this helps spread useful information to avoid panic.

Competency 1.6.6.– Assess the need for resources to foster health education

3/27/20

Today involved more catch-up work as it was a shorter day working on my internship. I talked to the Physician Assistant in the office as she communicated with me about future telehealth services. She coordinated with Dr. Leach to provide the option of telemedicine in which appointment visits could occur online rather than within the office. I learned the breakdown of how that would work and how patients can inquire about it to post on social media next week. In addition, I found CDC educational materials on their website that were updated and would be useful for printing in the office, as Dr. Leach mentioned he would do.

Competency 3.2.3.– Modify plan of action as needed

3/16/20

I spent a while today looking into what is currently known about COVID-19 as it relates to pregnancy and transmissibility. In light of all potential issues this virus could be causing, the unknowns about pregnancy and the virus’ impact on a fetus could be causing stress to mothers around the world. Looking at the CDC’s interim considerations, I constructed three separate Instagram posts on Coronavirus and Pregnancy, Coronavirus and Delivery, and Coronavirus and thePostpartum period. Unfortunately, not much information is out there so much of the information I provided was ambiguous and left a lot of unanswered questions. There are a few cases so far indicating that COVID-19 is not spread from mother to fetus, but the number of participants is low so the relationship is deemed fairly weak.

Competency 4.1.5.– Synthesize information found in the literature

3/18/20

Employees of WHA had a meeting to address how to move forward with coronavirus becoming a serious national health concern. As a clinic, they are exposed to many people throughout the day and what to make sure they are prioritizing the safety of the patients, staff, and visitors at all costs. As a result, they came up with some new guidelines in policies regarding their practice that I was to post on Facebook and Instagram to keep patients and their families updated. This included allowing only the patient to come into the office without friends or family for the visit, only allowing the spouse in for an ultrasound, and postponing all well-woman exams and routine mammogram visits. I monitored these posts and responded to comments on the post asking further questions regarding hours as well as rescheduling.

Competency 1.4.3.– Identify factors that enhance or compromise health

3/2/20

Today I created an Instagram post on postpartum complications at the request of Dr. Leach. He sent me an article from ACOG addressing these complications to which I organized into an aesthetic post. I really enjoy putting information about women’s health together because I am able to learn a lot myself about it along the way and it helps to share that information with others. After the previous week deciding the size and height of the organizational shelves for the closet, I created an excel sheet organizing the pamphlets by category so that employees may find what they are looking for more easily. Since the organizer has not come in yet, I went ahead and organized the pamphlets as they were in the closet because they were kind of a mess at the time. I was hoping to create some sort of interim organization for the employees. Doing small tasks like these highlights the importance of efficiency within a practice and how someone has to be paying attention to small details to make sure the office is working at maximum capacity and efficiency.

Competency 2.2.6– Assess resources needed to achieve objectives

3/2/20

I looked into the health observances per month as indicated on the CDC website. This has become a very useful tool in terms of prioritizing certain health issues and shining a light on ones that are not often recognized. One of the ones for March was colorectal cancer so I constructed a post on that for Instagram. COVID-19 began to become an impending issue during this week and it’s consequences unknown yet a looming fear. With knowledge about the structure of the virus itself already discovered, I was asked to find flyers and posters from reputable websites highlighting the importance and steps of hand hygiene as well as respiratory problems and what that may look like as a symptom of COVID-19. I found some posters already produced by the CDC displaying the common symptoms of Coronavirus and how to protect oneself from contracting or spreading the disease.

Competency 1.2.3– Select valid sources of information about health

Competency 1.2.6– Conduct searches of existing databases for health-related data

3/6/20

As COVID-19 begins to become a greater issue, and especially for healthcare workers who are the front line defense for this disease, I spent today researching protocol for the presence of a symptomatic patient within the office. I began by calling the CDC hotline for direction on where to send a patient/information on a patient if they are suspected of having the virus. However, I was unable to get through due to the incredible number of calls being received regarding coronavirus. Next, I called the Department of Health in Athens to inquire about where to send this patient for which I eventually found out a number and person for the doctors to contact if they have such a patient. Finally, I looked up flyers online about wearing masks with certain respiratory symptoms and indicating a separate waiting area for those experiencing these symptoms.

Competency 1.6.1– Determine the extent of available health education programs, interventions, and policies

2/24

I typically spend Mondays planning out social media posts for the upcoming week and getting started on those unless Dr. Leach or Cheryl requests something specific. Because I previously posted about mammograms and breast cancer, I wanted to create another post on benign breast conditions that can sometimes lead people to believe they have breast cancer. I retrieved my information from the ACOG website, as I do with most of my posts because it is the most reputable website for women’s health. With it still being flu season as well, I created a post on the flu and pregnancy and why pregnant woman are one of the most at-risk populations. I retrieved this information from the CDC website as it was a highlighted health topic at this time. I discovered a page on the CDC website with health topics by month and topics to focus on. This has been a good source for my Instagram posts in terms of keeping up-to-date with relevant information.

Competency 1.2.3.- Select valid sources of information about health

2/26

Today, I created the next Instagram post on postpartum complications as Dr. Leach sent me information from the ACOG website on three different and common complications that occur after delivery. I also looked up various healthy recipes for the break room and found one on vegetable lentil soup. I made this into a flyer with the cooking times, ingredients, and instructions. In addition, I looked up new and upcoming women’s health news, but did not find anything current that was quite worth posting about. Overall, I try to keep up-to-date with clinical information regarding all things women’s health for efficient information dissemination. This helps promote WHA in a positive light and shows they keep up with new updates in the healthcare field and care about all aspects of women’s health.

Competency 1.2.3.– Select valid sources of information about health

2/28

This past Friday, Dr. Leach requested help organizing the patient education pamphlets in one of the closets in the office. There are hundreds and hundreds of pamphlets that are very loosely organized without any real pattern or grouping. Overall, he said it was an inefficient use of the pamphlets and wanted a better system. Therefore, I researched different ways to organize them and gave Dr. Leach options that I found. He preferred a mail organizer system with labels so we ordered a trial structure to see if it would fit. Buying several of those would make finding the correct pamphlets a lot easier and the healthcare providers would be more prone to using them as a result.

Competency 1.6.6.– Assess the need for resources to foster health education

2/17

When creating new worksite wellness flyers for the break room, I evaluate and consider what will be most useful for a team of medical professionals. Flyers on vaccinations, diseases, and healthy practices, for example, may not be as useful because these topics are already common knowledge within this group. However, some weeks I provide healthy reminders about habits such as a stable sleep schedule and hydration. Today, I created another flyer on popular and recommended self-help books. Books are often hard to buy unless someone has made a recommendation.

After working on the pregnancy resources document with local doulas, childbirth educators, placenta encapsulation services, and breastfeeding classes, I realized that doulas are not a universally-known term. For that reason, I constructed a document for patients on what doulas are, benefits they provide, and the differences between doulas and midwives. When completing various tasks like these, I try to think through every way that I can enhance someone’s knowledge about resources and what they personally may need.

Competency 1.2.3.– Select valid sources of information about health

2/19

After updating the pregnancy resources document a few times prior, I finally finished updating it after consulting a CNM. She provided resources she is aware of around Athens and would recommend to patients. The last time this brochure was updated was in 2019 and the document was almost completely changed. This demonstrates how important it is to keep up with local resources and how quickly things can change in the health field. In order to be the most effective practice, you have to be aware of what is actually available for others depending on their individual needs.

The PA at WHA consulted Dr. Leach about wanting similar magnets to the ones I made him. She requested a different set depending on her needs (Gardasil, flu vaccine, etc.) and I ordered them on Shutterfly. Small changes like these can make a practice more efficient and appear more put-together.

I also began research on e-cigarettes as they are a relatively new phenomenon and their long-term health effects are not known.

Competency 1.6.3.- Identify existing and potential partners for the provision of health education

2/21

Today was a shorter day so I focused on finding topics for the Instagram posts I was planning to post next week. I wanted to create one today to receive approval to post on Monday. I went through the ACOG website to determine a relevant topic and came across benign breast conditions. In addition, I created Instagram stories on fistulas, implants, and birth control pills.

Finding new women’s health topics is not only providing information to others but is incredibly informative to myself as well. I enjoy learning about different diseases, treatments, and tests in the women’s healthcare field.

Competency 1.2.3.- Select valid sources of information about health

2/10-2/12

This week I primarily looked into women’s health education as it pertained to the month of February. February is American Heart Month as Heart Disease is the leading cause of female deaths in the U.S. I created an Instagram post on American Heart Month with statistics as well as how to know if you are at an increased risk of developing the disease. To go along with that post, I created a worksite wellness flyer for the break room providing friendly reminders to check up on different aspects of your health.

February is also International Prenatal Infection Prevention Month, so I created an Instagram post on Group B strep, CMV, the Zika Virus, and Listeriosis.

WHA is also supporting the EndoMarch so I created a flyer for the front of the building promoting policy change surrounding endometriosis.

WHA provides a brochure for patients on local pregnancy resources including doulas, childbirth educators, placenta encapsulation, and breastfeeding classes. I updated the current brochure by deleting resources that no longer existed and adding new, reputable ones. After this, I began creating an educational document on doulas as the term is not universal or all that well-known.

Competency 1.2.3.– Select valid sources of information about health

Competency 2.2.6.- Assess resources needed to achieve objectives