HEALTH EDUCATION PRACTICAL WORK
In my final semester as an undergraduate student at the University of Florida, I had the incredible opportunity to work as a Health Education & Behavior intern within the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit at North Florida Regional Medical Center.
I worked closely with the unit nurse manager (my supervisor) and local rehabilitation nurses and cardiologists. My main project revolved around creating educational materials aimed at reducing readmission rates amongst heart failure patients in Alachua, Columbia, and Levy counties.
Below are a few of the materials I created as part of a culminating discharge education packet that will be used with patients within the CVICU.
During my internship, I was tasked with locating methods to reduce readmission rates amongst patients diagnosed with heart failure. My main project involved improving the existing discharge education material given to patients by the cardiac rehabilitation team. I created new documents that were easier to read and included pictures for clarity. I also created a daily checklist that patients could follow to ensure compliance with their at-home lifestyle change program.
For another project during my internship, I drew on my previous knowledge from coursework and online resources to compile a series of questions to gauge what barriers patients may have to quality healthcare. I also researched which specific issues (food insecurity, lack of housing, etc) are encountered in Alachua county. I then created a patient demographics questionnaire which provided a standardized form to use to organize patient responses. I also made sure to use clear and simple language when formulating the questions within the form. I created a finalized online form with my demographic questions in both English and Spanish to allow for use with a wider patient population.
Another component of my internship project involved creating a document that displayed different types of exercises for the patients to engage in. I chose to use pictures to depict various activities the patients could do! I also created a graph to show the workout timeline that should be followed to ensure the patients did not put too much strain on their hearts.
