Five Hamilton seniors are participating in a week-long internship working with medical residents in the St. Elizabeth Family Practice Residency program in Utica. Hamilton's Coordinator of Health Professions Advising Leslie North set up the program, and this is the second group of Hamilton students to participate. The students interning at St. Elizabeth's are Alyson Fuhrer, Sarah Fuzesi, Rebecca Levinn, Matthew Palascak and Lucas Thornblade.
The internship, "A Week In the Life of a Resident," offers students a great opportunity to see clinical medicine practiced in a diverse community. In addition to shadowing the residents as they see patients in the clinics, most students get the chance to witness surgeries and births; they attend Morning Report every day at 7 a.m. and then do Grand Rounds with the residents and attending physicians in the hospital. They generally work from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day. North said, "Last year our students saw joint replacements and cardiac surgery. They were amazed at the number of patients who spoke no English," she said. "They met Bosnian, Vietnamese, Somalian patients and were introduced to medical attitudes and cultures they found fascinating. Evidently many of our students have no idea how diverse a population lives in Oneida County," North explained.
North said that each year the insurance and privacy rules make it harder for Hamitlon students to find out if they have the human skills required to practice medicine, and this program offers them a short, intense experience that is very enlightening. Hamilton provides the hospital with a certificate of insurance and students provide all their health and immunization records, sign a confidentiality statement and go through an orientation program. It's a lot of work, but more than worth it.
More than 70 Hamilton students applied for the program, and the Health Professions Advisory Committee chose the five interns on the basis of seniority, maturity and suitability.
The internship, "A Week In the Life of a Resident," offers students a great opportunity to see clinical medicine practiced in a diverse community. In addition to shadowing the residents as they see patients in the clinics, most students get the chance to witness surgeries and births; they attend Morning Report every day at 7 a.m. and then do Grand Rounds with the residents and attending physicians in the hospital. They generally work from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day. North said, "Last year our students saw joint replacements and cardiac surgery. They were amazed at the number of patients who spoke no English," she said. "They met Bosnian, Vietnamese, Somalian patients and were introduced to medical attitudes and cultures they found fascinating. Evidently many of our students have no idea how diverse a population lives in Oneida County," North explained.
North said that each year the insurance and privacy rules make it harder for Hamitlon students to find out if they have the human skills required to practice medicine, and this program offers them a short, intense experience that is very enlightening. Hamilton provides the hospital with a certificate of insurance and students provide all their health and immunization records, sign a confidentiality statement and go through an orientation program. It's a lot of work, but more than worth it.
More than 70 Hamilton students applied for the program, and the Health Professions Advisory Committee chose the five interns on the basis of seniority, maturity and suitability.
