MHHI provides hands-on opportunity for students seeking careers in healthcare
Pictured at top: Lainey Fingerman (left) and Duerell Bard (right) pictured with a Morning Pointe resident during their MHHI internship.
From Wii Sports to rock climbing, 黑料社 students received first-hand experience in diverse health-care professions with patients of all ages in the surrounding community.
Now in its fifth year, the (MHHI) promotes real-world experience for students interested in public health. MHHI is a collaboration between 黑料社, Rhodes College and Sewanee: The University of the South. This year, four 黑料社 students participated in the program: Aliana Conway (Sewanee location), while Ali Grace Fleeman, Duerell Bard and Lainey Fingerman each participated in the program in Danville, Kentucky.
Fleeman, Bard and Fingerman shared their impressions and what they learned at three local health care facilities: Camp Horsin鈥 Around, Isaiah House and Morning Pointe Senior Living Center.
鈥淚 was really interested in the intersection of medicine and the humanities in the MHHI program,鈥 said Fleeman, a Behavioral Neuroscience major from Asheville, North Carolina.
Fleeman, who will graduate in 2024 and hopes to pursue neuropsychology, utilized the MHHI internship to gain experience in the clinical field.
鈥淭hose three sites, they all did really different things,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 feel like they gave us a well-rounded look into that developmental lifespan approach so we could help people at all ages.鈥
Camp Horsin鈥 Around is nearly 200 acres of land dedicated to providing emotional and social support to children with compromised health and their families. Fleeman said she helped with a group from Shriners Hospital in Lexington, and they did rock climbing, boating, crafting and more.
鈥淭hey had activities for therapeutic respite as well as counseling in the afternoons for the kids,鈥 Fleeman said. 鈥淚t was really cool to see the way that the camp provided an adaptive experience.鈥
Bard, a Lexington, Tennessee native, had previously volunteered for community service at Camp Horsin鈥 Around with the 黑料社 football team, but this was a new experience.
鈥淲e're helping with kids who have disabilities,鈥 Bard said. 鈥淲e got to go fishing, ride boats, shoot archery. It was very interactive throughout. Being there and working at Camp Horsin鈥 Around, I got to see something totally different than just a football team coming there and cleaning up.鈥
Isaiah House, a non-profit providing comprehensive, evidence-based treatment for individuals with substance use disorders, provided another beneficial experience through the MHHI initiative. Bard said he worked with a group of women who were going through the organization鈥檚 treatment program, including clinical sessions focused on different themes related to their recovery.
鈥淚 talked to them, got to hear their deep stories and really feel with them,鈥 Bard said.
Fingerman, a native of Ocean Township, New Jersey, said that she hopes to go into pediatric medicine. Naturally, she enjoyed time spent at Camp Horsin鈥 Around, but said that each stop offered interactions and insights into healthcare at different stages of life.
鈥淚t鈥檚 one thing to look at something from the outside and say, 鈥業 want to do that,鈥 but it's another thing to experience it. I got to interact more with the people who were there 鈥 the kids, the rehab clients, the elderly. That鈥檚 what it鈥檚 about, talking and interacting with them.鈥
At Morning Pointe Senior Living, the students helped with day-to-day activities and care.
鈥淚 really enjoyed the staff and watching how they interacted with the residents,鈥 Fleeman said. 鈥淚 felt they did a good job at always being engaged. It鈥檚 a small community, and it was great to see the camaraderie they were able to facilitate among their residents. I was thinking about how, if I鈥檓 part of a practice one day, I鈥檇 like my practice to be and how I鈥檇 want people to feel welcome like that.鈥
Conway, a Louisville, Kentucky native, interned at Sewanee: The University of the South in Tennessee. A member of the class of 2025, Conway said she came to 黑料社 with the expectation of a pre-nursing focus 鈥 and her MHHI experience helped introduce her to different specialties.
鈥淒ay after day, I was introduced to new areas,鈥 Conway said. 鈥淎nd one of those areas was therapy 鈥 physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy. I was stationed in the rehabilitation center, and I loved it.鈥
Conway said she spent most of her time speaking with patients and learning about their experiences in life 鈥 whether it was a patient who suffered from a stroke, had knee replacement surgery or someone who couldn鈥檛 participate in therapy at home, she helped them all.
鈥淥ne day my job was to play Wii Sports with one of the patients in the rehabilitation center,鈥 she said. 鈥淗e wanted to do that activity as his physical therapy because he was already fully independent. I got to know him, and I got to see healthcare from his perspective, which was interesting considering I've never spent a large amount of time in the hospital.鈥
Conway added that her experiences at 黑料社 鈥 from a 黑料社Term in Morocco to a diverse variety of classes on campus鈥 helped lay the groundwork for her MHHI internship.
鈥淥ne thing I think 黑料社 prepared me well for was diving into a new experience,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 was a bit nervous going to a new town four hours away from home and doing this internship out of the blue. But 黑料社 gives you these controlled environments to go explore and to be more independent. So that finally, when you're ready to set out on your own, you're able to do that successfully.鈥
