Celebration of Scholarly Works

The CHSPH Celebration of Scholarly Works took place at the SIERR building in Spokane on Tuesday, March 19, 2024. Research posters and scholarly works were on display, where faculty, students and guests had the opportunity to visit and view scholarly works from Communication Sciences and Disorders, Dental Hygiene, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, and Public Health. The event was a great success that provided exciting opportunities for 51������ authors, students and guests to share and learn about research and community projects produced from CHSPH.

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Department of Physical Therapy Chair Filmed on Popular Public TV Show

Dr. Kimberly Cleary, chair of the Department of Physical Therapy, served as a physical therapy guest expert on the Sit & Be Fit show. For its more than 37 years on Public Television, Sit & Be Fit, a non-profit organization, has been committed to encouraging healthy aging and improved quality of life for its audience. Dr. Cleary participated in two separate segments on balance training for older adults. The episodes will be featured on KSPS this spring during the new season of the program.

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The Combined Sections Meeting (CSM) National Physical Therapy Conference

This year, over 12,000 professionals attended CSM, hosted by the American Physical Therapy Association in Boston. Physical therapy students and faculty contributed to CSM with five poster presentations from the research laboratories of Drs. Cleary, Crooks, and LaPier. All presentations went very smoothly, and most were well attended.

Presenter and second-year physical therapy student, Kyanna Bren, noted that the conference was “a great opportunity to learn from those at the forefront of evidence-based practice in physical therapy.” Bren reported: “I really enjoyed attending the various educational sessions provided, and of course, I also had a blast exploring the conference and city with my cohort! Being able to present my research was an extremely rewarding experience.” Bren’s research identified methods of sleep assessment in people with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Bren noted that she “was able to discuss findings with others who are treating and researching this condition.”

Second-year physical therapy student, Rachel Park, presented on the effect of sleep apnea on pain and aerobic outcomes within the cardiac rehabilitation setting. Park noted that her experience attending the conference “was a reminder that the profession is a living, breathing being; presenting research there made me proud to be part of something so much bigger than myself.”

Two faculty members, 24 second-year physical therapy students, and four third-year physical therapy students attended the conference in February.

Physical Therapy Student Receives Fellowship Award

Third-year physical therapy student Katarina Sanchez was recently awarded a $5,000 fellowship from the Latino Center for Health at the University of Washington. This fellowship, which includes matching funds through the College of Health Science and Public Health, will provide Sanchez with financial support to advance her career goal of promoting the health and wellness of Latinx communities. Sanchez was one of just 13 graduate students in the state to receive the honor. With support from this fellowship, Sanchez hopes to provide pro bono services for Spanish-speaking laborers throughout the state of Washington.

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American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Conference

Faculty, staff and students from the Department of Physical Therapy attended the Northwest American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) conference at the University of Idaho in Moscow, last February. Students presented posters from faculty research collaborations related to running performance metrics and activity monitoring within the context of sternal precautions.

Faculty member Dr. Joel Sattgast presented an educational symposium aimed at providing an evidence-informed guide to answering every runner’s most pressing question, “When Can I Run?” With faculty, staff and students from undergraduate and graduate programs across the nation, the conference provided an opportunity for learning, growth, community and connection. Excitement is already building as 51������ prepares to host the 2025 Northwest ACSM conference in Cheney.

Adaptive Climbing

The Department of Physical Therapy teamed up with Wild Walls Climbing Gym in Spokane to host an adaptive rock-climbing program. Athletes of all ages with physical disabilities interested in rock-climbing were encouraged to participate in this program. The program consists of a weekly 90-minute appointment on Thursday afternoons over five consecutive weeks. During the program, second-year physical therapy students, supervised by a licensed physical therapist, complete an evaluation and then work with participants to determine the best adaptive equipment needed to support rock-climbing skills. The team crafts a unique weekly exercise plan to encourage progression of the participant’s strength, flexibility, and climbing technique. Clients who have completed the program report improved overall function and quality of life.

Physical Therapy Legislative Impact Week

This January, 51������ physical therapy students attended the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Legislative Impact Week (LIW). During LIW, students, physical therapists, APTA board members and state representatives met to address critical issues within the field of physical therapy. This year, LIW focused on a bill that sought to address the effects of price inflation in private-sector physical therapy by increasing reimbursement for physical therapy services, thereby increasing patient access to physical therapy. The bill’s urgency is especially significant, as physical therapy private practices have seen a 42% increase in cost and 15% decrease in reimbursement, with 33% of clinics operating in the red and 21% of physical therapists leaving the workforce over the last 4 years. Physical therapy students Jacob Hangartner and Conner Moyer described the importance of being involved in LIW to ensure the accessibility of physical therapy services for future patients. An additional opportunity for student involvement in APTA to advocate for the profession, beyond LIW, includes participation in a Student Special Interest Group (SSIG). The SSIG includes a meeting, every third Thursday, at 7 PM PST via Zoom. Students interested in participating should contact 51������ APTA Liaison, Dr. Jenny Jordan (jjordan22@ewu.edu).

Physical Therapy Licensure Examination

Out of over 250 accredited physical therapy programs in the United States, 51������’s Doctor of Physical Therapy Program is one of only four programs nationwide with a 100% first-time pass rate on the national physical therapy licensing exam (NPTE).

Congratulations to the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program for their top nationwide student performance on the NPTE!

Wellness & Movement Sciences (WAMS): New Lifestyle Medicine Degree Offered by 51������

The Department of Wellness and Movement Sciences is offering a new and exciting Bachelor of Science (BS) in Lifestyle Medicine. The BS in lifestyle medicine allows students to pursue a degree path that looks holistically at health and well-being. Six pillars of health outlined by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) provide the foundation of the lifestyle medicine degree – (1) a whole-food, plant-predominant eating pattern, (2) physical activity, (3) restorative sleep, (4) stress management, (5) avoidance of risky substances, and (6) positive social connections. Students with career goals in public health, health care, and wellness should consider pursuing the BS in lifestyle medicine. This spring quarter, LMED 201: Introduction to Lifestyle Medicine will be offered for any students interested in learning about lifestyle medicine. Please contact program director Chris Cindric, at ccindric@ewu.edu, or view the BS in LMED web page for more information.

Wellness & Movement Sciences (WAMS): Exercise Science Club Attends American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Northwest Conference

Eighteen 51������ Exercise Science Club student members and four faculty members attended the ACSM Northwest conference this February at the University of Idaho in Moscow. Three students and three faculty showcased their research in either a poster or verbal presentation. In addition, four teams of students (12 total) competed in the student knowledge bowl, a Jeopardy-style game testing sports medicine knowledge. One of 51������’s teams placed fourth out of 20 teams. 51������ students and faculty earned positions on the ACSM Northwest Executive Board. At the conference, Dr. Katie Taylor began her tenure as president of the chapter, Dr. Kristyne Wiegand was elected as president-elect, and Yazmean Inman was elected as regional student representative. Finally, it was announced that ACSM Northwest Conference 2025 will be hosted by 51������, which is an exciting opportunity for the 51������’s programs and the institution as a whole.

Eastern Washington Area Health Education Center (EWAHEC) Hosts “On Track Academy”

On January 26, Eastern Washington Area Health Education Center (EWAHEC) Scholars Jenna McDonald, Emilie Crawford, and Madison Cloninger hosted an event for high school students at On Track Academy. The day began with a Kahoot game that helped to familiarize students with medical terminology and learn about different healthcare career options. Students then had the opportunity to play with “glow germ,” which showcases the importance of handwashing, by illuminating the germs present on an individual’s hands. Students practiced the process of donning personal protective equipment (PPE), where they learned how to put on the necessary equipment to keep themselves and patients safe from pathogens. While dressed in their gowns, students then got to practice suturing chicken breasts — which many mentioned as their favorite part of the day. After suturing practice, students injected sterile water into the chicken to practice giving injections. EWAHEC hosts events to promote health and wellness in underserved populations, as well as encourage rural students to consider careers in medicine.

Outreach to International Students Teaching New Methods of Research

Nicholas Swope, professor in public health, recently broadened the learning horizons of psychology students in Bali, Indonesia. Professor Swope discussed traditional qualitative research techniques of interviews and focus groups, then lectured and had students informally try newer methods, including Photovoice. Photovoice originated in public health and participatory research and is designed to spark change. This powerful tool weaves the visual method of photography together with a narrative to give greater context and depth to human experience. Displays of Photovoice at community exhibitions have been successful in raising awareness of various health topics. Students’ excitement was palpable as they viewed various Photovoice projects and informally engaged in the technique. They shared research articles and held lively meaningful discussions surrounding ethics, empowerment of the researchers, and impact of the technique. The exchange successfully motivated students to explore newer innovative methods in qualitative research.

Dental Hygiene Hosts Career Fair

In February, senior dental hygiene students participated in a department career fair with local and statewide dental offices. Many of the dental clinics that attended brought alumni of 51������’s dental hygiene program to highlight their practices to the graduating seniors. Students in the dental hygiene program met with potential employers, explored career options and networked with leaders in the field. This was a high-energy, fun and supportive event to connect students with local and statewide career opportunities and clinicians.

EWAHEC CHSPH Students Volunteer at Teddy Bear Clinic

On February 10th, the Eastern Washington Area of Health Education Careers (EWAHEC) along with a group of occupational therapy, nursing, dental hygiene, and communication science students came together in partnership with PBS to run a Teddy Bear Clinic for preschool and elementary-aged students. This event provided children with the opportunity to become comfortable with healthcare appointments and allowed them to treat their own “patient” – a teddy bear. Children documented the teddy bear’s condition and learned how to listen for heart rate and respirations using stethoscopes. 51������ students in health science disciplines assisted the children in charting, taking note of vital signs, and weighing and measuring their stuffed animals. Children, their families, and the 51������ student volunteers reported that the event was a great community learning experience.

Nursing Program Grand Opening

This year, 51������ launched its very own Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), welcoming its first cohort of 40 nursing students to the Spokane-based program. The program is housed in the SIERR Building in the University District, near 51������’s other healthcare programs. The BSN program aims to prepare more nursing students for entrance into the field, who can meet diverse healthcare needs and treat patients across the region. 51������’s BSN program strives to provide educational, direct experiences to help cultivate excellence within their discipline, as well as create life-long learners dedicated to providing holistic care for their patients across a variety of healthcare settings. Though the Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 application cycle is now closed, prospective nursing students for the Fall 2025 semester should look for the next application cycle to open December 1, 2024.

Occupational Therapy Students Run Pediatric Mock Clinic

During this past spring semester, second-year occupational therapy students treated clients in a mock clinic at Joya Child and Family Development Center. The mock clinic allowed students to apply practical skills they have learned through their coursework, such as conducting an evaluation, planning interventions and managing full therapy sessions. Students collaborated with clients and their families for six sessions. The first session was an evaluation, followed by four treatment sessions, and finishing with a discharge session. A home program handout was designed and provided to the families to teach interventions and activities that could be implemented by parents or caregivers. Many families expressed their appreciation for the mock clinic and the positive impact the experience provided their children. Regarding her experience at Joya, one student said it was nice to “get a taste of what it is like to meet with clients, make goals, implement interventions, and see progress in action.”

Occupational Therapy Students Volunteer at Riverview Retirement Community

Second-year occupational therapy students had the opportunity to collaborate with individuals in the Riverview Retirement Community during “OCTH 533/535: Occupational Performance and Older Adults.” Students developed a variety of group protocols to run with the residents, including a book club meeting while making bookmarks, decorating vases, creating paper flowers, completing jigsaw puzzles with tea, and engaging residents in reminiscence therapy. Many students discussed later what a terrific opportunity it was to engage with the residents at Riverview and learn more about their life stories.

Public Health

Dr. Daryl Traylor is a professor in the College of Health Science and Public Health who teaches in the Master of Public Health program. He has not allowed the recent Supreme Court decision to prohibit utilizing diversity as a criterion for acceptance into higher education programs — nor a court decision to allow insurance companies to use religion as a reason to deny services — to detract him from a passion for improving diversity and inclusion. He is the lead author for a recently published (2023) review article titled Unmasking Structural Racism in Medical Education: Advancing Equity for Under-Represented Minority Students published in Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences. Dr. Traylor and co-authors cite studies identifying persistence of structural racism in many aspects of medical education. Examples of structural and personal racism include persistence admission processes whereby equally qualified people of color are less likely to obtain interviews, experience a lack of appropriate diversity in mentors, and persistence of false racist medical concepts of physiology that continue to be inappropriately applied to African Americans. Dr. Traylor and his co-authors propose various solutions including increasing diversity among mentors, addressing implicit race bias in admissions programs, increasing education geared toward cultural competence. Dr. Traylor also wrote a blog post in Pulse, regarding the unethical nature of a policy to use religion as a valid reason to deny PrEP prophylaxis, as this policy disproportionately affects minorities. Dr. Traylor is working on creating a pipeline program to help underrepresented minorities gain acceptance into medical schools.

The CHSPH semi-annual newsletter is produced by the student-led CHSPH Newsletter Committee. Special thanks to student members Alaina Hines, Rachel Peters, Keith Shulman, and Jocelyn Simpson for their efforts in collecting and coordinating these stories, and for faculty reviewers for their final review.

As we are all aware, traditional face to face activities were cancelled for Spring Quarter 2020.�� For Health Services Administration (HSAD) students, this meant their face to face internships and practicums were cancelled.�� Working with the HSAD program accreditation organization, their instructor, Ms. Rosalee Allan, was challenged to create a virtual offering for their internship.�� In addition, the HSAD students’ traditional Senior Capstone course was modified to avoid face to face interaction.

The 33 HSAD students and Ms. Allan took on these challenges with enthusiasm.�� The 2020 Senior Capstone project was developed in collaboration with community healthcare organizations that were going to serve as face to face internship sites.�� Several�� of these organizations agreed to provide the instructor with their de-identified disaster preparedness plans.�� The students’ Senior Capstone project assignment was to review their assigned de-identified disaster preparedness plan, create recommendations and re-write a new draft for the community facility.�� Each student also created�� a desktop exercise for a pandemic.

The goal was for these disaster plan assessments, refreshed documents and pandemic desktop exercise tools to serve as great resources and support for healthcare organizations already stretched very thin during the pandemic.�� This was also an excellent (and timely) learning opportunity for our HSAD graduates – allowing them to gain a critical business skill in disaster planning.�� All participating students also�� logged these hours with the 51������ Office of Community engagement.

Several community organizations who participated commented that they had been working through the COVID event with outdated documents or documents that needed to be refreshed.���� Others provided us with state of the art plans that were good examples for our students.�� ��Below are examples of some of the comments received after the final products were delivered:

“Nicely done!�� Thank you.�� I can take this to our leadership and make plans to update.”�� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� Dr. Donald Smith, Jr., Administrator, Sunshine Health and Rehab

��“Thanks Rosalee.�� Looks like they did a good job.�� I will send out to INMGMA group.�� Congrats!”�� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� Kris Linden, Administrator, OB/GYN Associates of Spokane PS

��“Thank you. What a great project for the students.”�� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� Cecelia White, Manager, Inland Northwest Health Services

“These documents look great, your students did a fine job, hope it was a useful exercise to all.”�� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� Mike Schleigh, Director of Plant Operations, Riverview Retirement Community

��“Thank you for sharing your student results – they did a great job on this project!”�� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� Kim Brodie, Chief Operations Officer, Cancer Care Northwest

��“Thank you SO much Rosalee!�� I am excited to dig into these.”�� Heather Major, CHRO, Incyte Diagnostics

Free hearing screenings were offered at the Spokane campus on May 22, 2019. Three graduate students Alisa Cryer, Elli Armantrout, and Allison Kromer, supervised by Barbara Peregoy, AuD screened approximately 35 individuals that walked through the Student Academic Center between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

The students are from the UPCD (University Programs in Communication Disorders) program, a cooperative program between the departments of 51������’s Communication Sciences and Disorders (CMSD) and WSU’s Speech and Hearing Sciences (SHS).

If you are interested in having a hearing screening, please contact the Hearing and Speech Clinic on the Spokane campus at 509.828.1323.

Occupational therapy master’s alum Kaela Dewan talks about the lessons she has learned from the community at 51������ as a student and as a scholarship recipient. “Whether it is in ways that are big or small,” says Kayla, “I have found that being a part of something bigger than yourself is always rewarding. So, to those that have supported me, thank you!”

51������’s College of Health Science and Public Health (CHSPH) and St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute have created a collaborative out-patient therapy clinic program located in the recently opened Spokane Teaching Health Clinic (STHC). The emphasis on this program focuses on student learning opportunities within a clinical environment that provides excellence in patient care to meet the health care needs of the local community.

51������’s College of Health Science and Public Health (CHSPH) and St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute have created a collaborative out-patient therapy clinic program located in the recently opened Spokane Teaching Health Clinic (pictured above).

Located on the Spokane campus, STHC is housed in Washington State University’s Spokane Teaching Health Clinic, which was designed, in part, to train future health care providers to collaborate on patient care.

The clinic opened April 27, and is St. Luke’s 10th out-patient clinic within the community. To start, the clinic will be staffed with three full-time St. Luke’s employees – an admissions coordinator, an occupational therapist and a physical therapist. Therapists hired to work at the STHC will work closely with 51������ faculty to provide excellence in education to students enrolled in programs in CHSPH.

“Having this clinic and partnership with St. Luke’s gives us a way to give students clinical experiences earlier in their programs, to build clinic-based experiences into our program, to model for our students what inter-professional care looks like when it’s done well, and to give them access to potential participants for research studies,” said Donna Mann, OTD, associate dean of CHSPH and associate professor of OT.

The site demonstrates inter-professional care, in which a variety of health care professionals collaborate to provide the best care outcomes in the least disruptive and most cost-efficient way for the client and organizations involved. This means health care professionals will acknowledge overlaps in practice in order to design the most cost-effective service delivery plan while assuring the highest quality outcomes.

“We’re trying to break down those silos of physical therapist, occupational therapist, physician, nurse, etc. We have always traditionally worked well as a multidisciplinary team,” Mann said. “But in collaborative care, it’s even more of a mesh. It requires tighter teamwork, tighter communication and clearer understandings of the capacity of every profession.”

Mann’s hope for the future of the clinic is to create opportunities for other CHSPH programs, such as communication sciences and disorders, dental hygiene, health science administration and public health students while also focusing on contributing inventive ideas to health care delivery.

“I do believe that the university has an important role to play when innovations are required,” Mann said. “And I think innovations are required in health care right now. It’s important that we step up to the plate and help create health care of the future with our community partners.”

Two programs in the College of Health Science and Public Health have built a community partnership with Excelsior Youth Center to help 51������ students learn while helping the organization in return.

CHSPH’s undergraduate health services administration (HSA) program and graduate occupational therapy (OT) program have formed a partnership with Excelsior, a school and specialty medical clinic that serves a diverse group of young individuals, many of whom may have experienced a form of trauma in their early life.

“Excelsior is a really innovative health care provider. I think we’re moving into an age where we’re increasing integration of service into traditional mode of care – mental health, addiction studies and environment for example,” said Anna Tresidder, PhD and assistant professor of HSA. “They’re taking into consideration the broad definition of health and I think it’s great exposure for our students.”

HSA students conducted eight research projects last spring focusing on different aspects of Excelsior, including data collection on staff retention rates, community-based surveys and analyzing incident reports. Students in one group that conducted a billing analysis found roughly $67,000 in unbilled services over the course of two years.

“We were able to help [Excelsior] with some of those administrative gaps and knowledge gaps to assist their organization because they have so many different things they do,” Tresidder said. “They’re in the trenches – working day to day, providing services to kids, working with law enforcement. It’s hard for their staff to take a moment, step back, and look at data collected to identify trends.”

Due to the success of their projects, two students presented their Excelsior research at the National Conference of Undergraduate Research (NCUR) in Memphis, Tennessee. This is the first time students from the HSA program attended the conference.

“The students face real challenges head on, especially with a service provider that’s as complex as Excelsior. They get a really good feel for the complexity of health care delivery – it’s not just, you deliver a service, you get paid for it, you move on,” Tresidder said. “They learn about the different components that provide the supports and barriers in a very complex administration system.”

Simultaneously, six students in 51������’s OT program conducted research for their capstone requirement and fulfilled their fieldwork experience at Excelsior last spring. 51������ students collaborated with teachers to create plans for students, gathered information to create sensory rooms and learned about organizational barriers.

“We can’t give those experiences to them in the classroom,” said Donna Mann, OTD, associate dean of CHSPH and associate professor of OT. “You have to be out in the world to have those experiences.”

OT students have successfully identified ways in which Excelsior can make changes to better benefit its students.

“We’re able to improve student learning experiences. A flip side of that is Excelsior is having a positive experience because they’re already realizing the benefits of having an occupational therapist in their school identify ways for them to make changes and take different approaches in other environments,” Mann said.

The partnership between Excelsior and CHSPH was sparked by Dean Laureen O’Hanlon, PhD, in an attempt to identify how the college can become more involved in the community while creating student opportunities for learning. The success of the partnership has led to Tresidder, Mann and Ryan Kiely, vice president and program operations at Excelsior, conducting a two-hour workshop and presentation at the National American Occupational Therapy Conference in Philadelphia.

“We’re sharing this on the national stage. It is an innovative learning experience,” Tresidder said. “There’s potential for this to evolve into something meaningful for students in the long run. Ryan, Donna and I are really invested. We’re always figuring out how to make things work.”

Both Mann and Tresidder attribute the success of the partnership to consistent teamwork and dedication between CHSPH and Excelsior.

“To really dedicate resources and continuously find ways to work together creates an investment that both organizations value,” Tresidder said. “The outcomes are good – the students benefit and the organizations benefit. We stay aware of making sure that the benefits are felt on both sides.”

Asked if she was squeamish at the sight of blood, DaNeil Jolley was given scrubs and guided to a dimly lit room that smelled noticeably of cleaner, where she was about to watch a laparoscopic surgery. At just 16 years old, this was Jolley’s first day as an intern in the surgical unit at Samaritan Hospital in Moses Lake, Washington, where she watched surgeries each day for two weeks.

“I was just awe-struck by everything about it – the way it smelled in the room to the way everything looked, from the concentration on the doctor’s faces, as well as seeing them being able to help this person out,” she said.

Jolley was one of 30 high school students selected out of 138 applicants to participate in Project HOPE, a four-week, paid summer internship program where students are placed at health care facilities within their local community.

Project HOPE is a program under the (EWAHEC), which strives to strengthen the health workforce in rural and underserved areas of eastern Washington. Project HOPE is just one of many programs AHEC provides, and introduces students who are first-generation college bound from rural areas to health care professions.

Jolley’s interest in health care stems from her family’s experience – particularly when she learned from her father, a registered nurse, that they are descendants of the medicine man of the Nez Perce Tribe.

“That was one of the things that made me interested in health care, especially with our connection to the tribe,” she said. “We have Nez Perce pride. We are proud of our tribe and our roots.”

Despite having no previous health care experience, Jolley, a self-described protector, also knew she wanted to go into health care, whether it be a nurse or a doctor, because she has always wanted to help people.

“I remember being on the soccer field when I was younger, and someone would sprain their ankle. I would ask questions like, ‘How do you wrap it? How do you hold it?’” she said.

As part of her internship with Project HOPE, Jolley began her first two weeks in the physical therapy unit. Her last two weeks were spent in the surgical unit, where she watched doctors perform surgeries, such as appendectomies.

“Students got a chance to do a variety of things depending on where they were placed,” Robyn Takamine, EWAHEC program coordinator, said. “One of our hospitals, Othello Community Hospital, ended up putting our interns in almost every department they had – they got to see radiology, the lab, dietary, health cleaning. They were able to see what was for them and what wasn’t.”

For Jolley, interning with Project HOPE confirmed her desire to go into health care, and put her on the path of wanting to do general surgery.

“One of the most prominent ways this internship prepared me is that it showed me what really happens for different parts of health care,” she said. “Surgery isn’t like Grey’s Anatomy. You see the real side of it, like patient interactions, and that it’s not always fun and games.”

Jolley is currently a junior at Warden High School, and also participates in running start, in which she will earn her AA degree. She plans to attend college on the pre-medicine track, then attend medical school.

Project HOPE Intern Experiences

The following are excerpts from journal entries from Project HOPE interns about their daily experiences in the health care field.

Kyleen Alvarez

Columbia Basin Health Association – Othello, Washington

July 25

Today I got the chance to go to radiology and see a couple of ultrasounds. In these ultrasounds, I observed the radiology tech take baby pictures of the face and record the heartbeats. My supervisor told me that getting pictures of a baby’s face when the baby’s hands are covering their face is very frustrating. I thought it was cool that when the baby was covering its face, the tech would move to the baby’s feet as if it was tickling the baby’s feet and sometimes the baby would move their hands down because they would feel something on their feet. Getting to see some ultrasounds was by far my favorite experience of the internship. I was very inspired and now I think I will continue my education in ultrasound.

Jennifer Dominguez

Othello Community Hospital – Othello, Washington

Aug. 3

Today was a very exciting day for me with EMS! The lady that I was shadowing had me do a lot of hands-on things like check her blood pressure, heart rate and respiratory rate. In addition, I practiced doing CPR on a baby doll. The most exciting part of the day was when they got a call and I was allowed to ride in the ambulance with them. There was a terrible train and semi-truck accident and I was able to watch the procedures they do. I was filled with adrenaline and learned a lot by observing them.

Jennifer Mendoza

Othello Community Hospital – Othello, Washington

July 15

I was assigned to the nurses’ station today. We measured doses of medicine which were going to be given to patients. We also monitored the heart rate of a baby so he found finally go home. We talked to a lot of people in the span of four hours which was nice because I love meeting new people! There were many people who were culturally different but in a way that all meshed perfectly and helped each other out. I realized you need a lot of patience and compassion because you see a lot of things you don’t want to see but have to deal with in health care.