Marshfield Clinic
CHIP Team:
Jennifer Ciske and Dr. Amit Acharya
MARSHFIELD - At the Marshfield Clinic's Biomedical Informatics Research Center, Jennifer Ciske worked under the tutelage of Dr. Amit Acharya to complete two intensive projects as part of the AHEC community health internship program during summer 2010. Jennifer is from Appleton, Wisconsin, where she graduated from Appleton North High School. She earned her bachelor's degree at Marquette University, and currently is a medical student at the University of Wisconsin.
During the internship, Jennifer was enthusiastic about her experience, including the support and encouragement that she received from Dr. Acharya. At the conclusion of her internship, she wrote: "Now knowing the severe health and dental disparities members of rural communities face, I am inclined to practice medicine in rural Wisconsin where I can serve an underserved and impoverished population like I always envisioned doing. I also intend on advocating for dental health in my future practice."
As a result of the 8-week CHIP internship, Jennifer successfully produced two significant projects related to oral health, described below in her summary of her internship. Jennifer reflected on her experience and its impact on her career ambitions and plans. Her internship summary essay is reproduced here, with her permission.
Area Health Education Center
Community Health Internship Program - Summer 2010
By Jennifer Ciske
Working as a CHIP intern this summer in the Biomedical Informatics Research Center in the Research Foundation of Marshfield Clinic under the supervision of my mentor, Dr. Amit Acharya, turned out the be an incredibly rewarding experience. The two projects I was assigned focused on integrating oral and systemic health. My undergraduate degree in Biomedical Sciences from Marquette University prepared me for the medical side of my projects, but I was largely unaware of anything dental prior to the internship. Thus, I was hesitant at first about the projects since they both incorporated a foreign field, but the vast amount of knowledge I gained relating to dental health has been an extremely gratifying aspect of the internship. For instance, the information I acquired about the oral and systemic health connections and the severe dental disparities in rural Wisconsin transformed me into a dental advocate. I am excited to continue this passion throughout medical school and my future profession as a physician.
The first project I worked on included designing, distributing, and analyzing a survey that was administered to patients in the Marshfield Clinic Dental Centers. The goal of the survey was to determine what dental information (if any) Marshfield Clinic patients would like included in their free, online health portal, My Marshfield Clinic. Based on the survey results, the appropriate dental information will be developed and added to My Marshfield Clinic to meet patients' needs, requests, and suggestions. Another goal of this project was to create patient awareness of the health portal, so that more patients will utilize this great resource and access their personal health information and valuable health education materials at home.
The second project I worked on included designing a patient education module that dental hygienists will use while teaching patients about the correlation between oral and systemic health. This was an extremely important project since many patients are unaware of the connections between their oral and systemic health, and dental hygienists bear the majority of the responsibility for patient education, yet there are few educational tools they are able to use to help teach patients about this topic. In order to create a useful educational tool for dental hygienists that patients would be receptive to, I visited the Marshfield Clinic Dental Centers in Chippewa Falls, Ladysmith, Medford, Neillsville, and Park Falls and discussed my project with and interviewed the dental hygienists. These visits were immensely rewarding – not only because the dental hygienists provided invaluable feedback that helped me develop my project, but also because I discovered the great need for an education tool like the one I created, and I was able to witness the dental disparities of rural Wisconsin and use this knowledge to forever remain a dental advocate. The educational tool I ended up creating was a video that covered periodontal disease and how it affects cardiovascular disease, diabetes, respiratory disease, xerostomia, pregnancy and osteoporosis. This video will be played in the hygiene rooms on TVs patients can view from the dental chair. It will also be displayed in patient waiting areas and it will be accessible online through My Marshfield Clinic and YouTube for patients to view in their homes. Since the video was created using PowerPoint, dental hygienists will be able to print off slides and use them as handouts, or just show a specific slide and use it to help explain a concept in a chart-like manner. Essentially, the educational tool can be adapted to meet individual dental hygienist teaching and patient learning styles. After implementation of the educational tool, patient awareness of the correlation between oral and overall health will surely increase, hopefully creating healthier mouths and bodies in northern Wisconsin.
Although my internship focused on the oral and systemic health connection and I did not work in a public health office, I was still able to learn about other areas of public health through the homework assignments, webinars, and interviews that were a requirement of the CHIP program. Through all these experiences I have developed a better understanding of the critical role public health plays in multiple aspects of our lives. I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to gain this knowledge and because of it, I now intend to specialize in primary care – a field where I can easily continue to support public health missions through practicing preventative medicine.
Working in Marshfield Clinic and visiting the Dental Centers also allowed me to experience rural medicine. Now knowing the severe health and dental disparities members of rural communities face, I am inclined to practice medicine in rural Wisconsin where I can serve an underserved and impoverished population like I always envisioned doing.
As mentioned before, I also intend on advocating for dental health in my future practice as well because of my internship experiences. Throughout the summer I learned the importance of integrating and networking the medical and dental fields for the betterment of patients. I also learned how as a culture we separate dental and medical health into distinct categories in everything from education to insurance. This certainly is a tragedy, especially since the two sciences are intimately intertwined. I am passionate to dispel the illusion that dental and medical health are two distinct sciences because oral health can and does affect overall health and vice versa. Thus, by supporting dental health through preventative measures including education and regular dental appointments, I will also be supporting social justice and medical health in a cost-effective way. Only through the cooperation between medical and dental professionals and programs will the goal of practicing the best patient care be realized.
I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to work as a CHIP intern this summer. I will use the various knowledge I gained from my many positive experiences to better my future practice as a holistic, and public health minded physician.
Related materials:
About CHIP
The Community Health Internship Program (CHIP) is a program of the Wisconsin AHEC System, administered through the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. The CHIP program links college undergraduate and graduate student interns with local health departments, community health centers and other community health agencies throughout the state to work on public health projects to benefit the local community or region.
"The program would not be possible without the support and commitment of local health departments and community agencies," says Nancy Sugden, director of the Wisconsin AHEC System. "On-site mentors provide technical support and assistance and facilitate shadowing opportunities to help interns gain an understanding and appreciation of the broad range of public health activities undertaken at the local level."
Students selected for the program are usually college juniors or seniors, first year health professions graduate students or other graduate students with a strong interest in public health. The program is offered at county health department sites and other locations statewide. Students receive a modest stipend to cover their living expenses during the eight-week program. A similar six-week program is offered in Milwaukee.
The statewide CHIP program currently places 20-30 interns each summer in locations across the state, and the Milwaukee CHIP program places another 30 students in the Milwaukee and southeast Wisconsin region. To be eligible for consideration, applicants must demonstrate a strong academic record and interest in a career path related to public health.
Posted on March 17, 2011
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