Internship Reflection Paper Savannah Webb 1

Introduction

For my internship site during the Spring of 2022, I was able to gain a position at the

District 4 Department of Public Health (DPH) office in Lagrange, Georgia. The District 4 region

covers the health departments across 12 counties including Butts, Carroll, Coweta, Fayette,

Heard, Henry, Lamar, Meriwether, Pike, Spalding, Troup, and Upson. The mission of the DPH is

to provide a wide range of health services across various populations and affordable healthcare to

underserved individuals. Examples of these services are adult and child vaccinations, basic

yearly checkups, and WIC, which aids in nutrition services or benefits, and pre or postnatal care

for both mothers and children. The DPH offices also host health events in order to educate

county residents and raise awareness for particular health issues at the population level, rather

than the individual level that is established during direct medical attention. Our purpose and

goals in the world of public health can be better explained through the three P’s; promotion,

prevention, and protection. We strive to promote wellness, prevent illness and disease, and

protect the population’s health. I realized throughout this position that many people are not

properly educated on the diverse services that the Department of Public health offers and what

the purpose is.

Description of Experiences

My internship title was labeled as an Accreditation Intern under my main supervisor,

Miranda Helms, the Quality Improvement and Accreditation Coordinator. Her role for

Accreditation and the plethora of tasks that I was involved in are all in efforts to keep District 4

updated with the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB). District 4 is one of only five

districts in Georgia that have this accreditation, therefore requiring many forms of

documentation and tasks such as community health assessments and frequent use of standards
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and measures for daily tasks of the office. Abbigail Clifford, the Chronic Disease and Prevention

Manager for District 4, was also one of my supervisors, who I worked closely with in multiple

settings including in office for tobacco cessation projects and health events where we traveled

together.

My work plan given to me the first week I attended my internship was helpful for me

visualizing the next 15 weeks and what the proposed deadlines would be. Many of my roles

required me to have self-discipline and stay consistent at a pace to focus on multiple tasks during

the week in order to get them done. For example, my two largest tasks were adding data into the

MySidewalk platform and making graphs and charts for the community health assessment

(CHA), but I also had to make sure I was keeping up with the tobacco policy work during the

same time period.

The most exciting part of my internship position was learning my own personal strengths

and weaknesses. My previous goals for my career have since changed and I learned that the job I

thought I would enjoy most and planned to go into a master’s program for, would most likely not

suite my personality. I am thankful I now see that I need to take the time after graduation to

shadow different areas of public health so I can find the best department and job for myself

before furthering my education. The most challenging part of my internship was having to work

on the computer for long periods of time and also working from home. I am thankful that my

supervisor allowed me to work two days of the week from home because of my internship site

being an hour and a half drive, but it was a challenge working in an area where there are multiple

distractions and other individuals in my workspace. Another challenge I faced during my

undergraduate classes, I developed a flaw for procrastination, which I had to make sure I avoided

during my internship.
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Perception and Evaluation of the Internship

My internship did meet my personal expectations and I enjoyed my time with all of my

peers and being able to learn more every day. The employees at the LaGrange office were so

welcoming and helped me with anything I needed during my visits. My supervisor, Mrs. Helms,

was very open minded when it came to the tasks that she assigned for me and I was reminded

constantly with, “I trust you and your skills”. Hearing words of affirmation motivated me to

work harder and make the DPH office proud of my efforts.

I do not think my experience could have been improved any, but the one thing I wish I

could have changed was the location being closer to home which would have allowed me to

come into the office more frequently and not have such a long travel time. I would definitely

recommend the District 4 Department of Public Health office for an internship site for future

students. Mrs. Helms and Mrs. Clifford are genuinely interested in making sure you have a

successful experience during your 15 weeks and want to make sure you learn as much as you

can. I was personally invited to many meetings and introduced to community stakeholders so I

would not only gain knowledge from them but also build my network for possibility of future

connections.

I do believe that this setting would provide a wonderful career, but I learned throughout

my stay that it would not be the best career path for me personally. I would consider the position

in order to gain more experience in the field of public health, but I am a very active person that

loves being on their feet and having hands on activities to complete. I do not believe a job site

that involves as much investment on the computer and time in technology would suite me well. I

would love to have a job with a traveling position if I ever have that opportunity. In conclusion, I
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would recommend the job site and position to others, but do not feel like I would be successful in

it for a long period of time.

Internship Preparedness

One of the most motivating parts of my internship was being able to see my own progress

and complete the jobs given to me from my previous education. I learned several new skills and

learned a lot about District 4 DPH, but I felt more prepared for my position because of my

undergraduate classes. Specifically, I had already completed my own small-scale community

health assessment, or CHA, for my community health course at Georgia College and did very

well so I had no doubt I would be successful in working on certain sections of the District 4

CHA.

Another part of my undergraduate classes that I felt prepared me for my internship

position was my undergraduate research, with Dr. Damian Francis. A large part of the CHA and

other tasks included having to know how to analyze and transfer data into an excel spreadsheet

or converting the data to charts and graphs. I had a strong foundation from my research program

and was able to learn the MySidewalk platform and immediately began adding the data given to

me.

As far as recommendations to the GCSU School of Health and Human Performance, I do

not have anything that would improve the program. I feel like I was very prepared for the past

few months and having to step into the “real world” of public health. I recalled many lessons

throughout my years of undergraduate classes and was able to use them confidently. GCSU

requiring the resume check and mock interview was one of my favorite parts of our course this

semester because each assignment broke down what you excelled in and what you need to

improve on without the pressure of your first application to a job position. It seemed intimidating
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at first, but the responses from the career center as well as the professor for my internship course

were valuable to my professional improvement.

Internship Performance

During the past 15 weeks I learned a lot about communication and how important it is to

successful complete a project with the best of your ability. There are several departments and

specialties in the office, from environmental health to nursing and health educators. Everyone

brings different skills of their own and teamwork is key in many cases. When I started the list of

community resources and assets, I was having a hard time making progress because of the large

number of both counties and sections on the list (childcare, adult education, clothing and food

assistance, etc.). One of my coworkers, Mrs. Kim Richardson, that had a temporary position as a

COVID-19 resource coordinator, came to my supervisor and we all worked together to satisfy

my task given as well as hers. Together we were able to create about 60 to 70 pages of resources

for each county. Unfortunately, if we had never collaborated then I would most likely still not be

done with them.

I was satisfied with my work at my internship site, but I feel that there is always need for

personal improvement in some areas. For example, I previously mentioned I have always been

lenient on procrastination and still felt that I struggled with time management during my 16

weeks interning. I completed the tasks given to me, but I know that I could have managed my

time more efficiently. Another personal flaw that I noticed was paying attention to details. I

would find myself having to go back onto a project and spellcheck or fix a form of punctuation

that was not the best format it could have been. This experience has been a learning process and I

am grateful to know even more about my work ethic and habits for my future career.

Personal/Professional Insights/Benefits
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This experience at the Department of Public Health has been a learning process and I am

grateful to know even more about my work habits for my future career. It has prepared me to be

a professional work setting and educate myself on preferences for my personal goals. I was

previously determined to further my education at a graduate school this upcoming year, but I

now know that it is not the best decision for me. In high school I was given the opportunity to

take dual enrollment classes and have a head start in my core classes, therefore I was only given

around a year to decide my major. I am still young and due to me becoming familiar with the

multiple areas of public health, I want to take another year to fully find my “niche” and be

content with my next steps in my academics. I feel more confident in myself throughout this

journey, and a lot of my growth in confidence has been due to the work environment and peers

of my internship site. I hear many encouraging comments and anytime my supervisors see any

opportunity to help me and boost my skills, they take it.

The framework of the public health workforce has been one of the most surprising

insights I have gained since beginning my stay at the DPH. In my undergraduate classes, we

learned thoroughly about community health and the aspects of vulnerable populations, but it was

a different scene to be able to see the details that go into each area and the specifics to each

population. For instance, I attended meetings and trainings for the youth population in both the

public school setting as well as for the youth population of an individual county. Almost every

project and tasks that is being completed is given a set of standards and objectives that must be

met for quality assurance purposes. One of my favorite events that I attended to help me realize

the many elements of public health, was the New Hire Orientation on February 2 nd, 2022. Every

department from Environmental Health to the Babies Can’t Wait had a director come and speak

to the new employees and make sure everyone was educated on what the office and district
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offers to each county. I was unaware of the many services offered by Environmental Health and

how active they are in the community, as well as the process that the Women and Children

services go through in order to create health and nutrition interventions for pre- and post-natal

mothers. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at my internship site and hope the

supervisors that I were so graciously given, Mrs. Helms and Mrs. Clifford, can educate and assist

other Georgia College students in their public health journey in the future.