On this episode of SHECP Talks, Zionne McCrear, a senior at Birmingham-Southern College talks about her work with the Cleveland Clinic this past summer. https://SHECPTalks.podbean.com/e/intern-insights-zionne-mccrear-bsc/
The Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit medical center known for their cardiovascular work. The Cleveland Clinic is composed of multiple hospitals around the world; however, Zionne spent her summer in Cleveland, Ohio. Zionne speaks on her work with the Cleveland Clinic Lutheran Hospital where she shadowed doctors as they cared for patients. Over the course of the eight weeks, Zionne gained experience with the basic operations of a hospital as she followed her mentors taking vitals, examining patients, prescribing medicine, and completing charts.
When not interacting with doctors at the Lutheran Hospital, Zionne aided professionals at the YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program in Cleveland as well. The Diabetes Prevention Program provides patients with access to diabetes education to revamp their diets, engage in exercise, and so much more.
In the episode, Zionne describes how surprising it was to see how many barriers there are in the medical field. Serving a largely Spanish-speaking population, McCrear recognizes that language is a huge barrier for adequate treatment. As an aspiring woman in medicine, Zionne was motivated by the doctors who considered a patient’s economic status to give the best possible treatments and solutions. She discusses how the doctors considered a patient’s ability to pay for medicine before prescribing it to their patients. Reflecting on her internship, Zionne addresses how her participation in the diabetes prevention program prepared her for the challenges surrounding community engagement as a leader in medicine and the best way to offer resources to patients.
McCrear expressed the importance of the insight she gained for her future goals and advices students considering a SHECP internship to, “have your expectations going into an internship, but also be intentional about staying open minded in order to maximize this opportunity!”
For more information about topics Zionne discusses:
The Cleveland Clinic – The Cleveland Clinic is the world’s first integrated international health system. With more than 65,000 caregivers worldwide, Cleveland Clinic has almost 6 million patient visits per year, at more than 200 locations. The Cleveland Clinic has pioneered carious medical breakthroughs, including the coronary artery bypass surgery. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/
YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program – As a section of the YMCA of Greater Cleveland, the non-profit’s Diabetes Prevention Program introduces wellness topics in a classroom setting to encourage participants to explore healthy eating, physical activity and behavioral changes that can benefit their health. The 12-month group-based diabetes education program consists of at least 16 sessions over the span of many months. The program is led by a trained lifestyle coach who facilitates a small group of people with similar health and wellness goals. To learn more: https://www.clevelandymca.org/diabetes-prevention#:~:text=The%2012%2Dmonth%20group%2Dbased,of%20people%20with%20similar%20goals.