Valerie Schmidt, a Children & Society BDP Student, interned with the Lirios Pediatric Clinic where she worked as a medical assistant and Spanish translator.
"This Connecting Experience has enabled me to refine my professional goals of becoming a pediatrician with a mission to reduce health inequity and disparities within our community.”
Where did you intern?
Lirios Pediatric Clinic
How did you find this internship?
I found this internship through my pre-med organization where I serve as a Volunteer Director, looking for community service opportunities for our members.
What kind of work did you do as an intern?
At Lirios Pediatric Clinic, I worked as a medical assistant and Spanish translator. I administered vaccines, took vital signs, and updated medical charts for patients during as I performed hearing and eye exams. As a Spanish translator, I worked the front desk, translating phone calls, and worked with the physician to bridge any communication gaps with families and patients. We also served Austin ISD schools that had higher demographics of lower socioeconomic households by providing information about Lirios’ medical services.
What was the most rewarding aspect of your Connecting Experience?
The opportunity to be a part of an organization that strives to reduce health inequity and disparities for uninsured children was the most rewarding aspect of my Connecting Experience. This internship has allowed me to strengthen my Spanish-speaking and interpersonal skills, while also learning the importance of cultural awareness. It’s helped me understand the importance of establishing interventions to provide more accessibility in educational attainment and health awareness.
In what ways has this Connecting Experience shaped your plans for the future?
This Connecting Experience has enabled me to refine my professional goals of becoming a pediatrician with a mission to reduce health inequity and disparities within our community. It has fueled my drive to seek more opportunities to truly cultivate my passion for children's development and health. It has also demonstrated the importance of cultural awareness to not only create a welcoming environment for families, but also as a gateway for healthcare professionals to engage in cross-cultural communication.
Discuss the relationship that you had with your faculty mentor, and how they helped you during this Connecting Experience.
My faculty mentor was Dr. Keryn Pasch, who I took BDP 101: Health Inequity in Childhood and Adolescence with. Her expertise provided me with the direction I want to take in my career and how to approach issues with a multidisciplinary perspective. Dr. Pasch's guidance truly allowed me to immerse myself in the experience through weekly reflections and further discussions that highlighted concepts that I learned in the course.