In the last 100 hours of my internship with The Healthy Chesapeake, Inc., I still assisted with the mobile health clinic and community outreach within Chesapeake and its surrounding neighborhoods, such as Buffalo Family and Friends, Ahoy Acres, and others. I was still under the supervision of Nurse Practitioner Tanyell, wherein I had more exposure to patient-centered care, community outreach, and the delivery of public health services. Compared to the initial few hours, this part of the internship involved more varied interaction and a greater degree of complexity in tasks. I was not only helping with records and vitals, but instead had a more active part in setting up, coordinating, and providing service in the case of bigger events, i.e., Peninsula Independence Day Celebration and Chesapeake Public School Bus Event. These high-pressure environments challenged my capacity to think on my feet at a moment’s notice and problem-solve, skills essential to any healthcare environment.

Professional development remained an ongoing issue, as I engaged in reflection sessions, internship mixers, and leadership forums. These helped to impart my communication, confidence, and coordination skills in various positions of a team. I also observed activities of other mobile events, and they presented to me a picture of behind-scenes functioning and the place of planning in health administration. However, there were days, too, which were tougher than the others, either because of some conditions such as weather or simply because there were a huge number of patients. This taught me flexibility, persistence, and patience. In spite of any hardship endured, I never once wavered from the ultimate objective, which is to continue to provide accessibility to health for those in need.

This experience has further entrenched my passion for the field by building stronger confidence to make an effective contribution in patient care, community outreach, or administrative modes. To this end, however, it showed me that outstanding care is not only about the treatment of a patient but also about presence, service, and the coming together of a dedicated team.