CSP internship

1. A Day in the Life of a
Pediatric Intern
Alexis Georgia

2. Clemson-Seneca Pediatrics
I interned at CSP from June 1st, 2016 – July 22nd, 2016. At my internship I learned a
lot about both pediatric practice and myself. Clemson Seneca Pediatrics is a multi-
physician, multi-office pediatric practice with locations in Clemson, SC and Seneca,
SC. CSP is associated with the Greenville Hospital System Children's Hospital and
according to the CSP website the practice is “dedicated to advancing the care of
children and promoting healthy families.” As an intern I worked with the nurses at
the Clemson, SC office to assist both the nurses and the physicians with day to day
work. In this presentation I will take you through a day in my life as an intern.
http://www.ghschildrens.org/clemson-seneca-pediatrics.php

3. Every morning Monday through Friday I arrive at CSP at 8am. The physicians
normally start seeing patients at about 8:30—9am, so I have to have the office
ready before the patients arrive. My duties every morning include changing the
paper on the exam tables in every exam room, unlocking the refrigerators
containing the vaccinations, checking and recording the room temperature,
incubator temperature, private vaccination fridge and freezer temperatures, and
Medicaid vaccination fridge and freezer temperatures. I also have to test the
Hemocue and record that it is working correctly, clean the counters and record
that they are clean, and check and record the oxygen tank levels in the
morning.
One of the 6 exam rooms Vaccination freezer thermometer and
reminder
Passing morning Hemocue
result

4. I begin pulling patients back before
the physicians arrive. I start off by
bringing the patient and their
parent or guardian back to the
room and asking why they are here
in our office today. If they are here
for a sick visit I record what the
problem is, what their symptoms
are, and how long the problem has
been occurring. If it is a well visit I
will ask the patient and their parent
or guardian a series of questions
which varies based on the age of
the patient and record their
answers. In both sick and well
visits I must ask if the patient has
any allergies, is on any
medications, and what pharmacy
they use.
Well visit questions for patients at different ages

5. Once I have gotten all the information I need, I will take the patient back to
the vitals room to get the patients vitals and any other information the
physician will want. This information can include temperature, pulse ox, and
heart rate. If the patient is under 3 years of age I will measure length of the
patient while lying on the table, weight, and head circumference. If the
patient is 3 years or older I will measure height while standing, weight, and
blood pressure.
Vitals Room Taking blood pressure
Scale for children and
babies under 30 lbs.

6. Once I have finished taking the
patients vitals I will conduct and run
any labs that need to be done on the
patient. If it is a sick visit this could
mean conducting a strep test,
conducting a mono test, or testing a
patients glucose. If it is a well visit I will
always conduct a hemoglobin and a
urinalysis if the patient is over 2 years
of age.
When conducting a urinalysis we check the
patients urine for a variety of factors,
including its specific gravity, pH, and blood
content, among others components. A
hemoglobin test checks the patients iron
content in the blood. To conduct a
hemoglobin test I must prick a child's finger
and then draw up the blood with a cuvette.
This can be difficult because many children
will fight you, as they understand blood has
to be drawn.
Reading a urinalysis
Putting together a hemoglobin tray

7. These labs will be run in the lab area. The lab area contains all of the
materials the nurses and interns needed to conduct patient tests, draw
vaccinations, and prepare cultures.

8. If the patient is a well check I may also have to check their hearing and vision
depending on their age. No matter the age of the patient I check their hearing
the same way. I will ask the patient to put on a pair of headphones and I will
adjust the level of decibels and hertz. I will ask the patient to tell me when they
hear a beep, which sounds when I push a button. I conduct the test and record
the results.
Hearing Test

9. Vision tests vary with age. If the child is very young I will conduct the 4 Dot test. I
will ask the child to put on a pair of glasses and tell me how many dots they see
in a flashlight and what colors the dots are. If the patient is older but does not yet
know their letters, I will conduct a Picture test, asking if they can tell me all what
all the pictures on the cards are, and then which picture the lines on the cards
are pointing to. If the patient does know the alphabet I will conduct a standard
vision test on them.
4 Dot Test
Picture Test Standard Vision Test

10. After pulling a patient and getting their history of present illness, vitals, and
completing any labs and tests I need to run on them, all of the information must
be entered into the lab book and the computer. The computerized charting is
very importing in alerting the doctor what the patients chief complaint, current
vitals, and health history are before they enter the rooms to see the patients.
Tiffany, another intern, entering lab
results into the Lab Book.
Charting patient information into
the electronic records.

11. After the doctor has seen the patient they will come out and alert myself and the
nurses if the patient needs any shots and what shots they need. I will then look
up what type of insurance the patient has, either private or Medicaid, in order to
pull the vaccinations from the correct refrigerator. I will then pull and draw up
the vaccines. While I can not actually give the vaccinations, I will often observe
the nurses administering the vaccines, as well as help the nurses hold down the
children in order to keep the children from flailing or reaching for the needles to
keep both the nurses and kids safe.
Drawing vaccinations Prepared vaccination trays

12. There are also other odd jobs I
have had to complete throughout
the days and weeks at my
internship. During the day I am
responsible for preparing strep
and urine cultures that are done
in office when a doctor deems a
culture is necessary.
Corbrina, a nurse, plating a strep test to be cultured.Running rapid Strep tests in Office

13. In my two months at CSP I also completed a variety of projects including creating
a poster board educating the patients on sun protection in the summer months,
weekly medication cabinet checks, completing an inspection checklist, checking
all the vaccinations for expirations, assisting in vaccination reorders, going
through and flagging/correcting patient lab records in the 2014, 2015, and 2016
lab books, and redoing the back wall of the front office.

14. I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent at CSP. It was a fast paced environment,
where I had to work hard and learn quickly, but it was also a fun and
interesting environment. I had a great preceptor, who was always willing to
take the time to teach me and explain a procedure. Every day was new and
interesting, allowing me to learn how to think fast and stay on my toes. I have
learned how different working with children and working with adults in a
healthcare setting is. Pediatrics was never an area I had considered before
starting my internship, but now I could see myself pursuing a career in
pediatrics.

15. Vision:
Transform healthcare for the
benefit of the people and
communities we serve.
Mission:
Heal compassionately. Teach
innovatively. Improve
constantly.
Values:
Together we serve with
integrity, respect, trust and
openness.