My name is Christina and I am a 2025 AnnieRuth Foundation award recipient. My career aspiration is to be a Physician, specifically a Rheumatologist. I was placed at multiple locations with multiple medical professionals. Specifically, multiple AnnieRuth events, UF Health North, Baptist Health, Affirm Primary Care with Dr. Jonnique Bennett, Katie at Baker Gilmour Cardiovascular Institute, and Dr. Price.
During the first week of the internship, I was able to acquire my BLS (Basic Life Support) Certification with the Florida Training Academy. My first internship was at Baker Gilmour Cardiovascular Institute with physician assistant Katie. There, I was able to learn how to check blood pressure, how to use an EKG machine, and various ways to interact with patients. It was a true insight into patient care. Then, I was able to shadow various medical assistants and learn a lot about healthcare behind the scenes. I was able to tour the OR and see how medical procedures occur. Moving on, I was able to have a great discussion with Dr. Bennett about healthcare and have been volunteering at UF Health North for the past 2 weeks. I have learned a lot about healthcare in general and this experience has been extremely insightful about careers in the medical field.
Participating in the AnnieRuth Foundation internship program was instrumental in preparing me for future success in the medical field because it has provided me various opportunities to meet doctors, nurses, medical assistants, and other professionals in the medical field. The vast amount of information I received will be useful throughout my future. It assisted greatly with obtaining knowledge that will help set me to be successful.