Reflection Paper 1

Kerry Sloane Ramsbottom

Department of Health and Human Performance: Georgia College and State University

KINS 4306 – Internship in Public Health

Dr. Kaninjing

17 April 2022
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Introduction:

My name is Kerry Sloane Ramsbottom. I am currently a Senior at Georgia College and

State University where I am completing a 5-month internship at SkinCare Physicians of Georgia.

SkinCare Physicians of Georgia is a medical group practice in Macon, Georgia that specializes in

dermatology. The company examines, diagnoses, and treats patients ranging from infancy to

geriatrics age. There are two subdivisions within Skin Care Physicians of Georgia. One is

medical dermatology where skin diseases are examined, and treatments are performed. The other

side of the company is the aesthetics. The aesthetics division focuses on treating skin concerns

for more cosmetic reasons rather than medical issues. SkinCare Physicians of Georgia’s mission

is to provide expert individualized service to every patient with skill and compassion. The office

is certified by the American Board of Dermatology and is classified as a top-rated dermatologist

office in Georgia.

All fourteen providers at Skin Care Physician of Georgia strive to accommodate every

individual who need skin consultation, diagnosis, and treatment. Five of the providers are

licensed medical doctors, four are licensed physician assistants, two are family nurse

practitioners and the other on-site staff are licensed estheticians. Each of the providers rotate

between the eight offices located throughout Georgia. My supervisor, Dr. David Cohen, travels

between the Warner Robins satellite office and the central office in Macon where he efficiently

treats all his patients.

Description of Experience:

In my role as an intern, I was able to experience many new opportunities and

responsibilities at SkinCare Physicians of Georgia. Throughout my internship, I learned a lot

more than I anticipated. I began my day by showing up on-site at 8 a.m. Once I entered the
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office, I ensured that patients were following CDC COVID-19 protocols by taking temperature

checks and enforcing mask use while in the waiting room. After I enforced these measures, I

moved from room-to-room shadowing Dr. Cohen. In each of the various rooms, patients awaited

the doctor for routine skin checks, consultations, treatments, diagnoses, and surgeries. This is

where I felt like I could not contribute the most because I do not have much experience in

dermatology diseases, rashes, and/or treatment methods.

In each room, I engaged with and helped provide patients with the proper products to fit

their individual needs to ultimately build lasting client relationships within Skin Care Physicians

of Georgia. Dr. Cohen clinically assesses each individual's skin while I contribute by feeling the

client's skin as well to locate rough patches of skin that could be an actinic keratosis. Actinic

keratosis is formed by repeated sun exposure and is present on the skin in a rough scaly penny-

size patch. The doctor allows me to help assist him in freezing these precious spots off the body

with liquid nitrogen.

Another role I perform in the room with Dr. Cohen is helping him remove skin

projections such as warts and/or areas he clinically diagnoses as skin cancers. I help him in the

removal by cauterizing the open wound to stop the bleeding, placing the skin removed into the

pathology bottle, and assisting his medical assistance in the banging process.

Having the opportunity to have hands-on interaction with patients was something I did

not expect to do but was the most exciting and fun part of my internship. Once I had the chance

to work with patients like this, I wanted to do it in every room, however, some patients do not let

student interns interact with them. After the patients exit the examination space, I was

responsible for helping sanitize rooms in-between patients to create a safe environment for the

doctor and the patients.

Perception and Evaluation of the Internship:

After my first day of rotating with Dr. Cohen, I very soon realized how smart he was. He

has a mind that remembers every single detail of a person's medical history without looking at

their chart. When he walks into a room and someone has an undiagnosed condition, he

automatically can identify what it is. By working with someone this knowledgeable in the field

he works in, I feel as if I learned more about dermatology than most medical residents do.

Personally, my internship exceeded my expectations due to the amount of information I learned

within the field. I feel as if I could go into a room and particularly accurately assess a patient. At

first, during my internship, I felt challenged due to my lack of knowledge of dermatology,

however, due to my supervisor being such a great educator I was able to quickly understand and

absorb information. Through this internship, I expanded my experience, knowledge, and skills. I

thoroughly enjoyed shadowing Dr. Cohen so much that I have considered going back to school

and becoming a Physician Assistant in the field of dermatology.

Working at SkinCare Physicians of Georgia taught me the importance of innovative

medicine to efficiently and effectively treat individuals who are suffering. The organization I was

working for was honestly open to my ideas and encouraged me to contribute in any way I felt

comfortable while working under Dr. Cohen’s supervision. Working in such an encouraging

atmosphere allowed me to feel comfortable and grow in various ways. Looking back at my four

months at SkinCare Physicians of Georgia, there is nothing I would change about my experience.

I think if other public health interns are interested in clinically helping patients with hands-on

involvement, a sense of fulfillment when a patient in ongoing pain is treated and working with a

knowledgeable doctor who steps by step explains to you what he is doing and why then this

organization is the perfect atmosphere for them.

Internship Preparedness:

I feel like when starting something new I can tend to overthink my goals and operations. I

was somewhat nervous to start my internship. However, due to my public health background and

my professors guiding me in the internship process, my nervousness began to fade away.

Georgia College’s School of Health and Human Performance did an overall amazing job at

preparing me for not only the school's expectations of me to graduate but the expectations a

company will have for me while interning with them.

Overall, I felt academically prepared for my internship placement. I think I felt

comfortable in a doctor's office setting due to my knowledge of healthcare systems through my

public health major. Almost all my public health courses helped me understand clinical

diagnosis, treatments, and procedures. A few classes that stood out to me when completing these

actions were microbiology, anatomy, physiology, community health, and health promotion

program planning. I think being hands-on in classes helped me understand not only what was

going on during the class at the time, but also helped me during my internship. Being hands-on is

something very important in the healthcare world due to providers having to touch individuals to

assess their condition, take their vital signs, and even perform surgeries. From these classes, I

learned how to assess, promote and protect health in individuals. I also learned what was

occurring in different places in the body at the cell level and how to identify exactly the function

of particular parts of the body. All of these courses academically prepared me for my internship.

Although I felt comfortable understanding the biological terminology and corrupting

functions, I did not feel confident in the comprehension of diagnosing skin-related illnesses with

proper treatment. I believe I lack confidence in this particular area due to my insufficient

experience in the field and inadequate knowledge of proper treatment methods for various
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diseases. I feel as if many students in the internship process are exposed to more educational

topics than the college can prepare us for. However, I do not expect a college to have the ability

to teach us every single thing in every field of work. Georgia College and State University's

classes and ability to allow us to have a semester-long internship have prepared me in more ways

than I could have asked for when it comes to future employment.

Internship Performance:

I acquired more skills and knowledge during my internship at SkinCare Physicians of

Georgia than I could have ever imagined. I feel like the most important thing I learned during my

internship that will further help my career is networking. I had the opportunity to meet numerous

medical device and pharmaceutical sales representatives from various companies. I believe

having her chance to gain this networking experience will further help my career in medical

device and/or pharmaceutical sales.

Another skill I developed during my time at SkinCare Physicians of Georgia was

interpersonal communication skills and adaptability. Every day at my internship site Dr. Cohen

and I met with countless individuals from a diverse range of backgrounds. This is where my

growth in interpersonal skills flourished. While assessing, diagnosing, and treating these patients,

I had to be very adaptable to the situation. Some individuals were very nice, and some were very

rude. I had to be able to quickly assess the room to adapt to the atmosphere.

I will continue to use these traits and will maneuver them over into my profession. I need

to continue to develop and acquire new skills that will help me flourish in the professional world.

One quality I feel that I need to continue to work on is confidence. I think that in my career path

in medical and/or pharmaceutical sales I need to be able to walk into a room to sell a product and

have no fear. Personally, this is a hard trait to establish for me, but if I continue to build my
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confidence, I know it is achievable. I believe that I am a hard worker and my performance on

assignments, projects, and presentations portray that. I think I managed my time efficiently

especially since I am also in another course on top of my internship and provided quality

assessments while meeting appropriate deadline times.

Personal/Professional Insights/Benefits:

Georgia College and State University created a great program in which students can

intern at an occupation they are passionate about and successfully gain skills and knowledge

about the professional world. This program that the Health and Human Performance school

offers is a perfect transition for students from college to work. Personally, working at SkinCare

Physicians of Georgia transformed my idea of how the “real world” is. This experience has

personally allowed me to grow in many ways including developing new skills and building up

confidence. Now, I know how to be professional, network with companies, use my time wisely,

problem solves, and properly socialize my skills.

Working at SkinCare Physicians of Georgia allowed me to gain insight into what it is like

to help individuals in need and how doctors can help people in communities by promoting public

health. Dermatology plays a large role in public health because it prevents skin diseases and

infections, prolongs the quality and life of skin, and gives a diagnosis and treatment to diseases

relating to the skin.

I was able to watch Dr. Cohen educate individuals who do not understand what is going

on with their skin. He can resolve their issues through proper diagnosis and treatment. By

working with patients, I learned the importance of helping people in need. Through this insight, I

was able to learn more about how dermatology can impact public health and the health of

individuals. Some individuals come into the dermatologist's office crying they are in so much
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pain because they are covered in a rash from head to toe. I gained insight into what it is like to be

a doctor and use innovative medicine and technology to aid patients in need. I learned how to

help individuals who are emotionally struggling with their physical health.