Name: Diana Salmeron
Class Year: 2024
Major: Anthropology and Spanish
Hometown: Houston, TX
Internship Organization: Durrett Chiropractor and Wellness Clinic
Job Title: Medical Assistant
Location: Houston, TX
What’s happening at your internship?
My internship consists of working at a chiropractic clinic and being a medical assistant. As a medical assistant my responsibilities comprises of working with patients, scheduling appointments, translating documents and information to patients, developing X-rays, maintaining medical records, billing, and running the therapy room when needed. The therapy room consists of a massage table, disc decompression therapy– also known as COX– and the infrasonic ultrasound kyogens. 每一种疗法都在为患者提供剧痛的即时缓解方面发挥着至关重要的作用, depending on the severity of pain which determines the levels of therapy. 在诊所，我们很自豪能够通过关注问题的根源和解决这些问题来提供全面的医疗保健方法. 我们教育我们的病人什么是脊椎指压治疗，以及我们的身体是如何相互联系的，如何作为一个整体正常运作.
Every month at the chiropractic clinic we have a monthly goal of our gross income, the number of new patients we want to help, our insurance billing, and how many people we want for therapy. 刚刚过去的这个月，也就是6月，我们达到了每月的总收入，并且能够接收许多新病人. 在经营企业时，以目标为导向是极其重要的，因为它能让整个诊所步调一致，心态一致. Having a goal allows us to work as a team to accomplish that goal. Our team has designated roles, and although we are small, we are mighty.
我真的很喜欢在这家诊所工作，因为他们真的有热情帮助和照顾他们的病人. 我们的诊所尽我们所能，真正让每一个病人走进大门，一些缓解和照顾. We try very hard to be as accommodating as possible and work out payment plans, 其他支付方式，比如医疗信贷——一种医疗信贷——以及可能的折扣计划. 在很多情况下，我们没有对某些病人收费，因为我们已经让他们进行了试运行，看看他们是否愿意继续接受所需的护理和救济，并向他们表明，当他们接受适当的治疗时，他们确实得到了救济. 看到这一幕，表明这家诊所真正关心他们遇到的病人的幸福和健康. It is not only talk, but there have been actions that back up the claims of wanting to help people.
My time at the clinic, 我还了解到，作为一名医疗保健提供者，要成为你的病人的倡导者和教育者. 我在诊所学到的另一个重要的价值是告诉病人按摩师提供什么样的护理. 我们有很多简单的模型向病人展示什么是手动减压和脊柱对齐-也被称为调整-半脱位如何 cause pain and can impair the full functionality of your body, and how each therapy we use can help boost healing and immunity throughout your body. Many of the patients we encounter do not have prior knowledge of chiropractic care, 因此，让病人了解对他们身体所做的工作和治疗是极其重要的. 这也有助于患者在第一次拜访和会见医生时感到舒适和安全. 在达雷特按摩师，我们的目标是发展与病人的人际关系，关于心灵, body, and emotions.
Why did you apply for this internship?
我申请这个实习是因为最近我一直在质疑我是否想继续从医. Since I was 5, 我声称我想成为一名外科医生来帮助人们，而作为第一代学生，我只灌输了这样一种观点，即成功和帮助人们的唯一途径就是成为一名医生. Growing up, it was extremely difficult to explore or be exposed to different careers therefore, I only heard of the popular careers. 直到最近，我才终于能够探索各种各样的职业和机会. Therefore, 当我申请这个实习的时候，我想在放弃这个一生的医学梦想之前，深入到不同的医学领域，发现自己的欲望. 我申请这个实习的另一个原因是我想有机会在诊所里反思我未来的职业道路. Being in the Covid class, 传统的面对面实习非常困难，尤其是在医疗保健行业, 因此，我想接触临床经验，对我想要追求的道路有确定性和决心.
What is something you have learned from your internship that you didn’t expect?
Something that I have learned from my internship that I did not expect is how insurance works. 在一家私人诊所实习让我大开眼界，因为我接触过来自不同社会经济背景的病人，从私人保险公司, Medicare/Medicaid, victims in accidents, people who use state resources like the Houston Health Gold Card, etc. 我已经能够看到医疗保健是一个更广泛和复杂的系统，有时会损害人们接受某些援助. I am going to be completely honest; it has been a little discouraging working at the clinic and understanding how insurance works. What I have learned is that many of the times, insurance does not cover much of chiropractic care, especially when the chiropractor is out-of-network. Sometimes the patient may have a high deductible of $10,000 and it is not until that deductible is met that the insurance will either help cover some visit, if any. Therefore, 了解了这些知识，病人就很难得到他们需要的治疗. Now, on the doctor’s side, if the insurance is a PPO, then there could be a possibility that they may help cover some chiropractic care, but most of the time the insurance companies end up paying the doctor's half of what they charge. For example, the adjustment price for the clinic I work at is $55, but when insurance is involved, they will only pay the doctor $23, therefore the doctor must work harder to be able to receive a stable income. 我相信了解医疗保健是如何工作的是实习中最困难的部分, especially being a person that believes that everyone deserves quality healthcare no matter the background, socioeconomic status, race, gender, identity, culture, etc.
What is most rewarding about your internship?
在我的实习中最有价值的部分是能够帮助别人，并立即看到变化. 我看到很多病人带着难以忍受的疼痛来到我们的诊所, but when they walk out, they are in a lot less pain and certain immobility have been corrected. 许多来看病的病人都迫切希望得到缓解，当他们接受治疗并看到立即的效果时, they continue coming back and demonstrate their gratitude to
us by providing us with food. Receiving food is just some of the many benefits of working with our patients! 我能够真正享受我的实习时间，因为我能够在人际层面上与所有患者建立联系，并看到他们从第一次到达直到完成治疗的进展. Serving and caring for my Houston community has been the most rewarding part of my internship!
Visit the Summer Internship Stories page to read more about student internship experiences.