IDEA Corps Intern: Courtney Chaney

Most of my friends in high school were white. There were a lot of things that they didn’t know but wanted to understand like how I get braids or how I take care of my hair. It wasn’t like altering but it showed me that they cared enough about me to learn. I am most proud of my ability to satisfy the needs of my placement. My placement requires a lot of communication and I’m just pleased I haven’t let it overwhelm me. I think working with the clinic attached to my placement is the most impactful thing I’m doing because the clinic serves the less fortunate and underserved so I think in the long run it’ll make a difference in the community.

My placement is centered around healthcare and access to it. These specific Social Principles to do speak directly to my work, not they have implications and consequences that affect my work. Gender diversity is not an issue; however, neocolonialism has dictated that many people I aim to help are underserved. Blurring the lines between Church and estate does more harm than good because blurring that line means that immigrants, migrants, and refugees will not be the only people affected long term. I believe that the church’s response should stand in support and solidarity with this group. I believe that a statement of support with this group will force the government to support this group as app.

My placement has dealt with a lot of trust issues. Because the pastor I’m working with switched clinics and churches, people who attended her previous clinics and church were unaware of her switch. It led to a lot of mistrust and frustration when it came to people trying to see her. I organize mostly by listening to voicemails and reporting back to Dr. Reddix about what the voicemails have said. A lot of them are people asking for appointments or clarifying questions and it’s important that she gets the information as soon as possible so she is able to reach out to patients. WhileI have face no real challenges, I have had to give up a considerable amount of my summer for this internship. While both my parents are working this summer, being at my placement Do not allow me to see my extended family as much as I would’ve liked.

I have seen God through the work that Dr. Reddix does. Being in medicine is no simple feat, but to be in medicine and also pastor in a local church is a task only few can do. Watching Dr. Reddix work in all communities that she can is inspiring. I have felt God through words of recognition and affirmation. When people tell me that I am making a difference in the community, it affirmed my belief that God is working through me in this placement. While I can’t think of an instance where I heard or sensed God, I know that he is with me always and he is with Dr. Reddix as she sees patients and ministers to her community.

Because of the nature of my internship, I didn’t go into it with expectations. I wasn’t sure what my internship would include or entail, so I went into the internship with the mindset of absorbing as much as possible. My internship involves faith in medicine. On a daily basis, I would listen and answer voicemails that pertained to the clinic and ranked them according to importance. On a weekly basis, I would be tasked with uploading patient information and helping research grants. I think the most surprising or interesting thing I learned was the huge need for accessible healthcare. In the back of my mind, I always assumed that minority groups were most in need, which is still true, but I wasn’t expecting such a diverse age group. I was surprised to see patients as young as 16 coming to the clinic for help. Patients in their 30s and 40s made sense to me, but it broke my heart that the healthcare system has pushed people physically and financially that they must resort to a clinic to seek care. While there is nothing wrong with seeking healthcare at clinics, I would’ve liked to believe that healthcare would’ve been more accessible to all. Being able to not only access healthcare, but afford it as well. Many people can’t afford ER visits or emergency procedures, which means more people rely on urgent and primary care. I have taken advantage of my privilege to afford such things and going forward, I hope to be more mindful and thoughtful.

In this internship, I have learned the value of caring and having compassion for others.  Not knowing someone’s situation should not factor into how you treat them. Countless times I have seen people assume the others are poor or low income and therefore have treated them with little to no respect. For whatever reason, they believe that these people are less deserving of basic human kindness because they are not of the same economic status as them.

Caring for patients that come from different economic and cultural backgrounds have helped me understand that some situations that people find themselves in or not of their own creation. Because of systems that are in place, many people who are low income receive the bottom of the barrel resources. They are directed to health clinics that are overrun with patients, shelters that never have an open bed, and financial resources that have been exhausted throughout the pandemic. While I’m not saying that all low locate income families are on government assistance, I am saying that the government has failed low income families by not providing quality healthcare and quality resources to them. Having access to a clinic is always great, however, the care you receive may differ from care you may receive in an upscale hospital. Not all clinics are like that, but the majority receive grants and funding from the government and nonprofits, which dictates what they can and cannot provide. This internship has created a mindset for me that entails a level of compassion and empathy for those that have not been afforded the privilege of being able to afford high priced, high quality healthcare. Everything in this country costs money and the more money you have, the more opportunities or resources are given to you. Considering most of the patients the clinic sees are the opposite of that, it speaks to how diverse and restrictive healthcare can be.