Project Healthcare
Project
Healthcare is an innovative volunteer program for enthusiastic and inspired
college and post-baccalaureate students. Created by the Bellevue Hospital
Center Emergency Department, PHC allows students an opportunity to experience
and observe many different aspects of healthcare. The program is comprised of
several weekly rotations which are based in the Emergency Department. It offers
the committed student a unique healthcare experience, which is intended to
furnish a wealth of knowledge about the numerous options for a career in
healthcare. Additional rotations in other areas of the hospital as well as
participation in research and health fair projects allow students the exposure
they need to make educated career choices. Furthermore, lectures and weekly
meetings provide students with a chance to discuss medical issues, including the
practical problems that hospitals, patients, and medical staff encounter in the
healthcare system.
Project
Healthcare is a very demanding program, requiring a great deal of commitment on
the part of the student. This year the program will begin in early June and end
in mid-August, totaling ten weeks. The first week of the program entails an
orientation that includes and introduction to the Emergency Department and
other rotation areas, informational lectures, and certification in CPR and First
Aid. For the remaining nine weeks of the program, participants should expect to
work a minimum of 22 hours a week in scheduled rotations, and should plan on
working additional hours to prepare research and health fair projects. In
addition, students are required to attend a weekly two-hour team meeting.
Clinical rotations are scheduled in five-hour blocks, seven days a week, from
7am-11pm. Participants should expect to be scheduled for three to four randomly
assigned shifts per week. Rotations take place in the Emergency Department
(which consists of Adult Emergency Services, Pediatric Emergency Services,
Psychiatric Emergency Services, Urgent Care, the Emergency Ward, and Social
Work), the Recovery Room, and the Operating Room.
During
shifts, participants are expected to perform structured tasks that will assist
doctors, nurses, social workers, patients, and administrators. These tasks
include, but are not limited to, making up stretchers, stocking supplies,
performing EKGs, and patient transport. In addition, volunteers act as patient
advocates, performing such duties as making phone calls on behalf of patients,
monitoring the patient's length of stay, and interpreting.. At times during the
summer, participants may be asked to spend a shift collecting data for quality
assurance research in addition to their assigned Project Healthcare research.
All of these tasks provide an invaluable service to Bellevue, while at the same
time offering students the unparalleled opportunity to observe and assist in
clinical care.
Additional
required activities include: ambulance ride along, health fair presentation,
and team presentations of research study results at the Department of Emergency
Medicine conference.
Additional
optional activities include: autopsy observation, participation in the
Child-Life Program, and participation in the Reach Out and Read Program.
Annually,
the program accepts between 50 and 60 students. We invite applications from
mature, committed, and motivated students who fully accept the demands of
Project Healthcare and have a willingness to participate enthusiastically in
all aspects of the program. We encourage applications not only from students
with a strong interest in healthcare (aspiring doctors, nurses, nurse-practitioners,
physician assistants, clinical psychologists/psychiatrists, and clinical social
workers), but also from students who are uncertain about pursuing a career in
healthcare.
Please
note that housing is not provided as part of this program.
Please
read the Frequenlty
Asked Questions(requires Adobe
Acrobat Reader) thoroughly before submitting your application.
We begin
accepting applications on November 15th 2008 through January 16, 2008.
To apply,
please download and print the application
form (requires Adobe
Acrobat Reader). Mail the completed application packet including the
checklist to:
Ashley
Colucci
Coordinator of Emergency Medicine Research
Department of Emergency Medicine
Bellevue Hospital Center
462 First Avenue, Suite 345A
New York, NY 10016
phone: (212) 562 - 3041
fax: (212) 562-3001
[log in to unmask]