The Controls section of the marketing plan serves as a guide for evaluating the overall plan. It also helps to ensure that the plan will be implemented and executed properly.To complete your Controls
“Lessons Learned as a Student Intern”
“Assalamu Alaykum,” was the Arabic greeting I heard every morning as I walked into Millennium Medical Center. An internal medicine practice based in Falls Church, Virginia, Millennium Medical Center caters to a wide variety of patients including foreign diplomats, international students, and elderly residents of Northern Virginia. The medical director, Dr. Shayma Al-Mudhafar is a licensed internal medicine physician who speaks Arabic and English fluently. Her ability to speak Arabic and her charismatic and caring personality is what draws majority of her patients to her.
As an intern at Millennium Medical Center, I was responsible for interacting with patients and managing the front desk. I was initially assigned to manage the front desk, answer phone calls, and check in patients. I was also instructed on how to perform minimal nursing orders, such as obtaining vital signs(such as blood pressure, temperature, pulse rate, respiration rate, height, and weight) and conducting lab work, including urine toxicology, urinalysis, and urine pregnant tests. As I became adept to completing these tasks, I wanted to make a larger impact at the office. So I sat down with the supervising physician, Dr. Shayma Al-Mudhafar to determine what I can do to be more efficient in the office. She guided me to Seher Rakin, the physician assistant in the office. Seher is originally from Afghanistan, but learned Arabic through her friends. Despite her being able to understand Arabic, she cannot speak it fluently. She had repeatedly mentioned to me how difficult it was at times to communicate with her patients and how she would have to ask the phlebotomist or the front desk help her translate. This made it increasingly difficult when the office was busy, as it would pull staff members from their duties. Having experience working with the Middle Eastern population, as I am originally from Saudi Arabia, and being fluent in English and Arabic, I jumped at the opportunity to engage with a diverse population of patients, which sometimes involved gender and culture issues, as well as sensitive public health matters.
Medical translation is very important when the health care provider and the patient do not speak the same language. If the patient cannot express what he or she is feeling and does not understand what the provider is asking, it makes it very difficult for the provider to get an accurate medical history. It is important to have effective communication skills with patients and their families in order to come up with the best treatment plan for the patient. Furthermore, the patient will understand what is being done and what needs to be done for their treatment. Working as a medical translator was very effective in the office and efficient, as I was a female medical translator. Due to cultural and religious factors, many female patients only wanted to be seen by a female staff member. I made them feel comfortable in the room and they could easily take off their niqaab (face cover) or hijab (headcover) if need be. The project was a success as Seher got to see her patients and give them the best care without interrupting the rest of the office. One patient in particular had recently come from Saudi Arabia to attend her son’s graduation. She was a type II diabetic who had forgotten her medications in Saudi Arabia and wanted a refill. It was initially difficult for her to comprehend needing a prescription, as in Saudi it is common practice to go to the pharmacy and purchase medications without a prescription. As I was aware of the customs in Saudi and have been living in the United stated for the past seven years, I was able to explain both to Seher and the patient the difference in protocol. After getting the full medical history with my help in medical translation, Seher was able to prescribe her the diabetes medications and educate her on controlling her blood sugars while in the United States.
I am very satisfied with completing this internship. It is very empowering to help others with something as simple as medical translation. It makes me feel a part of the team and I know by translating, I have made a difference in someone’s life.
