Christina Tian (12) sends a patient home after getting discharged, she pushes their wheelchair through the glass automatic doors of Palomar Medical Center before handing them off to a family member, Aug 21. She heads back upstairs to prepare the next patient to be seen by the doctor.
Tian has been interning at the hospital for 6 to 7 months, working 4-hour shifts weekly as an intern. Her job is to help the nurses by taking care of the busy, miscellaneous tasks.
“It’s really hard for the nurses to get to every patient, which is why I’m quite busy,” Tian said. “There are small needs like ‘Can you raise my bed?’, ‘Can you get me a blanket?’, ‘Can you change my pillowcases?’, and ‘Can you get me water?’ All of those small needs are really hard for nurses to get to, which is why it’s my job to help out in any way I can.”
During her free time between taking care of patients, Tian shadows the doctors.
“When shadowing a doctor, I’ve got to learn about the different equipment they use, like vital machines,” Tian said. “I’ve learned how to take blood, temperature and oxygen levels. Sometimes the doctors teach me about the medication and prescriptions they give to patients.”
As a high school intern, there’s a very limited number of things Tian is allowed to do during her shifts. When there are no more patients to tend to and no doctors available to shadow, she converses with patients.
“A lot of my conversations with them have changed my perspective on life and growing up,” Tian said. “I once met a lady who was in a domestically abusive relationship but found the courage to escape her abuser and leave the situation she was in. I found her story really impressive, especially how she now provides for her children by herself, even without a high school education. After listening to numerous stories like these, my view and perspective on people have broadened. I’ve learned that you genuinely should always treat people with kindness because you never know what they have been through. Listening to the different circumstances people grew up in also made me learn that you need to value all your opportunities and never judge someone for not having the same ones as you.”
According to Tian, sometimes she has to take care of the families of patients who have passed away.
“It’s a very uncomfortable and sad experience watching these patients go,” Tian said. “The most I can do is help their family through it because I see so many families literally crying and sobbing in those rooms, and the best way is to just provide them with as much comfort as possible.”
Tina’s interest in the medical field started when she was 5 years old, after she realized she loved helping people.
“I’ve always liked to do little things like volunteering to help take a classmate to the nurse,” Tian said. “I always needed to take care of someone, and it came naturally to me. Plus, I love socializing with people, so the medical field just genuinely felt like the best fit. I don’t know for certain if it will be in the future, but at the moment, it’s what I’m most interested in.”
Tian said that Interning at Palomar Medical Center has further deepened her interest in the healthcare industry.
“After getting some hands-on experience, I have grown more respect for all the healthcare workers,” Tian said. “Being able to see the smiles on the patient’s faces after helping them makes me feel even more motivated to work in the medical industry.”
