Amelia Goff, a Commmunity HealthCorps Alumni and current Project Coordinator for the RCHN Community Health Foundation, was recently interviewed about how serving in AmeriCorps through the Community HealthCorps has impacted her current and future plans. When asked about how being in Community HealthCorps influenced her decision to remain in the health field, Amelia said:
“Community HealthCorps provided a rich environment for an invaluable year of exploration. Prior to Community HealthCorps, I worked with an International Public Health NGO and learned about international health issues, but was also interested in increasing my understanding of domestic care and the American health care system. I learned so much by “doing” as a Community HealthCorps member. In the outpatient site for the Beth Israel Family Medicine Residency Program, I was constantly stimulated in the teaching environment, with access to weekly resident lectures and periodic trainings. I shadowed different types of providers and health professionals, from nurse midwives to social workers, to help clarify my career goals. I learned not only about the clinical aspects of caring for a community of patients hailing from all boroughs in the city, but also the barriers that prevent people from accessing the care that they deserve thereby fostering health disparities. The health center and its staff were constantly working to help patients overcome these barriers to access through interventions and programs and this staff that I worked alongside inspired me to continue working to support health care delivery for underserved populations. In the long term, I plan to go back to school to become a family nurse practitioner, and to obtain a master’s in public health focused in maternal child health, to continue serving the community.”
Be sure to read the rest of the interview by visiting the alumni section of the Community HealthCorps website!
