Division of Community Women's Health

Neha Ray, Summer 2016

This summer, I worked with the Division of Community Women’s Health, part of the UC Department of OBGYN. In addition to gaining invaluable clinical experience, I was able to talk one-on-one with patients both in and out of the clinic to understand the many factors affecting their health beyond just medical care. Learning about their experiences will undoubtedly make be a better and more compassionate physician as I encounter my own patients in the future.

As an intern, I spent the majority of my time in several OBGYN clinics run by Cincinnati Health Department and staffed by the Division of Community Women’s Health. While all of the clinics provided care to underserved patients, the dynamics of the healthcare team and the demographics of the patients varied in each clinic. Throughout the summer, I got a sense of the distinct ways in which different providers approach similar cases both clinically and in their interactions with patients.

In addition to shadowing, my main project for the summer was to identify the barriers to accessing prenatal care in the patient population seen by the Division of Community Women’s Health. Coming into my internship, I learned that there was consistent no show rate of about 30% throughout the Cincinnati Health Department. This indicated to us that there were significant issues with accessing care, notably concerning in our prenatal patients. To address this issue, I designed a structured interview that I gave verbally to all willing patients who came in for prenatal care appointments. The interview addressed the barriers that patients encounter when getting to their appointments, such as transportation, lack of available childcare, and jobs during normal clinic hours. It also included questions about current transportation use, technology access, and opinions about the clinic. Conducting short interviews with the patients before they saw their provider gave me a unique way to build relationships with patients as a I learned a little bit about them beyond the information in their medical record. After my interviews, I had the opportunity to discuss any health concerns that they might have before they transitioned into a clinical encounter with their physician.

In addition to my time in different clinics, I also shadowed Community Health Workers on their visits to see patients in their homes. While my conversations with patients in clinic had helped me learn more about our patients, actually getting to see them in their homes was an eye-opening experience. The Community Health Workers had formed strong relationships with their assigned patients, and speaking to both the health workers and the patients gave me a more personal understanding of the barriers that our patients face.

Through my internship, I have gained a better understanding of our patient population as well as how to provide care to patients from all different backgrounds. This experience will undoubtedly benefit me in my future career and I am thankful to have had this opportunity.