Field Placement: Veteran's
Administration (VA) Sepulveda -- Patient Education Resource Center (PERC)
Location: North Hills, CA
Student Name: Mansze Kong
Year: 2002
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The Patient Education Resource
Center (PERC) is situated at the Sepulveda campus of the Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA Sepulveda) in North Hills, California. The VA Sepulveda is part
of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Greater Los Angeles (VAGLA) network which
also includes facilities in West Los Angeles and Downtown Los Angeles. PERC,
located in the ambulatory care building, coordinates the provision of health
information to all patients receiving care at the VA Sepulveda. This center
also coordinates the development, production, customization, dissemination and
evaluation of health information to the other VA facilities within the VAGLA
network. The Patient Education Resource Center (PERC) provided a great opportunity
for me to work with both patients and health professional in the veteran setting.
Particularly, I had the opportunity to provide health education to patients
in an environment supportive of promoting preventive medicine. I was able to
collaborate with health care professionals in the development, implementation
and evaluation of programs to improve health care for this population. My projects
were to develop patient education materials and activities to improve patient
understanding of healthy lifestyle behaviors, improve compliance and increase
patient satisfaction through increased access to health information and counseling.
I was able to work with the preceptor in developing a scope of work agreeable
to both intern and PERC. I was encouraged to focus on issues of my own choosing
that I felt was important to the veteran population as well. I was encouraged
to apply theories and concepts that I learned in school in the development,
implementation or evaluating of patient education activities. I had the opportunity
to work with a variety of health care professionals, including physicians, pharmacists,
psychologists, social workers, dietitians and nurses in all aspects of health
education. I also had the opportunity to participate in preventive health care
counseling, to develop activities tailored to their area of concentration and
to evaluate current interventions at the VA Sepulveda. Results achieved includes
meeting my objectives listed in my scope of work and fulfilling the accompanying
activities for each objective. Specific accomplishments included the development
of presentations on health issues to patients, continual assessment of health
education materials at the VA Sepulveda, becoming a Smoking Cessation Counselor
and the development of a comprehensive list of Internet Health Websites on diseases
and illnesses designed to facilitate providers in obtaining reliable health
information for their patients. Theories applied in my projects included the
Stages of Change Theory, Health Behavioral Model, Social Cognitive Theory, Theory
of Reasoned Action and Model of Planned Behavior. Students who enjoy constant
interaction with both patients and health care professionals will find this
internship especially enjoyable and rewarding. I was able to develop my communication
skills and learn to conduct assessments to enhance patient learning.
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