Field Placement: Harbor-UCLA Women’s Health Care Nurse Practitioner Program
Location: Torrance, CA
Preceptor: Martha Baird
Student Name: Leah Kang
Year: 2004

The Harbor-UCLA Women's Health Care Nurse Practitioner Program is a non-profit organization that provides registered nurses with advanced practice nursing education and training in women's health care. Its goal is to improve and expand quality health care to women over the life course. Since its inception in 1969, it has increased access to basic medical services in underserved communities by increasing the number of highly qualified nurse practitioners providing direct health services to individuals in need.

As an intern during the summer of 2004, my primary objective was to identify new funding streams for the program. At the time I entered the placement, the program was beginning to undergo many changes. New legislation affecting the program was about to be passed. Part of my job was to track the progress of the bill and help identify new pathways for the program to meet the legislative changes. I researched new funding opportunities, conducted literature reviews, and drafted letters to potential funders.

Another project I took part in was entitled, "What if...," a project supported by the March of Dimes' Prematurity Campaign. It centered around the development of a brochure to be used as a tool for counseling a woman at a health visit during which she has a negative pregnancy test result. The goal was to reach high-risk women with important information regarding their health before they become pregnant. The negative pregnancy test serves as a window of opportunity - an effective teachable moment in which to educate high-risk women. The brochure outlined positive preconceptional care actions that can improve a woman's reproductive health. I attended staff meetings regarding the status of the program and assisted in various aspects of the project.

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