Field Placement:  VA West Los Angeles Healthcare Center, Patient Education Resource Center
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Preceptor: Paul West
Student Name: Marianne Bruno
Year: 2008

For my CHS400 field studies, I interned at the West Los Angeles VA in the Patient Education Resource Center (PERC). Upon beginning the position, I immediately assumed the job responsibilities of a VA health educator. The internship project was learning how to provide “Health Education for Veteran Patients.” The VA is unique in that it integrates primary care with health education, thereby focusing on primary and secondary prevention much more heavily than other healthcare systems. As a result, public health professionals, namely health educators, have an important role in day-to-day patient treatment. The PERCs in the Greater Los Angeles VA network, which are under the supervision of my preceptor, Paul West, are integral to improving the quality of care for veteran patients. I also worked under the supervision of Angelina Chan, who is the coordinator of the West LA PERC.

The main purpose of the internship was to learn how to educate veteran patients in a healthcare setting. I spent time learning about health education techniques, counseling patients on health conditions, teaching diabetes classes, teaching classes in the mental health outpatient program, designing patient education material, promoting the PERC throughout the hospital, and planning a Sleep and Relaxation health promotion event. Throughout this process, I worked with other health educators, social workers, nurses, physicians, dieticians, pharmacists and administrative staff.

Health literacy was an especially important element of my training as a health educator. In West LA, some patients are well-educated, others may just have a high school diploma, and some are homeless and facing mental health problems. It was always important to consider the health literacy level of the patients you were working with. At times it took a lot of patience, composure and creativity to convey health information.

The position reaffirmed my feelings towards health education; I feel that it is an extremely important aspect of public health and want to be involved in it throughout my career. I also developed a greater appreciation for the VA system and saw first-hand how it is moving in the right direction as a health care system focused on primary and secondary prevention.
Finally, in regards to the veteran population, my feelings changed throughout the summer as I grew more and more comfortable working with the patients. Overall, I developed a sense of compassion towards the patients, who are at a time in their lives when they are need a great deal of assistance. I now feel very strongly about ensuring that they receive quality healthcare, including health education. Many patients are facing chronic conditions now because the focus on prevention and health promotion was lacking in their youth. The internship demonstrated that we, as public health professionals, have a significant amount of work to do in promoting health among all Americans, but especially among veterans.

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