IAFP Summer Externships Invest in the Future of Family Medicine

Summer Externships were back in session this year. The Family Health Foundation Summer Externship Experience is supported in part by a matching grant from the AAFP Foundation.  The Foundation is grateful to Illinois Advance for their support which enabled that matching grant.  We’re proud to share the stories of the two 2021 student externships and the preceptors who made it special for them.

Rural Full Scope Family Medicine
Diana Wu, now a second-year student at Carle College of Medicine in Urbana, was selected as the first ever student for the Rural Full Scope Family Medicine Externship in Gibson City, created by IAFP board member Kristina Dakis, MD. Diana grew up in a mid-sized Iowa town and had previous experience volunteering at a local hospital and EMT training in Peosta, Iowa.  True to its name, Diana’s full scope externship experience included an incredible array of opportunities and patient visits.

Because family physicians do all the deliveries at Gibson Area Hospital, Diana had many opportunities to observe and gradually assist in the labor and delivery unit over the course of four weeks. IAFP visited the pair during the final week of the externship and by the end of the day, Diana had some hands-on experience assisting in her first vaginal delivery.

“I am still in awe with the unforgettable opportunity to assist in a delivery with Dr. Dakis,” recounted Wu. “She kindly walked me through the steps of before, during, and after of labor and delivery - from talking with mom and guiding her through what will happen, assessing the delivery stages and baby during labor to delivering the placenta and suturing lacerations to the newborn screening and serum testing and more.  The baby at one point was stuck, but Dr. Dakis demonstrated how to hold the baby by the armpits to guide them out. The overall delivery was ultimately a healthy mom and baby!”

“Dr. Dakis is a leader through and through - from her work with IAFP to her natural calmness seen in interactions with patients and the health care team. She is a role-model physician, and I am honored to learn from her.” Wu summarized in her final externship report.

In an interview with IAFP, Dr. Dakis commented that Diana had participated in so many well-baby visits she could probably do them entirely on her own at this point in her career.  

Federally Qualified Health Center
University of Illinois at Peoria student Alejandra Pineada grew up in Elgin and was selected to spend four weeks at Mile Square Health Center in Cicero for the Federally Qualified Health Center Experience spearheaded by IAFP board member Christina Wells, MD.

A first-generation Mexican American, Alejandra was interested in the medically underserved populations and communities, specifically Latin/Hispanic communities. During her gap year before medical school, she worked at a primary care clinic serving underserved adults and saw the numerous barriers minority and elderly patients encounter when attempting to obtain primary care, preventive care, and medications.

Given the nature of the Mile Square practice and her August timeline, Alejandra was able to participate in many school physicals.  At the same time, Cicero’s highly Latinx population also gave her ample opportunity to use her Spanish, which Dr. Wells found extremely valuable in facilitating important conversations.  

Beyond the clinical knowledge gained from the externship, Pineada shared she has more confidence for her own future patient encounters at school and at clinical locations. “I learned how to structure visits, specifically for discussions to be able to be both effective in obtaining necessary information as well as productive discussions with patients to form a healthy patient-physician relationship. Another aspect that I learned from my provider specifically was that nutrition takes part in every disease as treatment and prevention.”

“I came in with an interest in family medicine and after the opportunities, I was exposed to during this externship program, my interest is even stronger,” summarized Pineada. “I already knew the effect that socio-economic statuses and housing have on health. However, this experience really emphasized that 100% more.”

Watch for a more in-depth report (and more photos) in the IAFP Annual Report, coming in February 2022.