Makayla Muzinic on her internship with the Frances Nelson Health Center of Promise Healthcare

My name is Makayla Muzinic, and I am a senior double majoring in Anthropology and Integrative Biology. Over this past summer, I was able to intern at the Frances Nelson Health Center of Promise Healthcare in Champaign, IL. I was placed in the prenatal department because I have experience in the Carle NICU, and I was selected as a recipient of the Liebman Engaged Anthropology Award from this university. While this internship was medical based, I was able to apply the many interpersonal skills I’ve gained from taking anthropology classes here. I was able to interact with prenatal patients who spoke a language other than English and who had different cultural influences relating to pregnancy and prenatal care. I spent a large amount of my time with patients, but I also was involved in other separate projects like creating educational materials for families. The biggest anthropological takeaway from this internship was being able to observe new cultures in a healthcare setting which was very interesting and meaningful.