Lessons Learned From an Evening of Networking

On Thursday the 15th of May the Professional Development Committee of our Philadelphia HealthCorps sponsored a networking event. As a member of the PD committee I got to be a part of the behind the scenes planning as well as enjoy the night itself. It was rewarding to see the whole event come together. Starting off with a list of career tracts our members were interested in, we began soliciting Philadelphia area professionals in March and were overwhelmed by the willing responses. We had 20 professionals attend the event who had experience in social work, public health, education, nutrition, domestic and global medicine, research, and the medical reserve corps. We kept the format casual allowing for free flow networking with occasional timed reminders.  It was a great opportunity for our members to learn about different career options as well as the many paths one can take to get there. Additionally we were able to practice our networking skills!

My favorite part of the evening was that I got to talk to a diverse array of professionals.  As someone going into medicine, it was interesting to learn how professionals in different fields including social workers, nutritionists, and medical practitioners could work together to care for the whole person. I have been spending my AmeriCorps term serving at health center #10 as an insurance specialist. HC#10 is one of Philadelphia Department of Public Health’s eight health centers in the city. The health centers offer their patients many resources beyond a basic doctor’s visit. For example, patients are able to take smoking cessation classes, get nutritional counseling, meet with a social worker as needed, and get help applying for insurance and prescription assistance programs. Although I have had the opportunity to see this model in practice at the health center, Thursday night’s event allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of the different perspective varied professionals can bring to an individuals’ care and why this is such a beneficial collaboration for the patient.  These are lessons that I will take with me in July when I leave the HealthCorps for medical school.

Many of our Corps members expressed similar sentiments after the event. Whether they spent the evening conversing with a broad array of professionals or getting advice on the specific niche they were interested in, all benefitted from the experience. For this, we owe a big thank you to the professionals who participated in our event!

PD Committee Members introducing the Professionals
 

This post was written by PHC member Ashley Barnes.
Ashley serves at the Philadelphia Department of Public Health - Ambulatory Health Services as an Insurance Specialist.