One of the programs at the Bateman Horne Center is the medical internship program. Each year, BHC hosts medical student interns, investing in their educational journey. The goal is to not only provide them hands-on experience but ensure that, as a member of the next generation of caregivers for those with ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia, they are well informed, understanding, and empathetic.
Here is what two of them had to say about there experience:
Pelle Wall – a 21 year old premedical college student in his fourth year at Pomona College in Claremont, CA. He spent the summer between his junior and senior year of college as a volunteer intern with the Bateman Horne Center, and will be applying to medical school in the spring.
“My collective experience at the Bateman Horne Center had a profoundly humanizing effect on the way in which I view those afflicted by illness, touching me in a way I had never before experienced.”
“I have gained a deeper appreciation for the power of medical care to make profound differences in people’s lives, having heard incredible first hand accounts from patients and tracking many others’ progress via their medical charts… My time with the Bateman Horne Center has provided me invaluable experiences and insights into the field of medicine, and played a large role in further igniting my passion to pursue a career as a physician.”
Nicole Baldwin – a resident of Minnesota who interned with the Bateman Horne Center for two summers while an undergraduate. Her experience with having a parent with ME/CFS made the internship especially insightful and valuable personally. She currently is attending the University of Minnesota Medical School, where she is possibly considering internal medicine or neurology.
“One of the most valuable parts of this experience was being directly involved with the care, research, advocacy, and education necessary to transform the lives of patients with ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia.”“It was hearing patients’ stories and being involved in the puzzle of how to best care for them that really helped me make the decision to become a physician in order to advocate for patients…Having the example of the center and my own experience through this internship, I feel much more empowered to use my medical education, research resources, and voice to work with patients toward restoration in their lives.”
When you support the Bateman Horne Center, you help ensure programs such as these continue and grow.