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Intern pursues career goals in preventive health department

Hannah Silverthorne wants to focus her career on keeping you out of your doctor's office. She's making strides with that goal with an internship in the KU School of Medicine-Wichita's department of preventive medicine and public health.

Hannah Silverthorne wants to focus her career on keeping you out of your doctor's office.

She's making strides with that goal with an internship in the KU School of Medicine-Wichita's department of preventive medicine and public health. 

"It's been great, because they've let me do the things I'm interested in and want to do," Silverthorne said.

It's also the first time a student from the community health program at KU's Lawrence campus has interned on the Wichita campus. Silverthorne, 22, grew up in Wichita and has been staying with her parents during her internship, which started in August and runs through the end of the year.

Set to graduate in December, Silverthorne originally planned to major in nursing. "I've since decided I want to focus on prevention," she said. "I like to help people and I like to work with people."

In Wichita, she's been working with Dr. Elizabeth Ablah, associate professor of preventive medicine and public health, on the WorkWell Kansas program. A partnership between the KU School of Medicine-Wichita, the Kansas Health Foundation, Wichita Business Coalition on Health Care, and others, the effort is designed to help worksites improve their wellness policies and practice.

"They go out and do workshops at different places, teaching how to bring wellness into worksites," Silverthorne said. "It also addresses tobacco (and) mental health, how you can change your environment, and policies to make a worksite a healthier place."

Much of her work, Silverthorne said, has been answering follow-up questions that participants pose to Dr. Ablah. "She'll send those to me, and I do a literature search to answer their questions."

Research sources include the PubMed and Google Scholar search engines. "We also have a pretty good backstop of literature," she said.

Silverthorne said she's also had time to attend and learn from the weekly Kansas Public Health Grand Rounds teleconferences, in which she's heard experts on subjects ranging from measles to mental health.

The next chapter of her education in preventive health begins in January, with a paid internship with Southwest Airlines in Dallas.

 

 


KU School of Medicine-Wichita