Pictured left to right: Rachel scribing for Michelle Cornell, APRN.
When Rachel Horvat, a Lake Highland Preparatory School graduate, was searching for a meaningful medical internship following her graduation from the University of Florida with a BS in Biology, she didn’t have to look far. She turned to Grace Medical Home’s Gap Year Internship program.
Gap Year Interns are exposed to all aspects of patient care and given hands-on learning opportunities alongside our staff, volunteers, and other health professionals in a unique, supportive, and caring environment. Gap Year Interns have meaningful patient interactions while practicing essential skills and gaining experiences to equip them for their future healthcare careers. Our primary goal for the internship is to increase exposure to medicine, to learn medical terminology, and to ignite their calling and launch their vision for their medical future.
Rachel began serving as a Gap Year Intern at Grace Medical Home in May 2022. Since then, she has served over 1,100 volunteer hours as a Care Manager/Scribe. Scribes work dynamically with our staff and volunteer providers by updating patient charts in our electronic health record. Her service and leadership proved so valuable, that she was appointed a Gap Year Intern Lead overseeing this year’s Scribes.
Rachel recently shared how her Gap Year Intern experience has equipped her for her future as a physician. Her heartfelt comments embody what we aspire for the program to mean to all of our Gap Year Interns.
What experience(s) at Grace equipped you for your future profession?
It is difficult to pick just one experience that has equipped me for my future profession because I believe the culmination of my time at Grace has not only altered the lens in which I view medicine but has also shaped me into the person I am today.
Since joining the Grace family, I have been constantly surrounded by people who demonstrate the values that Grace upholds on a daily basis, including but not limited to extending grace, hope, compassion, love, and commitment to excellent care to those who need it most. Grace’s mission and the people have pushed me to become the best person I can possibly be as I aspire to be more like Christ.
I believe the overall influence Grace has had on my life has equipped me to stay strong in my faith, values, and morals throughout difficult and trying times that are ahead of me in my future career. I remember Dr. Hardy was stressing to the gap year interns the importance of knowing your why. He proposed a rhetorical question one time during lunch asking, “What is it that will get you through hard days in medical school? Why are you waking up early for rounds? Why are you spending long hours studying? Why do you continue on this path when sometimes it may feel overwhelming, stressful, and difficult?”
I think about this frequently whenever I have doubts or uncertainty about my career choice in medicine. Thinking about this moment grounds me and reminds me why I am pursuing medicine. I used to think that being a doctor was my purpose in life, but this often left me scared and hesitant.
It wasn’t until Amanda (Alvarado, former Gap Year Intern) explained to me the difference between purpose and calling that I finally understood my true purpose. She said that as Christians our purpose in life is to serve God and to love others, while our calling is how we execute our purpose. Our calling is how we serve God and our fellow friends, family and neighbors, which continues to give me peace and confidence in my purpose and my career choice.
My daily experience at Grace surrounded by dedicated Christians, during devotions, or praying for patients, or Bible studies has helped not only lead me back to God but has nurtured my growing relationship with the Lord. Grace has taught me an incredible amount about medicine, the body, diseases, the healthcare system, and how to treat patients. But it is my newfound recommitment to Christianity and Jesus Christ that I believe has equipped me the most for my future profession and life. And for that, I am forever grateful to Grace.
