Venice Family Clinic supports not only its patients in all aspects of health, but also its staff and their career goals. With the Nursing Professional Development Fund, Clinic staff can apply for grants to support their professional development.
Here are just a few of the recent recipients of the Nursing Professional Development Fund grant.
Having been with Venice Family Clinic for four years in different roles, Edgar Galicia has gotten a taste of what it could be like as medical provider. The Los Angeles native started out as a contract care navigator, shadowing medical assistants and learning about the different aspects of patient care. Galicia now works in our Health Insurance Enrollment department and will use this grant to help cover tuition for his medical assistant program at UCLA.
“I like patient care because I like to meet people and hear their stories. But most of all I like to think that my actions in this field can help make a difference in a person’s life, and that to me is the most gratifying feeling.”
After beginning her tenure at Venice Family Clinic as a volunteer, Shantea Barnes has worked in the Rose Avenue lab as a phlebotomist for the past 10 years. Barnes, who grew up in nearby Culver City, is also a biology major at Southwest College and plans to become a physician assistant. She will use her grant to pay for prerequisite classes.
“I would like to be a PA because I can help people who are less fortunate and make a difference in my community. If the Clinic accepts me as a PA, I would hope to expand homeless outreach to other areas, maybe downtown or the inner city, to help homeless youth. I would also like to use what I’ve learned at Venice Family Clinic to start new programs for low-income families and for children.”
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Joey Grotts started working for Venice Family Clinic two years ago as a volunteer resource case manager through AmeriCorps. Today he is a case manager at our Rose Avenue location. He said the nurses at the Clinic have inspired him to pursue nursing as a career because “they always seem to go above and beyond for patients, not only by addressing their medical concerns, but also through compassionate care to address a patient’s social needs as well.” He plans to use his grant to help pay for prerequisite classes so he can apply to nursing programs and eventually become either a family nurse practitioner or a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner.
“While working at Venice Family Clinic, I have learned how to best work with patients to help them meet their basic needs.. This will greatly help me in my future as a nurse because I will be able to understand a patient’s medical concerns and also be aware of how their psychosocial status is impacting their health.”
Originally from Delano in California’s Central Valley, Martin Vazquez moved to Los Angeles to attend UCLA for his undergraduate studies. He has worked at the Clinic for two years as an EMR trainer, assisting medical staff by decreasing their time spent charting and increasing their time spent with patients. Vazquez has found the work humbling and impactful, as he would listen to patients’ stories and add relevant information into their electronic medical records. He plans to use this grant to pay for UCLA Extension classes.
“Growing up, I always wanted to become a medical provider who spoke the same language as my patients. By overcoming a language barrier, a provider is able to focus more time on patient care than struggling with the correct translation. I hope to accomplish my dream of eventually becoming a physician for those patients in need, especially in underserved, underrepresented communities.”
We invite all Clinic staff to apply for a Nursing Professional Development Fund grant. Decisions are made on a rolling basis.