As of 2015, I am certified in health literacy for older adults. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (n.d.),"Health literacy is defined as the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information needed to make appropriate health decisions and services needed to prevent or treat illness." This certification was helpful for me during my Health Science Internship experience as I worked with elderly patients at Clemson Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation. I made sure to watch the rate at which I was speaking to the elderly patients and observed their actions to see if they understood the directions given to them for each activity.

       I also completed CITI training in the summer of 2015 in order to be a student researcher for Clemson's Health Science Creative Inquiry course. I completed the CITI basic course for Behavioral and Social Science Research in order to meet the Human Subjects Research Training requirement at Clemson University. I will be working with patients with early to mid-stage Alzheimer's disease and their caregivers in nearby skilled care and hospital facilities as of Fall 2015. I am currently in the process of completing prerequisites for this Creative Inquiry course. Feel free to view the website for the CITI program to learn more about Human Subjects Research training by clicking here.

      Additionally, I became certified in American Heart Association Heartsaver First Aid and BLS for Healthcare Providers. Both of these certifications are not only quite necessary for the field I want to work in, but they provide skills that I feel anyone should and can know in order to try to save a life at any time. If you would like to learn more, you can access the American Heart Association website by clicking here.

      Briefly following these certifications, I became certified with the Cholestech LDX System as of October 2015. Knowing how to use this system gives me the skill to check someone's glucose, cholesterol, and lipid levels. This information helps people learn about their internal health status and allows them to makes changes to their daily diets and exercise plans accordingly. More information about the system can be found on the official website, which you can find by clicking here.