Building for a Future in Healthcare

For Jaida Robins, the last few months have flown by. Just this July, Jaida started her coursework with Propel and AccelerateU at National Louis University to become a medical assistant. She’s now finished up her externship at Penn Med in Philadelphia, PA and is ready for the hiring process, with the support of the team at Penn Med and her Propel coach.

When we first caught up with Jaida in August, she shared that she’s becoming a medical assistant because she was met and was comforted by medical assistants as she was treated for Crohn’s disease, a condition she was diagnosed with in 2016.

“I’ve always been in and out of the hospital, and I’ve always found comfort in medical assistants,” she shared then. “They always stuck out to me.”

Since then, Jaida has aced her classes at AccelerateU and continued to learn during her externship. She shared, “The externship was hands-on… I learned a lot; I’ve gotten better with drawing blood and giving flu shots.”

Throughout the program, Jaida was supported by her Propel coach, Tierra Rich, who helped her get ready for her role and think about her career. “Tierra was super supportive and patient with me the whole time,” Jaida shared.

Tierra has nothing but praise and excitement for Jaida, “Jaida has been a joy to work with. She has exemplified leadership skills from the very beginning of our cohort. She has taken initiative to lead discussions as well as help other Propel fellows to succeed through the program. I am very proud of all of her success and accomplishments.”

Jaida’s excited to work in the healthcare field long term; she plans to become an ultrasound tech after working as a medical assistant for a few years. She hopes to take advantage of Penn Med’s tuition reimbursement program to continue her studies, leveraging the college credits she earned through AccelerateU.

For those considering a path in healthcare and the Propel America fellowship Jaida said, “I would recommend Propel America to high school students because it’s a strong start into the medical field… it’s a good stepping stone that allows you to see good medical careers.”