As a little girl, Dylan Norris dreamed of becoming a doctor. Now, as the first University of Delaware undergraduate student to complete ChristianaCare’s Achieving Competency Today (ACT) course, that dream is one big step closer.

Norris, a junior honors double major in biology and psychology, completed the 12-week continuing education course that is usually geared toward healthcare professionals to help them work collaboratively towards improving identified challenges in healthcare delivery. Norris earned three credit hours for the ACT course through UD’s Experiential Learning course. She said the experience quickly became invaluable to her, enhancing her perspective of the healthcare field.

“It was eye-opening to learn about the wide range of career opportunities in the medical field, especially the use and efficiency of robotics and the critical role that interpreters have in breaking the language barrier for patients to be properly cared for,” she said. 

The students were split into three interdisciplinary teams. Norris’ team included an HIV nurse, an emergency room nurse, an administrative nurse and a cardiovascular surgery physician assistant. Norris is interested in pediatrics but is also open to other medical disciplines.

“Building relationships within my team, among my other classmates and the lecturers was a huge benefit for me,” Norris said. “Because of this course, this summer I will shadow one of the lecturers and several other physicians over the course of 40 hours.” 

Each team presented a final project that focused on improving issues in quality, cost, systems or safety that challenge healthcare delivery. Norris’ team focused on the connection between quality care and noise pollution in the Intensive Care Unit. Their adjustment to the unit’s alarm system decreased the frequency of unwanted noises, and staff reported that the decrease in noise increased productivity and staff member’s attitudes. 

Other units have consulted with their team to implement the adjustments, and they intend to submit their project to be considered for the ChrisitanaCare Way Award, an annual opportunity to highlight the year’s best in improvement and collaboration. 

“This course taught me that I am more capable than I give myself credit for, especially in new environments,” Norris said. “Initially, because I don’t work in a hospital, I didn’t think I’d have much to add to our final project, but I was able to think critically and offer substantive ideas that ended up being helpful.” 

She hopes that other UD students will take the ACT course in the future. 

“Don’t be intimidated,” she said. “Everyone there will guide you through the process and it’s a great class to take if you’re looking to get into the medical field.”

Norris, who is also a UD volleyball player, is now preparing to apply to medical school.

It is important for undergraduate students to have opportunities such as this, said Caroline Tillman, UD’s academic program coordinator in the Center for Health Profession Studies and the instructor of record for the Experiential Learning course. Students gain direct insight into the fields they plan to pursue, and the experience empowers them to believe that they have the capability to positively impact the environments where they hope to someday work.

Norris said that as she continues her journey into medicine, she will remember this experience because “sometimes the smallest changes can have the biggest impact on a person’s quality of life.” 

For more information about the ChristianaCare ACT course or to express interest in enrollment, students must contact the Center for Health Profession Studies.