As Inspira Health grows its residency and fellowship program, Mullica Hill resident Jessa Hernandez is experiencing the benefits firsthand.
A family medicine resident at Inspira Medical Center, Hernandez has found a way to merge the two things she loves: medicine and art.
“I feel like art was a great window into something creative and something I was familiar with that allowed me to access learning in a different way,” she noted. “I have always valued art as a means of education, and it was great to be able to use this passion to fuel my other passion in the medical field.”
While her career more directly involves her passion for medicine, Hernandez is able to utilize artistic passions like crocheting and drawing to improve her skill sets on the job.
“You have to find a way to keep the important information in your mind, and the best way to do this is to use something you already know how to do,” she said. “Taking what I’m learning and putting that into a framework of these skills helped me to retain the information.”
Hernandez has always wanted to be in medicine. She tells the story of going on a camping trip when she was young and finding a girl who was seizing in her tent. Hernandez stepped in.
“As I went to her, my body responded,” she recalled. “I remained perfectly calm, turned her on her side, and stayed until the EMTs came to her rescue. I left the tent and went immediately to her sister, comforting her, explaining what had gone on after she left the tent and reassuring her that everything was going to be alright.
“The experience confirmed not only that I wanted to be a physician, but that I wanted to work with both patients and their families to create an environment of wellness in the family, leading to my decision to apply to family medicine,” Hernandez added.
Now she’s helping to launch Inspira’s new Born to Care campaign, highlighting medical residents like herself who are following their lifelong dream to be a doctor. Having been in the medical field for more than 15 years, Hernandez has been part of Inspira’s care team.
“The residency has been incredible in providing local resources and information to those moving to the area,” she said. “Inspira creates such a family atmosphere that I can see even those who are not from the area originally wanting to stay long afterwards.”
