Erin Norko

As a Mental Health Worker, I am responsible for inpatient care of adolescents with severe mental health issues. The population at Four Winds consists of highly acute patients suffering from mental health issues including depression, serve anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, personality disorders and extreme suicidal ideation as well as patients experiencing psychosis. Through this experience, I have gained significant insight and knowledge into the best techniques to support and stabilize patients who are experiencing life threatening mental illness in a clinical setting. Mental Health workers are required to follow the Trauma-Informed Care model in order to meet the needs of individuals suffering from the effects of a traumatized brain. Competency in clinical procedures in addition to significant amounts of compassion, patience, and flexibility are necessary skills in order to be effective in this position . I have also gained knowledge and exposure to the medical approach of psychology. I continue to learn every day in this position about the effects of a more scientific approach to treating mental illness in order to improve quality of life.

As a two's teacher, I was responsible for the basic care of two year old children at the school as well as integrating education and life skills into their every day schedule. I had to use creative thinking in order to engage the young children in educational programs and create effective lesson plans. Patience and attention to detail were also important factors within the position in order to ensure safety and happiness of all of the children. I was also able to further develop my interpersonal skills through the need to effectively communicate with families in order to ensure each child received care that met their individual needs.

As a therapeutic group home resident advisor, I was responsible for supervising, assisting, and teaching life skills to adolescents who have been placed into a program through the State Department of Children and Families. A primary responsibility of a resident advisor is to engage in therapeutic skill development sessions daily. Not only did I serve as a consistent resource for the residents, but as an advocate and representative that ensured the residents are prepared to live independently upon discharge. This job also required staff to follow the Trauma-Informed Care model in order to provide a physically and emotionally safe environment for individuals who have experienced extensive trauma and mental illness.

As an Intern for the Lemkin Institute of Genocide Prevention, I worked remotely on group projects as well as individual projects based around the education of genocide prevention. I had the opportunity of creating micro learning courses pertaining to genocide prevention that required independent research as well as the creation of easily accessible and historically accurate information on various mass atrocities throughout human history. I was also responsible for creating my own schedule that would allow me to complete all of my projects by specific deadlines.

As a patient services coordinator, I was responsible for working with patients to schedule appointments, take payments, complete insurance verifications, answer phones, and complete any secretarial work requested by the physical therapists. Through this job experience, I was able to strengthen my interpersonal skills and communication skills as well as the ability to be detail oriented.

As a nanny, my responsibilities consisted of caring for triplets, two of which required some additional attention due to the necessary adjustments that must be made in successfully caring for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. I cared for this family during the summers of 2016-2019 and was able to develop the skills and compassion necessary for working with individuals who may need different levels of specialized care due to having the opportunity to work with three children who ranged from higher to lower functioning autism.