~ How has your perception of the internship/organization changed since you started the internship?
When I first began my internship at One Family Pediatrics, I was very excited about the opportunities but also very nervous about working among professionals and real patients. The first two or three weeks were a little tough, in the sense that I wasn’t sure about my boundaries in the clinic. I wasn’t confident about what I was able to do, which responsibilities I was allowed to take on and to what extent I could get involved with the patients and doctor's daily operations. After the first few weeks, I became more confident and I began asking questions in order to help identify my boundaries as well as gain insight and knowledge about the various cases patients came in with. This month, my internship at One Family Pediatrics was very exciting because as I worked alongside the various members of staff, I learned the different responsibilities they have to handle and I was given certain responsibilities such as doing basic tasks like take the patient's height, weight, and BP. My mentor has been teaching me how to operate different machines, prepare vaccines, and read various charts relating to each patient's background. ~ What is surprising you about this internship? I think the most surprising aspect of my mentorship is how the internal operations of the clinic work. Since I also go to a pediatrician I understand what it is like to be the patient, but I think it is really interesting to experience what happens behind the scenes. As a patient, I go the doctor, they ask me general questions, I answer them and then that’s it, but after experiencing all the preparation that goes behind each patient's visit I think it is quite surprising. For example, in the clinic I intern at, the doctors have to pull up the files of each patient that come to visit as soon as they get to work, they read through the files, prepare paperwork and discuss the patient's background with all the staff members. It's almost like they have a office meeting every day before they start seeing their patients. I really enjoy interning at One Family Pediatrics and I feel that everyone here maintains a very organized system or work and they are all very kind, friendly and everyone is always happy, not to mention smiley. Every day when I walk through the doors, my day just gets better regardless of how it was going before because the environment that the staff maintains is very fun and welcoming, that’s why I know that all the patients are very pleased with the service and I have witnessed that everyone returns without hesitation. The most suspiring realization for me is that to run a clinic, it's not as much what services you provide, its more about how you provide the service and how you make your patents feel and whether or not you guarantee them full support in whatever they are going through. I know that at One Family Pediatrics, everyone builds relationships with the patients that leave a positive mark. ~ What have you learned from the routine or boring parts of the internship? It has been two full months since I first started and now I have gotten into a routine. When I first get to the clinic, I say hello and good afternoon to all the staff members letting them know I am here and then I ask them if there is anything specific I can help anyone with. Usually on Monday and Tuesday, at the time I go, the patient flow slows down and the nurses and doctors are usually completing patient files and working on their computers, so I help to reset the rooms, answer phone calls at the reception and complete any filing or preparations for the next morning. I have learned from my internship that, running a private practice is not all easy, it's not just about attending to patients, you have to a lot more work than that. For example, there is a lot of paperwork, filing, writing letters to patients that don’t come for annual checkups or miss appointments, cleaning the equipment, restocking supplies and reorganizing the children's play area up at the front. All these tasks are to be done daily and it is really important they are done, otherwise, you could lose you patients and reputation and even jeopardize their health safety.
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AuthorAs a participant in the Honors Mentorship Program, I will be job shadowing a pediactic doctor. I will be learning about and experiencing the pediatrics field, first hand. Archives
April 2018
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