There are two rotations that we’ll spend split between just two locations; Clinical and Food Service. This is not the case for all internships, ours is unique. It allows us to see that one job can be very different depending on where you’re doing it. Let me explain…
The partner and I are now at a new hospital, just for the next two weeks. They use a different online charting system, divide responsibilities differently, actually work with the outpatient Dietitians, have different hours, and even have a different system for delivering patient meals. This hospital world? It’s craaazy. Who knew there were so many ways to do the same thing?!
Just within the last seven months I’ve now worked in three different hospitals. I’m no stranger to learning new systems and schedules and coworkers. It can get a little frustrating to have the thoughts “Well, we did it this way when I was at [name of hospital], and that worked much better….” But if nothing else, it does keep me on my toes and helps me adjust quickly! It also teaches me a lot of things – what works well, what doesn’t, what little changes have a big effect, which system is more effective, etc. The reality is that when I do get a full-time job, I’ll have to do things their way. And it will probably be completely different than all of the above.
It can be frustrating to be shuffled around week after week; to develop even a little familiarity, only to have it dissipate as I move on to somewhere else. Yet I know that this is my advantage, my one-up on the next applicant. Many internships are stationed in only one hospital. By the end of this year (in addition to last summer), I will have been in four. I will have worked with four different groups of dietitians and food service managers, learned four different computer charting systems, and experienced four different work environments. This really gives me a better idea of what I’m looking for in a job/location/group of coworkers.
And when they’re looking for “one year of work experience”, maybe I don’t have it (yet). But I think I do have the knowledge to make up for it.
Posted by Mary Ellen Nunes at 01/13/2009 03:02:03 PM |