Each work setting has its own personality, so to speak. You use knowledge related to the industry requirements. An example would be the vocabulary related to that field. You also develop new skills, some of which are specific to a field (such as use of certain software), but many which are transferable to a wide variety of locations and fields. These two areas are fairly easy to identify and descibe.
More difficult, though, is trying to describe the underlying attitudes or values of a particular workplace. How do individuals interact with those who have different backgrounds or cultures? What value systems are overtly expressed - or are there subtle values which are harder to identify?
During your internship this semester, we will be exploring your own development in all four areas: knowledge, transferable skills, attitudes, and values. One part of this will be comparing your current experience to previous experiences and observations.
As you begin your internship, reflect on other workplaces you have observed or experienced, and comment on the use of academic knowledge, transferable professional skills, personal or faith values, and attitudes towards others in those locations. Also, comment on where you anticipate being in your own professional growth in five to ten years.
Remember, this is a public forum, so if anything you wish to say should be kept confidential, please email me instead of posting here.
I started my first job this past summer at Wine & Spirits. I served as a cashier. I applied to many places, but didn’t receive any feedback. My friend’s parents own three businesses and asked me if I would like to work for them for the summer, so I took the job. Working at Wine & Spirits was easy and laidback. My co-workers were a lot older than me, but they were welcoming and very friendly. I experienced many different situations and was able to deal with them appropriately. After each work day, we had to count up our money, make sure that it was equal to the end-of-day report, and record the information. Mathematics and accounting skills were required for that part of the job. As far as professional skills go, I learned how to communicate with various people. I became skilled at greeting and responding professionally no matter the attitude of the customer.
ReplyDeleteIn the past I was able to observe my mom at her job. She worked in a very professional setting as an engineer. My observations of her work place differ greatly from those of Wine & Spirits. The dress code was professional and strict. The workers were serious even though they did joke around with each other and got along very well. Many different computer skills as well as engineering software skills were used. A degree in engineering was definitely a requirement for this job whereas no degree was required in order to work at Wine & Spirits.
I hope to experience a lot of professional growth within the next five to ten years. I would really like to move up in the work force and eventually be an editor of a magazine. I know I will have to start out at jobs that are much lower than that of an editor, but I believe I can build on my skills and experiences to accomplish my goal.
I work as a co-op on the Duke Energy site of McGuire Nuclear Station. I am working alongside biologists in the Wildlife and Fisheries departments. In the four months that I have been working here I have observed what it is like to apply my biological knowledge and use it in the field. I have also seen how biologists and nuclear engineers co-exist at the same company. The biologists I work with have to follow the plans of nuclear site members sometimes going against their value systems.
ReplyDeleteLast week, Duke Energy had to clean out a pond that is used for emergency cooling water for the plant. The group I work with had to rotenone the entire pond, killing all the fish that live there. As upset as the biologists were about killing the entire ecosystem, it was something they had to do. The reasoning behind killing the fish was a safety precaution. It was possible for fish to block the entrance to intake valves at a time of need, something that Duke Energy could not let happen. It was interesting watching the interactions between these two groups of people with two different attitudes.
This is just one specific example but having a lake that is used for energy production as well as recreation, such as sport fishing, many different types of people are involved daily in the issues. As a scientist answering to the community, press, environmental groups, and power companies you see these different sides and have to answer to them all.
After working with the Fisheries department, I have become interested in following this path as a career. I hope to continue my education in Aquatic Ecology.
This past summer I shadowed doctors in Columbia at various facilities in the Palmetto Health Richland Hospital system. Throughout my intership there, I learned a great deal about medicine, but I also learned about medical ethics and conduct. In today's medicine, patient confidentiality is a major concern and focal point when providing a patient with care, so before shadowing the doctors I had to go through HIPAA privacy training to learn all of the rules and regulations. It was interesting to learn how doctors and residents communicated with one another about patients, without giving away specific information that would identify who the patients were. Another interesting aspect of my shadowing experience was learning about the doctor/nurse relationship, and how essential their communication is with one another. Obviously each doctor has his own way of communicating effectively with his nurses, but I noticed how important their communication was so that each patient would recieve proper treatment and get the appropriate papers/forms/prescriptions/etc that they needed.
ReplyDeleteThis semester I will be shadowing at a private practice orthopaedic clinic, and it will be interesting to learn how things are handled logistically in comparison to the hospital setting. I have really enjoyed my shadowing experiences thus far, and hope to continue with a career in medicine. I believe that I have an interest in orthopaedics and sports medicine, specifically, and this internship will provide me with some exposure to that field.