goals and learning
career goals
My overall career goal is to become a licensed radiation therapist. To accomplish this goal, I have created many smaller short-term goals that will prepare me for success. Recently, during my first semester of sophomore year, I found myself struggling to pinpoint exactly what career I wanted, aside from knowing I wanted to work in healthcare. This led to a lengthy period of researching and learning about what types of jobs aside from nurses and doctors, are available in this field. After a month or two of searching, I found radiation therapy, a career that allowed me to work with patients directly providing healthcare to those who have cancer, tumors, or other illnesses needing radiation. My goals to reach this dream include developing intrapersonal and leadership skills through club activities and internships such as LHSI. Furthermore, I plan to shadow many of the sites in Indianapolis that have radiation therapists and learn more about how to be successful in the field. I believe that these goals will strengthen my overall professional image and allow me to learn more about the healthcare field as a whole. I have no doubt that my professional goals can be met if I continue to set and meet smaller goals such as the ones I have outlined here.
I have completed many of the goals I had outlined above. Mainly that i have begun competed prerequisites as well as some extensive research into radiation therapy as a career. Because of this new knowledge I have obtained, I am confident that this career is the one for me and that I will take all of the necessary steps to accomplish it. To ensure this, I have outlined some new career goals for the summer and coming educational years. I plan to continue to hold myself to a high standard in regard to grades and complete my prerequisites. I also will take any and all opportunities to learn more about the career including but not limited to shadowing.
internship goals
Learning Goal #1: To work directly with others to learn more about healthcare in action.
How does this goal fit into my career journey or prepare me for the future?
I am pursuing a career in healthcare. I am hoping that throughout my experiences in this internship I will learn more about how healthcare is provided to patients and how to properly evaluate said care and provide changes as necessary.
What tasks, responsibilities, projects, or activities will I do to meet this goal?
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Regulatory Organization
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Coding
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Weekly and/or Monthly meetings
Progress: I have built towards this goal in many ways thus far. Firstly, through my work on coding interviews of patients. These interviews were used to access adolescent's opinions and experiences with telehealth services. Aside from this work with patients, I haven't been able to work with patients due to the nature of my lab. Although, I am still able to learn about healthcare in action through my weekly project STAY meeting that focuses on improving telehealth services. Overall, this goal can still be met if I continue to attend and collaborate in the project STAY meetings. I will also continue to voice my preference to work more directly with patient information, as I believe that this will better allow me to learn about healthcare in action.
Learning Goal #2: To learn more about how to work on an individual level while still collaborating with others in the workplace.
How does this goal fit into my career journey or prepare me for the future?
In the future I will continue to work with others in a plethora of different formats. This includes face-to-face, email, etc. I believe that it is important to learn the importance of collaboration even when a task may appear to be on an individual level. This internship will hopefully allow me to see how my work as an individual supports the team.
What tasks, responsibilities, projects, or activities will I do to meet this goal?
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Monthly meeting with Dr. Casey Pederson
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Weekly meeting with Katherine and Elizabeth
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Weekly meetings for project STAY
Progress: I have learned a lot about the importance of collaborating with others throughout my internship. This knowledge has come through the multitude of meetings I attend. I have a weekly meeting with Elizabeth and Katherine, who delegate me with my tasks. This meeting is particularly important for this goal as they also make sure to explain why the task is relevant and what role it plays in the bigger scope of our projects. Furthermore, I attend a weekly meeting for project STAY that lets me learn what my higher ups are doing to progress their research. I find this valuable as it shows me how my work still is collaborative with others to form this big picture. I also have a monthly meeting with my direct supervisor, Dr. Casey Pederson, where I can ask questions and further discuss my work and how it fits into the SOLACE LAB. Although I have definitely reached this goal, I will continue to attend these meetings and ask questions to understand how and why my work is collaborative with others.
Learning Goal #3: To learn how to communicate effectively and be prepared for any and all issues.
How does this goal fit into my career journey or prepare me for the future?
Learning how and when to reach out to others is a professional skill that I know I will use for the rest of my life. For example, asking others when you need help, or even reaching out for clarification are important skills to ensure success in the future. These skills allow me to focus on my tasks and ensure I am providing the best care that I can.
What tasks, responsibilities, projects, or activities will Ido to meet this goal?
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Making mistakes in any of my work and dealing with them
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Being involved with others work through meetings
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Willingness to learn from my own work as well as others
Progress: Throughout my internship thus far, I have learned many ways to communicate effectively. The main factor that allowed me to learn communication was the atmosphere of my lab. My lab is more 'laid back' in terms of being realistic in what is achievable. This has allowed me to openly express my confusion, concern, or mistakes. ADditionally, my weekly meetings with Elizabeth and Katherine are useful as they always ensure that I don't have any wuestions or concerns. Overall, I will continue to ask questions and express my mistakes when needed as my lab has provided a very welcoming environment for such communication.
learning
My communication and teamwork skills have greatly improved since beginning this internship. I attend 2-3 weekly meetings, each of which outlines each team members role and responsibilities. I believe that these meetings have allowed me to develop an idea of what teamwork looks like when tasks are given at an individual level. Additionally, these meetings, along with email communication, has greatly strengthened my communication skills. Specifically, I have learned that addressing any and all questions or confusion is important because it allows for the team to work smoothly and effectively. Thus sending and receiving these questions has made me gain an appreciation for swift and good communication. Since the fall, I have greatly improved in my communication and collaboration skills. I specifically improved through the use of asking questions when challenges arise and actively participating in all of my meetings. I am able to tell that I am growing in regard to these skills because my team's confidence in me has exponentially grown.
Despite the growth that I have seen in myself, there is always room to improve. Namely, confronting challenges. while I do confront challenges when they come about, I could improve by not steering clear of a path that I believe will result in conflict. For example, If I believe that I don't understands something, I will not always attempt it but rather ask more about it to try to gain an understanding. In the future I would like to try things first, fail, and learn from that failure. I would also like to continue working towards my overall internship goals. While I have been making excellent process on them, there is always room to grow and learn more. Overall, I am trying to maximize what I can learn and take away from this experience. As of the spring, I would like to continue working on my overall internship goals. I have made extensive progress, but I find that there is always room to improve. Especially in workplace skills, no experience can be "bad" as they all allow you to learn and grow. I am hopeful that through continued participation and tasks I will be able to exceed my goals. Overall, I feel that every skill from the survey still has room for improvement and I will continue to work on all of the skills. Whether that be communication, problem solving, or any of the other goals.
This internship has made me gain a new understanding of my major. Originally entering college as a biology major, I was unsure of what I could do with the degree aside from bench research or higher education. This internship has showed me the values and opportunities available via clinical research. This branch of work was unknown to me and now I am able to fully recognize that my major has more than just two options. Furthermore, this internship has allowed me to see what my degree is capable of beyond the clinical application. My lab looks into the research side of biology, a side that I had ever even considered as a profession. This entire experience has led me to believe that my degree has so many more options than I am even aware of.