Self Advocacy

From the very first day of internship, I was told to ask when I had questions about anything. Most of my mentors see their processes and jobs as second nature, so they don't realize what questions I would have. Especially when I'm talking with the pathologists and they are showing me something, their explanations needs explanantions. In a way, I have to advocate for myself by simply asking questions. Sometimes, it can seem easier to just let the explainations go because it takes a lot of effort to understand. However, that is exceptionally passive and doesn't demand self advocacy. Self advocacy in my internship means thinking and analyzing information in order to devolop meaningful questions. It also means that I need to have the courage to ask very intense people questions.

Also, I need to advocate for myself in situations where I can contribute. Because this is a hospital setting, there is very little that I can actually do. However, there are a few very helpful tasks I can complete, such as putting together cassets in pathology, filing slides, or retrieving pick-ups from the lab. The lab and pathology assistants are very used to doing these things themselves, so I have to remind them that I can and would enjoy the tasks they do on a daily basis. This means that I watch the phlebotomists recieve blood and make sure that I am there to catch them before they leave to distribute. If I did not advocate for myself in order to help, I would have nothing to do all day. I am really enjoying my internship primarily because of my responsibility, but I know that comes from self advocacy.

I actually haven't looked at the advice in "How to be an intern everyone remembers", but I just did and realized that I have been following all of the points. I am always busy doig something and always volunteer for jobs. I keep the carts stocked now, even though the phlebotomists were used to restocking at the end of their shifts. I unpack every box left in the middle of the hallway for people to distribute. Today, there was a call for a pick up in ICU, and one of the phlebotomists said "Send Mikayla. She likes doing things." We don't have meetings, so I don't bring a notebook to them, but I do have a notebook that I write down all my notes on procedures in. I know all my coworkers by name and job, and have also had long conversations with most of them on why they choose their jobs. I also show up early and take shorter breaks to be on time. I start at 6 am, but I know that is when the lab is the most busy, so I usually show up at 5:50. When not in scrubs, I wear very professional attire. Overall, I think I'm a pretty good intern, and following these quidelines have definitely helped. Everyone that I work with tells me that I should volunteer after my internship is done.