POL Preperation

I really think that I have made a meaningful contribution to both the clinical and pathology laboratories. When I come in in the mornings, everything is crazy. There is blood coming through the pneumatic tubes constantly and every supply bin is empty. There is only one person there to manage everything, recieve the blood, distribute it, centrifuge and organize it, and make sure that all necessary draws are completed. This can be an overwhelming job sometimes. I try to help out as much as I can by retrieving blood, distributing it, centrifuging it, "filing" it. I try to allow the person running central to just sit with her computer and recieve and take the millions of calls that come in. Then I have to refill the carts as phlebotomists come in and recieve their blood. I have been told that I am very helpful and that I would have a job if I was eligible. I'd like to think that my little contributions help people get their results faster and (on Fridays when the doctors don't want to be on call over the weekend) to go home.

My work as an intern has enriched my education in so many ways. My mentor, Dr. Mathews, has been spending a lot more time with me recently, and I have been learning at a very fast rate. I was absolutely sure at the beginning of my internship that I would only have a few moments everyday with Dr. Mathews, but that has changed. The first day, our conversation went something like this: "Name, age, get out of my office." Maybe that's a little exagerated, but he did tell me to get out. The first day, I watched him gross and then was told to leave. The second day, I got to look at slides with him and he started explaining things, very quickly, but he was explaining. He piled textbooks on my lab and told me to read. Then he gave me homework on colorectal carcinoma and helicobacter pylori to study over the weekend. I think that was the turning point, because I actually researched and was able to tell him what I learned. Since then, Dr. Mathews has waited to gross things for me so that I could see them, and he takes more time explaining things to me than he does actually reviewing slides. Everything became a lesson and, especially when the specimen was a slide of uterine cancer, he would ask me what the moral of the story was. Of course, it was "Don't have kids." I have had homework almost every night and weekend, researching cancers and bacteria. I have learned an incredible amount about the human body, and have actually gotten to see what I read about. If I read about colorectal carcinoma, I get to actually see the colon, not just in a picture. There is a medical doctor there showing me a human body part, opening it up to identify the tumor, and, most importantly, willing to answer my questions.

I developed an appreciation of what it means to wake up early, and be on my feet all day. I NEVER want to get up in the morning when my alarm clock goes off at 4:45. I want to stay under my covers and be utterly happy. But I cant. Because I have to drive half an hour to work all day. I also discovered why nurses and doctors wear running shoes to work. I used to think that was really weird, but now I completely understand. The first day, I wore my Converse, and I wanted to chop off my legs by the end of the day. My feet, legs, and back hurt because I hadn't sat down all day, except for maybe a ten minute break. I really appreciate the people who start at 4:30 every morning. I get a little taste of that, but I am so happy that's not me.

When I first started, I felt so awkward with my coworkers/mentors. I knew nothing and constantly felt like I was in the was. Now, I really feel like I have started to connect with people. There is one lady who works as a phlebotomist, and I think that she is just an amazing person. Abeda is exceptionally good at what she does, and also seems generally happy and optimistic. She is thorough, careful, and makes it sounds like every patient is a top priority. I have walked around with her for half an hour before, trying to coordinate with nurses and the laboratory just to save one patient a poke. I want to be like that when I start a job. No matter how many times she may have done something, each instance is important enought to take the time to do it right. My internship has helped me define my future plans. I know that I want to be a phlebotomist while I'm in college. That's all I really know for sure, but I am learning and experiencing so much that is helping me decide more.