Internship Week #4

1. Describe what you are most thankful for in your internship experience—what experiences, what people, and so on? What new appreciations have you gained through internship and how did you develop these?

I am very thankful for everyone at my internship (Kensington Veterinary Hospital) because throughout the time I've been there they have always been willing to help me and teach me all the things they know about the career I'm interested in. My mentor has always been there to answer my many questions and get me into doing more hands-on stuff at the hospital, like helping to hold a dog's legs and things like that. My co-workers have always been there to teach me new things every day and help me grow as a person. Through out the time I've been at Kensington Veterinary Hospital I've been able to watch different surgeries, spays, neuters, dentals and removals of lumps and tumors. I have also been able to watch annual exams, how they put vaccines, acupuncture and many other things. All of these experiences have been fascinating and have taught me so much about what it takes to be a veterinarian. At my internship, I always try to help them as much as I can because of how thankful I am. Sometimes when there is not much work to do I'll help Kari, the groomer at Kensington, and because of my help she told me to bring in my puppy so she could give him a bath, a haircut, and a nail trim all for free. I am very thankful that she did that because it was very nice of her. I am also thankful for all the veterinarians because they were willing to answer a question for me for my project. Even if they were busy they took time out of their busy schedule to help me. Overall, I am very thankful for the opportunity to intern at KVH with all the awesome people there and all the things I've learned from being there.

Internship Week #3

6. What are you thankful for in your internship experience?

I am thankful for my mentor and all of my co-workers at internship because they are all very nice people willing to help and teach me what they know. Every time I ask any of them a question about what they are doing they happily answer my question(s) and teach me more about that topic, that is why I've learned so much so far in my internship experience. Every day I learn something new and different and that has all helped me because I can apply anything I learn about animals with the puppy I have at home, now I can better take care of him and understand him. I can also apply what I learn to the work I do at internship and what I'll have to learn later on if I become a veterinarian. On the picture to the right you can see some of my co-workers, Angela, Stephen, and Dr. Mason. In this picture they were doing a dental on the hospital cat, Chester.

8. What are social interactions like in your workplace? Do people spend a lot of time socializing? Are people isolated, doing their own things? Lots of collaboration on work projects? Not much collaboration? How does the social dynamic impact or reflect the organization's work?

Everyone at my internship is basically friends with each other. They all are nice and respect each other. They all do their work and get it done but it involves team work. If a dog or cat comes in and the doctor needs blood from them to check something in it then the technical assistants have to do it. But one person can't do it by themselves, they need someone to help them hold the pet, like in the picture to the left. Sometimes when the pet is really big or really mean then you would need about 3 people to help you. Also with many other things you have to do on pets you need one or more people there to help you. This is the same as with doctors, usually a doctor is assigned a technical assistant that is with them all day helping them and getting them what they need so that they can do their job well. There is a lot of collaboration and team work that is seen at my internship. All this collaboration helps jobs get done faster and helps everything get done well. Like for example, when someone can't do something like they just can't find the vein to draw blood from a pet then they will ask someone else if they can do it for them, and if that other person isn't really busy then they will do it. Everyone helps everyone and almost all the jobs are done as a group or team.

Internship Week #2

3. How do you see yourself growing or changing over the course of your internship?

I feel like everyday I learn more and more and every day I get more used to the environment and people and work that needs to be done. Therefore, I know what to do and how things flow at the hospital at this point. I remember on my first day of internship I was kind of just standing there observing what everyone was doing but was really confused because I didn't know what different stuff were and how and why they were doing what they were doing. But on the 3rd day I just went in and knew where to go and what to do. I still ask questions about different things because everyday there is a patient with a different sickness or that needs a surgery for something else and that's why every day I learn something new because there is so much to learn and not every day at Kensington Veterinary Hospital is exactly like the day before. So far none of them have been the same.

10. Describe the project you'll do at internship, including the skills and technology you need to do it and what you hope your project looks like as a final product.

The project I'll do at internship is making a video about the importance of annual physical exams on pets. I will be interviewing doctors to hear their answer to the question "why are annual physical exams important for your pet?" Then I'll say my own answer to the question. I will go more in depth with it and tell the audience all the things doctors check on physical exams and go through each one of them and explain their individual importance. Then at the end I will state the consequences of not doing an annual physical exam and then work as an advertisement for Kensington Veterinary hospital (KVH) by saying how at KVH they really care about your pet. At the very end I will end it with a shocking picture or quote or both. I will develop my computer skills and will have to do a lot of research and put a lot of time on it for it to turn into the final perfect product that I hope will impact the people and will make them want to do an annual physical exam for their pet.

Internship Week #1

1. What are you excited about, nervous about and wondering about?

I am excited about the rest of internship and being able to help everyone with the different dogs and cats. So far I've really liked being around the different pets and I'm really excited to keep learning how to do everything. I'm nervous about my project because so far I don't have an ideas for what project I can do. I'm nervous I won't be able to come up with a good project to do. I'm wondering about how much education and time it took for the doctors to become the doctors they are today because they know a lot of stuff so I'm wondering how much time it took them to learn it.

6. Describe the company culture at your internship, including how people interact, communicate and work together.

I've really liked the environment and culture at my internship because everyone there is really nice to each other and me and they are always willing to help and teach me everything they know. Everyone there is basically friends with each other so whenever someone needs help they can just say "can someone help me out?" and whoever is not so busy will go and help them. Sometimes when there is not really any work to do they sit around and tell each other stories about their life. Everyone works pretty good with each other and are always there for each other. Everyone is constantly saying "thank you" and "please." Usually someone brings something to eat and shares it with everyone. Almost everyone teaches me something new everyday and everyone is always willing to answer my questions.

7. What are you most surprised by during your first week of internship and why?

I'm really surprised at how nice everyone has been to me because usually people just care about their work but everyone at the veterinary hospital is willing to take time from their busy schedule to talk to me and teach me what they are doing and how they are doing it. I'm also surprised about all the things I've learned in just two days.