My One-Year Internship Experience: Hospital Edition

Throughout my educational journey, I have always been interested in the medical field without having any exposure to the field. I have always talked about how I want to be a doctor without knowing what the job of a physician entails. When I entered high school, my curiosity in this field sparked and I started naming careers I wanted to pursue, again not knowing what they were. At my high school, you could do an internship for a year in an area of your choice. When I was allowed to embark on this internship, I seized it. I chose to do my internship at a hospital. Little did I know that taking this opportunity, it was not only going to shape my professional aspirations but also my personal ones.

When I first entered the hospital, I was in complete awe. I was not at the hospital because I was sick or I was visiting, instead it was for me to gain experience in. I was starting a month later than all the other kids from my school so I thought that there would be no chance in me getting to see anything that pertains to my area of interest. At first, I didn’t. Then I was quick to realize that whether the job is small or big, it is crucial to the patient’s health. Each job is in place for the betterment of the hospital. When I first started my internship, I started with a clinical liaison in which I helped sort papers and had the opportunity to observe a competency fair. I had the opportunity to see the administration side of a hospital and understand the way a hospital works. It is not just about medicine, but it is more than that. After a few days of interning with a clinical liaison, I got moved into the cath lab. This is the area that had the most impact professionally and personally.

When I first entered the cath lab, I undermined the holding room and walked straight past the doors to the cath lab. I stood in front of the room with all the machines and the control room feeling my heart drop. It felt like everything I saw in a TV show, but it was completely different. The surrounding was calm and it was not as chaotic. I soon started coming every day and was working with nurses on pre/post-op care after a procedure. After a few days, I was yearning to go behind the doors to watch a procedure and that day soon came. I was told to put on a pair of sterile scrubs and I had watched my first angiogram. I had no idea what I was looking at. A few days later, I had the pleasure of working with the chief of cardiology whom I still work with today. During that procedure, a tech was explaining everything that was going on and I was slowly catching onto it. I felt a sense of belonging when I was slowly recognizing what was going on. I kept coming back every single day with an open mind and ready to learn. I would study up on a procedure the night before to understand what I was looking at the next day. It brought excitement and joy to see what the medical field felt like. Then I encountered an unfortunate day where I witnessed my first code and death. That day was very heartbreaking, yet I kept coming back. As I kept coming back, I sat in on angiograms, TAVRs, angioplasty, watchmen, pacemakers, and many more. However, throughout this one-year experience, I experienced patient interactions, teamwork, and challenges that healthcare professionals experience.

From accompanying doctors during patient rounds to checking up in outpatient clinics, I witnessed firsthand the compassion and dedication exhibited by healthcare professionals in providing care. These interactions humanized the medical field for me, allowing me to see beyond the illness or condition and connect with the patients on a deeper level.

Alongside patient interactions, I saw the teamwork and collaboration required in this field. From doctors and nurses to technicians and administrators, everyone played a vital role in delivering healthcare services. I quickly realized the importance of effective communication, collaboration, and mutual respect in this fast-paced environment. These experiences taught me the value of collaboration and collective effort in achieving positive patient outcomes.

In this one-year experience, there were also many challenges that I saw among physicians. They delivered compassionate care despite being tired after working for hours, handling critical situations, and maintaining respect between co-workers. Witnessing this made me realize the work that is put in by healthcare professionals.

A hospital is more than just a place for sick people, it's a place to deliver compassion, collaboration, and commitment. My one-year internship experience at the hospital has been nothing short of transformative. It has deepened my understanding of the healthcare system, enlightened me with knowledge, and exposed me to the field of serving others. Witnessing interactions with patients, collaborating with a dedicated team, and embracing challenges have shaped me into a more compassionate and empathetic individual. HOSA members, if you have the opportunity to intern or shadow in an area of your choice, I strongly encourage every one of you to take it. As I look towards the future, I am filled with gratitude for this invaluable experience, as it is just a foundation for my will to pursue medicine.