http://laurenpwe.angelfire.com/index.html
There is the link to my final portfolio. I'm so very new at website design. I swear I'm shaking right now, as I finally got it published. It's not as perfect as I'd like it to be, but I'm afraid if I do much more to it, I may damage it irreparably. If there are any problems, please let me know.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Week 6
This week is my last at the internship. I managed, in a rather short amount of time, to complete all of my hours. I also managed to complete more than 20 pages of work that I can reflect upon for my final portfolio. In this post, I'd like to reflect on my internship as a whole, and comment on how I feel I have grown in experience.
Today, in my weekly meeting with my supervisors, I was asked how I felt my internship had gone. I took a moment to reflect on this question, and then I gave them my answer. I said that I felt my internship had provided me with a wealth of experience in both writing and editing, but also in the area of professionalism and what to expect in a professional atmosphere that is very different from my other job. I added that I felt my supervisors had given me a very diverse workload, and I learned so many things from what I was given to accomplish. For instance, I never thought I'd write a grant. That wasn't something I was expecting to have to complete, and yet, I gained information about the process that may help me further on in my career.
From the first day I walked into the Medical Society of Delaware, I was provided with work. Both of my supervisors were very concerned that I receive enough work, and that it be varied enough that I gain the best experience possible. That was great, because I felt like I had less pressure to gather my 20 pages, because they gave me plenty to do, and feel useful doing it.
And while I still feel a little lost in what I am writing here, especially when I write articles that deal with medical jargon and political issues I am not familiar with, I feel like I have gained a insight into communication, both written and verbal. Doctors are very different people to write for than say, another peer. They have a certain expectation from the articles and newsletters they receive, and it is important to communicate facts to them clearly.
Another valuable thing I learned here at MSD was that miscommunication can happen all the time. So it is important to make sure that what you are trying to communicate is clear, concise and correct. There were times when I would write a sentence in an article, and my supervisor would edit and rework it. It would be simpler, and yet exactly the same thing I had previously said.
I have learned a lot here at MSD in 6 weeks. And while it feels like a short time, I am quite grateful for the chance they have given me, and the trust they put in me. It was especially awesome that I got my own office to work in. Anyway, I think I can safely say that what I learned in 6 weeks will definitely help me when I go to look for a job in a few months. And I really am quite thankful.
Today, in my weekly meeting with my supervisors, I was asked how I felt my internship had gone. I took a moment to reflect on this question, and then I gave them my answer. I said that I felt my internship had provided me with a wealth of experience in both writing and editing, but also in the area of professionalism and what to expect in a professional atmosphere that is very different from my other job. I added that I felt my supervisors had given me a very diverse workload, and I learned so many things from what I was given to accomplish. For instance, I never thought I'd write a grant. That wasn't something I was expecting to have to complete, and yet, I gained information about the process that may help me further on in my career.
From the first day I walked into the Medical Society of Delaware, I was provided with work. Both of my supervisors were very concerned that I receive enough work, and that it be varied enough that I gain the best experience possible. That was great, because I felt like I had less pressure to gather my 20 pages, because they gave me plenty to do, and feel useful doing it.
And while I still feel a little lost in what I am writing here, especially when I write articles that deal with medical jargon and political issues I am not familiar with, I feel like I have gained a insight into communication, both written and verbal. Doctors are very different people to write for than say, another peer. They have a certain expectation from the articles and newsletters they receive, and it is important to communicate facts to them clearly.
Another valuable thing I learned here at MSD was that miscommunication can happen all the time. So it is important to make sure that what you are trying to communicate is clear, concise and correct. There were times when I would write a sentence in an article, and my supervisor would edit and rework it. It would be simpler, and yet exactly the same thing I had previously said.
I have learned a lot here at MSD in 6 weeks. And while it feels like a short time, I am quite grateful for the chance they have given me, and the trust they put in me. It was especially awesome that I got my own office to work in. Anyway, I think I can safely say that what I learned in 6 weeks will definitely help me when I go to look for a job in a few months. And I really am quite thankful.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Week 5
Last week, Monday specifically, was the first day that I didn't have supervision in my internship. My direct supervisor, Kathy, was off that day. The week before, I had gone over a whole slew of things that I could do for the next week while she was gone. We discussed possible projects I could begin, and she gave me her password so that I could input information into InDesign and begin to get a feel for it.
When I arrived early on Monday morning, Kathy had left an additional note of other things that had cropped up the two days I was not at the internship. The main project was an article to be released to the Delaware News Journal about the Medical Society's President and his opinions as summarized from an article he wrote in MSD's journal.
To begin this article, I first needed information. I interviewed a co-worker who mainly deals with legislation about the House Bill 195, which the article was about. The House bill 195 or HB 195 was a bill that MSD created to give immunity to doctors who volunteered at free clinics. This was to make sure that no doctors were sued unless there was gross negligence on their part. From my co-worker, I received information about the bill, the creation process, and the process that the bill went through until it was voted down and tabled until January.
Then I went back to begin to write the article. Since I was writing to the general public, I felt I needed to include as much general information as I could, since most would not be familiar with it, unless they were truly following the issue. I began with the background issues, starting with why exactly doctors needed this bill, and what it would mean for the general public. Then I gradually progressed into the bill's creation process, and finally why it was tabled. Then I ended with a small paragraph that tried to persuade the public to voice their opinions on the matter, and where they could do so.
After I had completed this, (it was about 2 pages), I continued on through my work. I have to do an article on a credentialing company that is a subsidiary of MSD. However, I had no idea what this meant, and the little information I could find on CCI didn't tell me much of what I really needed to know, like how many people they credentialed, and what credentialing included. This article was to be another press release to the public, and as one of the public, I felt this background information was important to understanding what CCI did. The co-worker who had the most information on this subject was not available to meet with me, so I had to put that aside for the day, after I wrote a little paragraph on what I could find.
The next task I had to tackle was InDesign. I've never seen InDesign before, let alone worked with it. I was a little scared to even touch it. Kathy had left me the InDesign instruction book, which I flipped through for a little while. I wanted to familiarize myself with at least the basics. When that became a little tedious, I headed for the real thing. I was to be inputting information that we has assembled into our brochure format. The text boxes threw me for a while, and I struggled to align everything correctly. But after an hour, I successfully managed to learn how to use at least the basics of InDesign. I was quite proud of myself.
I was asked today how it was being by myself. I have to say, it was an enlightening experience actually. I felt accomplished when I completed my assigned work, and more over, I felt like I belonged in the atmosphere I was in. It was like I had completely submerged myself in the workplace. It was interesting and I liked being able to simply work through, instead of pausing to ask questions. I was less unsure of myself, and I found I could work in a more efficient way.
When I arrived early on Monday morning, Kathy had left an additional note of other things that had cropped up the two days I was not at the internship. The main project was an article to be released to the Delaware News Journal about the Medical Society's President and his opinions as summarized from an article he wrote in MSD's journal.
To begin this article, I first needed information. I interviewed a co-worker who mainly deals with legislation about the House Bill 195, which the article was about. The House bill 195 or HB 195 was a bill that MSD created to give immunity to doctors who volunteered at free clinics. This was to make sure that no doctors were sued unless there was gross negligence on their part. From my co-worker, I received information about the bill, the creation process, and the process that the bill went through until it was voted down and tabled until January.
Then I went back to begin to write the article. Since I was writing to the general public, I felt I needed to include as much general information as I could, since most would not be familiar with it, unless they were truly following the issue. I began with the background issues, starting with why exactly doctors needed this bill, and what it would mean for the general public. Then I gradually progressed into the bill's creation process, and finally why it was tabled. Then I ended with a small paragraph that tried to persuade the public to voice their opinions on the matter, and where they could do so.
After I had completed this, (it was about 2 pages), I continued on through my work. I have to do an article on a credentialing company that is a subsidiary of MSD. However, I had no idea what this meant, and the little information I could find on CCI didn't tell me much of what I really needed to know, like how many people they credentialed, and what credentialing included. This article was to be another press release to the public, and as one of the public, I felt this background information was important to understanding what CCI did. The co-worker who had the most information on this subject was not available to meet with me, so I had to put that aside for the day, after I wrote a little paragraph on what I could find.
The next task I had to tackle was InDesign. I've never seen InDesign before, let alone worked with it. I was a little scared to even touch it. Kathy had left me the InDesign instruction book, which I flipped through for a little while. I wanted to familiarize myself with at least the basics. When that became a little tedious, I headed for the real thing. I was to be inputting information that we has assembled into our brochure format. The text boxes threw me for a while, and I struggled to align everything correctly. But after an hour, I successfully managed to learn how to use at least the basics of InDesign. I was quite proud of myself.
I was asked today how it was being by myself. I have to say, it was an enlightening experience actually. I felt accomplished when I completed my assigned work, and more over, I felt like I belonged in the atmosphere I was in. It was like I had completely submerged myself in the workplace. It was interesting and I liked being able to simply work through, instead of pausing to ask questions. I was less unsure of myself, and I found I could work in a more efficient way.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Week 4
Today I completed a project of which I am very proud. On Wednesday of last week, I was asked to look over information concerning a grant that the Medical Society wanted to apply for. I had a small meeting with a co-worker, and he explained to me exactly what the grant was for, and why the Medical Society wanted to obtain it.
The grant was basically for a certain number of coupons to a web service online called DocSite. The site is for physicians who have not yet obtained an electronic medical record keeper, or an EMR. This EMR helps the doctors keep track of their patients records on a computer, instead of having paper records and charts. The Medical Society wanted these coupons to help some of their physicians who do not yet have an EMR, to try it out to see if they like it. This would also save them a 2% amount on their yearly charges, so it ends up helping the physicians.
To obtain the grant, I needed to answer three in depth questions about what we wanted to use the coupons for, what we would do with them, how we would screen applicants for these coupons, and how would we help our physicians use this site. When I was being briefed on the grant itself, I took many notes to help me answer the questions. I faced a small challenge because I literally had no idea about why the physicians would need this. Also, I was told to include as much as I could on the MSD VIP service. VIP stands for Voluntary Initiative Program and this programs consists of physicians who treat and prescribe medicine for those without Medicare/Medicaid or those with no insurance. I needed to include this group in the grant because these doctors would mostly be the ones who benefited from the program.
So, I asked as many questions as I could about why MSD needed these, what the VIP program was, and what the benefits of EMRs were. I was trying to gain as much information as I could to compose something I didn't have previous information about. After, I did this, I went back to my office and looked up VIP on the Medical Society's website. I looked up the DocSite website and looked through all of their information. This was really helpful to me.
When I began composing the grant, I included as much as I could. I decided to write it from a factual standpoint. I've had no experience writing grants, so I simply just tried to point out all the reasons that our doctors would benefit from receiving these coupons. I included the VIP program, and tried to make clear what these doctors did, because its a very admirable program to begin with.
When I reached the last question, which was "How will you aid your physicians in using the DocSite program", I had to call on my previous research. I was proud of this because my co-worker, who had given me this project, wasn't quite sure what to do with this question. But since I had been on the DocSite website and thoroughly looked around, I found several useful tools that I included. Besides writing that we would aid the physicians by becoming familiar with the program ourselves, I added that we would post links to the DocSite Webinar and demo, which would walk our physicians through the entire process. There was even a free trial to begin tracking 30 patients, so that the physicians could actually begin to tentatively use it.
After I finished up the grant, I sent it to several co-workers who gave me feedback and opinions. Then I complied all of those opinions and revised my draft. Then I sent it back. It's been looked over several times and I think that it will be sent soon. I won't know if I actually got the grant for MSD before I leave the internship, but they've promised to let me know if they do receive it.
The grant was basically for a certain number of coupons to a web service online called DocSite. The site is for physicians who have not yet obtained an electronic medical record keeper, or an EMR. This EMR helps the doctors keep track of their patients records on a computer, instead of having paper records and charts. The Medical Society wanted these coupons to help some of their physicians who do not yet have an EMR, to try it out to see if they like it. This would also save them a 2% amount on their yearly charges, so it ends up helping the physicians.
To obtain the grant, I needed to answer three in depth questions about what we wanted to use the coupons for, what we would do with them, how we would screen applicants for these coupons, and how would we help our physicians use this site. When I was being briefed on the grant itself, I took many notes to help me answer the questions. I faced a small challenge because I literally had no idea about why the physicians would need this. Also, I was told to include as much as I could on the MSD VIP service. VIP stands for Voluntary Initiative Program and this programs consists of physicians who treat and prescribe medicine for those without Medicare/Medicaid or those with no insurance. I needed to include this group in the grant because these doctors would mostly be the ones who benefited from the program.
So, I asked as many questions as I could about why MSD needed these, what the VIP program was, and what the benefits of EMRs were. I was trying to gain as much information as I could to compose something I didn't have previous information about. After, I did this, I went back to my office and looked up VIP on the Medical Society's website. I looked up the DocSite website and looked through all of their information. This was really helpful to me.
When I began composing the grant, I included as much as I could. I decided to write it from a factual standpoint. I've had no experience writing grants, so I simply just tried to point out all the reasons that our doctors would benefit from receiving these coupons. I included the VIP program, and tried to make clear what these doctors did, because its a very admirable program to begin with.
When I reached the last question, which was "How will you aid your physicians in using the DocSite program", I had to call on my previous research. I was proud of this because my co-worker, who had given me this project, wasn't quite sure what to do with this question. But since I had been on the DocSite website and thoroughly looked around, I found several useful tools that I included. Besides writing that we would aid the physicians by becoming familiar with the program ourselves, I added that we would post links to the DocSite Webinar and demo, which would walk our physicians through the entire process. There was even a free trial to begin tracking 30 patients, so that the physicians could actually begin to tentatively use it.
After I finished up the grant, I sent it to several co-workers who gave me feedback and opinions. Then I complied all of those opinions and revised my draft. Then I sent it back. It's been looked over several times and I think that it will be sent soon. I won't know if I actually got the grant for MSD before I leave the internship, but they've promised to let me know if they do receive it.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Week 3
This week in general has been a little bit slower than my previous weeks. I think this is because I am really settling into my position and the responsibilities that come with it. Of course, I am learning things everyday I am here. But, I am beginning to feel a little bit more confident, and am willing to put forth my ideas when I am included.
For instance, on Monday, I had a meeting with my two supervisors, who are also the communication department here at the Medical Society. We settled ourselves in the board room and they filled me in on the project I would be helping with. This is a big project for the Medical Society, because it deals with their Annual Meeting in October. I will be helping them create a brochure/pamphlet that includes information about the Annual Meeting, their dinner dance that follows, and the registration for both. This is a change from the regular 8-page booklet that they usually use.
After I had been informed of all this, we spent at least a half an hour trying to decide exactly how our tri-folded brochure should be folded. We all sat there with pieces of paper, folding them different ways. We were trying to find a way to fold our brochure so that our registration page could be easily ripped off, without taking valuable information about the event with it. Then we measured for postal regulations, and I was told to create a brochure that would lay all the information out, so we would know how to start putting it together.
The first thing I did was measure and cut paper, and then staple it together like the eventual brochure would look. Then I had to sit back and look over all my information. I had to include a schedule of events, a dinner menu, hotel accommodations, a page for graduates and memoriam, as well as directions and the registration. After I looked at it for awhile, I decided that since it was doctors I was arranging this for, the pertinent information should come first. So the schedule was by itself on one page, then followed the dinner menu, hotel accommodations, and directions on the next page. Because the information would be reprinted in the actual meeting program, I chose to list the graduates and memoriam on the next page, with the registration on the back. That way, when the registration would be filled out, the doctors would not be losing valuable information for the event. They would only loose the graduate and memoriam list, which they would eventually see again.
I accidentally measured my brochure wrong, but it turned out to be a good thing. The brochure is going to be slightly longer now, but that means we can put more information in it. Because there was some concern about the schedule fitting onto one page by itself, I typed out last year's schedule and fit it to the brochure. It fits fairly well actually, and with a little tweaking, will look very good. Even though it isn't a huge accomplishment, I feel very proud of my ideas, mostly because they worked. And while this is the preliminary stage, I am excited to continue because I think that this brochure is a great learning experience.
In addition to this, I feel like my writing has improved a bit from the last two weeks. I feel I am gleaning information from articles more efficiently, and using that information to write an article of my own. Though I am still encouraged to borrow some information directly from the press releases, simply because its succinct enough for a small paragraph, I feel I am becoming more comfortable with it.
For instance, on Monday, I had a meeting with my two supervisors, who are also the communication department here at the Medical Society. We settled ourselves in the board room and they filled me in on the project I would be helping with. This is a big project for the Medical Society, because it deals with their Annual Meeting in October. I will be helping them create a brochure/pamphlet that includes information about the Annual Meeting, their dinner dance that follows, and the registration for both. This is a change from the regular 8-page booklet that they usually use.
After I had been informed of all this, we spent at least a half an hour trying to decide exactly how our tri-folded brochure should be folded. We all sat there with pieces of paper, folding them different ways. We were trying to find a way to fold our brochure so that our registration page could be easily ripped off, without taking valuable information about the event with it. Then we measured for postal regulations, and I was told to create a brochure that would lay all the information out, so we would know how to start putting it together.
The first thing I did was measure and cut paper, and then staple it together like the eventual brochure would look. Then I had to sit back and look over all my information. I had to include a schedule of events, a dinner menu, hotel accommodations, a page for graduates and memoriam, as well as directions and the registration. After I looked at it for awhile, I decided that since it was doctors I was arranging this for, the pertinent information should come first. So the schedule was by itself on one page, then followed the dinner menu, hotel accommodations, and directions on the next page. Because the information would be reprinted in the actual meeting program, I chose to list the graduates and memoriam on the next page, with the registration on the back. That way, when the registration would be filled out, the doctors would not be losing valuable information for the event. They would only loose the graduate and memoriam list, which they would eventually see again.
I accidentally measured my brochure wrong, but it turned out to be a good thing. The brochure is going to be slightly longer now, but that means we can put more information in it. Because there was some concern about the schedule fitting onto one page by itself, I typed out last year's schedule and fit it to the brochure. It fits fairly well actually, and with a little tweaking, will look very good. Even though it isn't a huge accomplishment, I feel very proud of my ideas, mostly because they worked. And while this is the preliminary stage, I am excited to continue because I think that this brochure is a great learning experience.
In addition to this, I feel like my writing has improved a bit from the last two weeks. I feel I am gleaning information from articles more efficiently, and using that information to write an article of my own. Though I am still encouraged to borrow some information directly from the press releases, simply because its succinct enough for a small paragraph, I feel I am becoming more comfortable with it.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Week 2
To expand upon my last post; when I edit the medical articles given to me, they have first gone through two medical editors. So, I am not really responsible for the complicated medical terminology. So when I edit, I am basically looking for comma mistakes, punctuation and grammar errors, as well as sentences that are a bit awkward maybe. As for the style, these articles are written by doctors, for doctors. They are written in very clinical, informative ways. When I say I edit for style, I mean that the Medical Journal that these articles are published in have set style consistencies that they follow. I mentioned the % symbol. They also use serial commas, and numbers are not spelled out. These are some of the style consistencies I have gotten used to looking for already, and I've only edited 4 articles. So when I am editing, I am helping to make sure that the articles fit into the journal, and they are all following the same basic formats.
My rhetorical approach for these articles isn't as developed as I would normally make it. Mostly because I'm told frequently that I am writing for doctors. So this means that I need to write these articles with as much information as possible, but not make it too long. I am also frequently using bullet points just to make short, quick sentences filled with nothing but information. So really, my purpose in writing these articles is to inform, but to make it as easy and quick to read as I can. It's tough. So when I am pulling information out of these articles, I myself am learning exactly what I'm trying to inform these doctors. Sometimes, it's on easy quick topics like a new company that is providing services. Other times, it's much harder. The Obama article I wrote was probably the hardest article I have had to write. He made a speech to the AMA and I had to basically take his whole speech and synthesize it into a three paragraph article.
However, on to week 2. This week has been filled with challenges that differ from last week entirely. On a writing note, I am learning how to take criticism, and also learning that even though I write an article, and my supervisor changes it around a lot, it's not because I did a bad job. Everything written around this office that is going out in a communication is looked over by at least one other person. For example, I had written an article on AMA Policy changes. I had written it over the period of a day and had taken all of the information from the actual policies itself. One of my supervisors, Mary, had taken a look at it over the period of another day and has just given it back to me. A lot of the writing is intact, but she's edited my work, changing a few of my sentences around and such. She's also let me know that I need to include some bullets, because the whole article is just too long.
Another practice that I am trying to get used to is juggling a lot of projects at once. Yesterday was the first day that I've really had to manage my projects because I had three things going on at once. My first task of the day was to interview some of my fellow co-workers on various functions that they had attended for the MSD so that I could write a few short blurbs on them. The three I spoke with assured me that they would get back to me. Then, I had to check on the status of my survey project. My survey project was basically writing a survey in a program called SurveyMonkey. This survey was to ask the Medical Society's members whether or not they used a legal document called Letter of Protection. I had sent the document to be looked over by another co-worker. Then I had to work on writing up a biography for the speaker at the Annual Meeting that the MSD will hold in the fall. All of these projects were interchanged throughout the day. I'd begin work on the survey, have to wait, and then switch around to writing the speaker article. Then, the survey would need more work, so I'd switch again. I've begun to make a list of my projects and their current status, because I couldn't keep track of what I was doing. It's helped a lot, and has made me feel a little more organized.
I've also been learning how to cope with waiting. Some of my projects, like the survey, can't be finished in one day. I needed to write out all the questions and answers, like you would in a normal survey. Then I needed to insert "logics" which skip some questions if you answer them a certain way. For example, if you answered no to a question, and the next question was about you answering yes, the logic would skip that survey taker to the question after. But, this had to be tested by myself, and two other people. I had to wait for the survey to be tested by my co-workers, and then I tested it again and wrote up the accompanying e-mail. This e-mail had to be revised by another co-worker, the links for the survey tested, the survey tested again etc. Over a course of three days, I worked on this survey, in addition to all the other projects. I finally sent it out this morning, in a huge mass e-mail, but waiting for my co-workers to finish their parts after I had completed mine is something to get used to.
My rhetorical approach for these articles isn't as developed as I would normally make it. Mostly because I'm told frequently that I am writing for doctors. So this means that I need to write these articles with as much information as possible, but not make it too long. I am also frequently using bullet points just to make short, quick sentences filled with nothing but information. So really, my purpose in writing these articles is to inform, but to make it as easy and quick to read as I can. It's tough. So when I am pulling information out of these articles, I myself am learning exactly what I'm trying to inform these doctors. Sometimes, it's on easy quick topics like a new company that is providing services. Other times, it's much harder. The Obama article I wrote was probably the hardest article I have had to write. He made a speech to the AMA and I had to basically take his whole speech and synthesize it into a three paragraph article.
However, on to week 2. This week has been filled with challenges that differ from last week entirely. On a writing note, I am learning how to take criticism, and also learning that even though I write an article, and my supervisor changes it around a lot, it's not because I did a bad job. Everything written around this office that is going out in a communication is looked over by at least one other person. For example, I had written an article on AMA Policy changes. I had written it over the period of a day and had taken all of the information from the actual policies itself. One of my supervisors, Mary, had taken a look at it over the period of another day and has just given it back to me. A lot of the writing is intact, but she's edited my work, changing a few of my sentences around and such. She's also let me know that I need to include some bullets, because the whole article is just too long.
Another practice that I am trying to get used to is juggling a lot of projects at once. Yesterday was the first day that I've really had to manage my projects because I had three things going on at once. My first task of the day was to interview some of my fellow co-workers on various functions that they had attended for the MSD so that I could write a few short blurbs on them. The three I spoke with assured me that they would get back to me. Then, I had to check on the status of my survey project. My survey project was basically writing a survey in a program called SurveyMonkey. This survey was to ask the Medical Society's members whether or not they used a legal document called Letter of Protection. I had sent the document to be looked over by another co-worker. Then I had to work on writing up a biography for the speaker at the Annual Meeting that the MSD will hold in the fall. All of these projects were interchanged throughout the day. I'd begin work on the survey, have to wait, and then switch around to writing the speaker article. Then, the survey would need more work, so I'd switch again. I've begun to make a list of my projects and their current status, because I couldn't keep track of what I was doing. It's helped a lot, and has made me feel a little more organized.
I've also been learning how to cope with waiting. Some of my projects, like the survey, can't be finished in one day. I needed to write out all the questions and answers, like you would in a normal survey. Then I needed to insert "logics" which skip some questions if you answer them a certain way. For example, if you answered no to a question, and the next question was about you answering yes, the logic would skip that survey taker to the question after. But, this had to be tested by myself, and two other people. I had to wait for the survey to be tested by my co-workers, and then I tested it again and wrote up the accompanying e-mail. This e-mail had to be revised by another co-worker, the links for the survey tested, the survey tested again etc. Over a course of three days, I worked on this survey, in addition to all the other projects. I finally sent it out this morning, in a huge mass e-mail, but waiting for my co-workers to finish their parts after I had completed mine is something to get used to.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Week 1:The Beginning
Even though I am now in the second week of my internship, I want to go back and talk about the first experiences I had last week. First of all, I chose to intern at the Medical Society of Delaware for my Captstone. The Medical Society of Delaware is a community situated in a small office. Their job is to aid and inform the physicians of the Delaware area. I am currently working in the Communications area of the Society. This area deals more with written communications, such as the Delaware Medical Journal, newsletters, e-mails, broadcast faxes and more.
My first day at the Medical Society of Delaware was an exciting, interesting and terrifying day for me. I was a little nervous coming into a position I had never had any experience with. I was given a tour, introduced to all the people and, with helpful explanation, asked to complete my first task. Most of what I did the first day included editing, although I did create a subscription form for the MSD's journal, of which I am quite proud of. It looks like a subscription form you might find in a magazine, and gives information about the journal itself, as well as how to order it.
In addition to the editing, and subscription form, I was asked to write my first articles for a broadcast fax, and to write my first full article about President Obama's speech at the American Medical Association's Annual Meeting. I want to expand briefly on all these tasks.
The editing that I am required to do I find the easiest and the most enjoyable. I like being about to sit and read through these medical articles, although most are filled with medical language I am completely unfamiliar with. Mostly, I edit for style, although I do pick up grammar and punctuation errors along the way. One of the best examples of this is the % symbol. Many of the physicians use this symbol, but in the MSD Journal, they consistently use the word "percent". I feel like I picked up their consistencies very quickly. However, I am still missing some editing mistakes. I am trying, with advice from my supervisors, to take my time and edit much slower, going over the article more than twice.
In regards to the articles I am writing, I find that it is incredibly hard for me to sit down with a brief news article, and glean information from that to write my own article. For one, I'm not really familiar with what I'm writing about, and secondly, I feel like I'm plagiarizing from these articles, even if I only take a few of the words they use and spin them around. It's a very vexing part of what I have to do. I feel like I can not write well enough for these articles, and I'm terrified of plagiarizing something accidentally and having someone call the Medical Society about it. Now I want to be clear, I'm checked by my supervisors. But, I still find it increasingly hard to just write these articles in a manner to which satisfies me.
I hope to discuss this at the weekly meeting I attend with my supervisors tomorrow. But I am definitely learning that writing is a lot harder than coming up with papers for class. In addition, I've already learned a lot about bulk mail, (I even went on a field trip to the post office), broadcast faxes, medical journals and business meetings. I feel like each task I do provides me with a new challenge, and something new I can learn from it. And while I'm starting to reevaluate exactly what I consider my strengths and weakness, I can definitely say with supreme confidence, that just because you can write, doesn't mean you know all there is about writing.
My first day at the Medical Society of Delaware was an exciting, interesting and terrifying day for me. I was a little nervous coming into a position I had never had any experience with. I was given a tour, introduced to all the people and, with helpful explanation, asked to complete my first task. Most of what I did the first day included editing, although I did create a subscription form for the MSD's journal, of which I am quite proud of. It looks like a subscription form you might find in a magazine, and gives information about the journal itself, as well as how to order it.
In addition to the editing, and subscription form, I was asked to write my first articles for a broadcast fax, and to write my first full article about President Obama's speech at the American Medical Association's Annual Meeting. I want to expand briefly on all these tasks.
The editing that I am required to do I find the easiest and the most enjoyable. I like being about to sit and read through these medical articles, although most are filled with medical language I am completely unfamiliar with. Mostly, I edit for style, although I do pick up grammar and punctuation errors along the way. One of the best examples of this is the % symbol. Many of the physicians use this symbol, but in the MSD Journal, they consistently use the word "percent". I feel like I picked up their consistencies very quickly. However, I am still missing some editing mistakes. I am trying, with advice from my supervisors, to take my time and edit much slower, going over the article more than twice.
In regards to the articles I am writing, I find that it is incredibly hard for me to sit down with a brief news article, and glean information from that to write my own article. For one, I'm not really familiar with what I'm writing about, and secondly, I feel like I'm plagiarizing from these articles, even if I only take a few of the words they use and spin them around. It's a very vexing part of what I have to do. I feel like I can not write well enough for these articles, and I'm terrified of plagiarizing something accidentally and having someone call the Medical Society about it. Now I want to be clear, I'm checked by my supervisors. But, I still find it increasingly hard to just write these articles in a manner to which satisfies me.
I hope to discuss this at the weekly meeting I attend with my supervisors tomorrow. But I am definitely learning that writing is a lot harder than coming up with papers for class. In addition, I've already learned a lot about bulk mail, (I even went on a field trip to the post office), broadcast faxes, medical journals and business meetings. I feel like each task I do provides me with a new challenge, and something new I can learn from it. And while I'm starting to reevaluate exactly what I consider my strengths and weakness, I can definitely say with supreme confidence, that just because you can write, doesn't mean you know all there is about writing.
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