The Times They Are A-Changin

This may be corny, but I think a song to sum up my time here so far at SHM would be The Times They Are A-Changin by Bob Dylan. I know Practice Management just held a webinar this week with the same title but, I think this song can apply to a lot of things. I also, relate pretty much every Bob Dylan song to my life somehow haha. This is my first actual "big girl" job. At home, I worked in a doctor’s office and at a bakery. This is the first job that will help build my resume and hopefully get me another co op in the future. This is also the first time I haven’t taken classes since first grade! It’s a lot to get used to but I like working way more than being in class.

I love the snow! I think if it’s going to be below freezing, the snow makes it worth it! Although, commuting to work in the snow is going to be interesting. The Drexel shuttles aren’t reliable as it is so we’ll see how on-time they are in the snow.

Songs and Snow!!

So, the only song that I keep going back to that describes my SHM experience is Ice Ice Baby for two distinct reasons. One is a serious interpretation of the musical genius that is the lyrics, and the other is a funny story.

1. Firstly, although 99% of the lyrics to Ice Ice Baby have absolutely NOTHING to do with SHM or my experiences here, there is one line of perfection right in the beginning. "Stop. Collaborate. And Listen" I think that these lyrics expertly describe the Marketing Co-op position. The Marketing department as a whole deals with all of the different "clients" or other areas of the business (such as Advocacy, Membership, the Center, ect), and those areas are split between all of the staff in the department. It is the MA's job to assist them all in some way and jump in on different types of projects whenever needed. This is really where the "Stop. Collaborate and Listen" comes in. One thing I have learned here is that all members of SHM, especially the Marketing department are more than eager to "Stop" and help me learn what they are doing, how they do it, and why the do it. They are also a well oiled machine which is where the "Collaborate" enters. Even though members of the team handle different aspects of the business or "clients" they are a cohesive group and I could not have picked a better "family" to join. The "Listen" I believe can be interpreted in that the Marketing Team is extremely responsive and inclusive to all ideas, including my own! I feel like a valued member of the team, and even though I am only an assistant, they frequently ask my opinion or listen to my ideas or insights.
2. Secondly, I have a funny story related to this song. Often in the mornings the elevator rides getting up to our floor can be a nightmare. They are crowded, hot, and frequently filled with extremely awkward silence. A few weeks ago, I had the best elevator ride of my life. As everyone was filing into the elevator, squeezing every last person aboard, a lady walks in and stands on the corner opposite to me. That was when I heard it. Ice Ice Baby was blasting from her ear buds and she couldn't contain her head-bob to the beat. She was the first successful person to break the awkward silence of the elevator and it genuinely made me feel as though I would have a good day. If this lady could jam out to Ice Ice Baby at 8 in the morning and love her life, why shouldn't I be able to do the same? (maybe with just the loving my day part, not the Ice Ice Baby part...)

Morals of my stories, SHM is an amazing place to work, and one should always joyously live their days, work-week or not. Enjoy this funny and weird song blast from the past!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rog8ou-ZepE

Also, I love snow!! I have the firm belief that if I have to suffer through cold Pennsylvania winters, I would rather do it with snow on the ground. Snow can be gorgeous (maybe not directly in center city), but it gives me a sense of purpose for the harsh temperatures.

Summer come back!

As you could tell by the title of this, I am not a winter person at all! I very much dislike this weather even though I am a winter baby (January 2). I don't like being cold and I don't like getting stuck in the snow at all! Although I think it is beautiful and I love to watch the snow. I hate being in it, and getting sick! I am definitely a spring/summer person, and even a bit of fall I don't mind. But I really don't like this time of year's weather, but I love the holiday season, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I was struggling to find the right song that can describe my time at SHM. So instead I found a song that made me laugh but still reigns true to my current state as a college student. The winner is...... I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman by Britney Spears. Since I couldn't find an actual song off the top of my head I had to Google how I was truly feeling and this popped up and when it did all of the lyrics made sense... even if it is Britney Spears. Basically the song recounts the awkward in between phases known as young adulthood. I feel like I am not a girl anymore but I wouldn't call myself a woman just yet, that seems weird. I get called young lady a lot. Especially here, at SHM where I am surrounded by adults with kids mortgage payments, car issues etc. I find my self not able to contribute in their conversations as much because I do not have that type of experience. So I have been feeling more of a kid here and then on campus more of an adult, which squeezes me right in between.

SHM

Lately when people ask me where I work, I respond by saying "Society of Hospital Medicine". Puzzled, they'll respond back "like in a hospital or....".

I'm so used to the response that I have created my own definition for what SHM essentially is. I say that we are a society for hospitalists, physicians and people in allied health. Furthermore, we supply education in the form of meetings, webinars and more. With the launch of HMX we serve various communities within healthcare a place to exchange ideas, ask questions and share experiences. We also offer these resources to students! From what I have gained from working here is insight in all of these avenues and how they operate on the back end. 

Happy Monday!

What is a song or specific song lyric that describes you/your life at SHM and why?! 

Also, it's supposed to snow this week. How do you feel about that? I hate the snow, but some people love it! 

What is SHM?

The Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) is a non-profit organization dedicated to not only benefiting its hospitalist members, but also the general field of hospital medicine. Having a membership to SHM provides opportunities in continuing education, possibilities for netwroking with other like-minded collegues, and access to conferences and academies based on leadership, subspecialties in hopsital medicine, and much more. SHM produces a monthly publication, the Hospitalist as well as a peer- reviewed journal, the Journal of Hospital Medicine, and its members exclusively recieve the Pulse, a bi-weekly e-newsletter that contains updates about our largest internal areas such as governance, events, mebership, and quality intitatives. SHM strives through these and other outlets to provide quality, current, and useful information to better educate and prepare hospitalists for the future of the field.

SHM in a Nutshell

Society of Hospital Medicine is a network that facilitates research and implements patient centered care in a hospital setting. A hospital is a physician who practices hospital medicine. By creating a community where hospitals from around the country can collaborate and innovate common patient care discrepancies like, medication reconciliation, SHM can create appropriate and effective projects that any hospital can integrate into their system. SHM publishes medical journals, and holds annual meetings that provide educational materials that continue to promote the hospitalist.

Hi Everyone!

I hope you all enjoyed your weekend! Now that you have all been here a while, this week, I'd like everyone to write a blurb about SHM as if you were describing it prospective members. Think about if you met a hospitalist who was not an SHM member...what would you say to them?

Long Term Goals

What is your biggest personal long term goal?

A few of my biggest long term goals personally are oddly specific. One that I’ve had for a few years now is to run a marathon. Specifically, I would love to run the New York City Marathon. Growing up, my dad was always taking me on runs, or long bike rides with him. Seeing him compete in marathons and triathlons regularly inspired me to be active from a pretty young age. To most, marathons seem like some kind of special torture. In reality I think it takes a certain kind of determination and commitment to put yourself through all the training. If a person can train their mind and body to run 26.2 miles straight, they can do anything. To me, running a marathon means you could take on anything mentally or physically.

What is your biggest professional long term goal?

My biggest professional long term goal is harder to say. Although I haven’t started my clinicals yet, I can say I definitely have interests in different types of nursing. To work in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) has been a dream of mine since I was 15. The NICU is a specialized unit in hospitals that care for premature and/or sick newborn infants. I also have an interest in Emergency Room (ER) nursing. I think the fast-paced, chaotic nature of the ER is perfect for thinking on your feet and quick problem solving. For now, I would say my long term goal professionally would be to find a job in a good urban hospital in New York on a MedSurg floor to gain experience, then after a few years move onto higher specialty nursing. To be able to support myself and possibly a family financially in the future is very important and something I took into consideration while choosing my major and ultimately a career path, however finding a job that I love is above all most important to me.

My Long Term Goals

I think that my future long term goals are generally very broad and not specific. This is not to say that I do not have long term goals, but that I keep my short term goals specific and my long term general so that I may always have flexibility in my life to find a balance within sucess and happiness. Over-archingly, my ultimate ongoing long term goal is to be happy. As cliche as that sounds, I feel that if I always strive for happiness and happiness throughout all of my decisions, every other aspect of my life will fall accordingly into place. Underneith the umberalla of happiness is where I further define some of my long term goals. I would like to be sucessful in my career path. Weither this means one day I will be a CEO or just a higher level manager/ supervisor of some sort in the marketing field, as long as I make decent pay and love/ generally like my job, I would consider myself sucessful in my career. Another aspect in my long term goals is to have strong, healthy, and enjoyable relationships. This includes my family, a future husband, possibly kids (in the EXTREMLY distant future), friends and collegues. I would like to fill the enjoyment of my days with happy, lasting, and meaningful relationships. I also have long term goals to travel often. One silly sounding definate goal of mine is to one day own a "house" boat. I love the sea and both my father and grandfather adored boats as much as I do. I think that this would give me a unique oppotunity to travel and enjoy the things that mean so much to me and my family. Also as a long term goal, I would like to live and work within the city of Philadelphia for many years into my career. From there I would either like to move to a more suburban place, or possibly move out of Pennsylvania to some place a bit warmer, possibly in the south somewhere near a beach!

Long Term Goals

What is your biggest personal long term goal?
What is your biggest professional long term goal? 

My first two weeks

Joining the SHM team has been a whirl wind. I can't even believe that I have only been here a few weeks now, but I love it. Looking back on the other co-op positions I had interviewed for, I don't think any could have given me the amazing experience I know I will have here. Everyone I have met so far, especially the marketing department and the other co-ops, make coming into work every morning pleasurable. I have never been said "Good morning" to so much in my entire life and it feels wonderful. Here I feel I can be authentically confident around the entire staff. I feel that I can share my ideas and really contribute to SHM more than a typical co-op could. The only time I felt a little overwhelmed was when I was reading in my "Marketing Co-op Guide" on the first day about possibly google coding. Even though that has not surfaced yet in my work, I am confident that I can ask questions and excel on the task. Other than that, I have felt completely comfortable in my skills to learn all new tasks and take them head on. I also enjoy that Anna Demarco, the co-op from last term is still here working part time in Membership. Although I haven't had to use her as a resource yet, I know that she is a wealth of knowledge and if I ever have any questions that she would be glad to help. As far as the office environment goes, I love that as well. Even though sitting across from Larry can be a bit intimidating, being so close to and hearing Elaine always brightens my day. Also on a side note, I think the coffee and snacks are wonderful, but I am going to have to be careful with the peanut butter pretzels unless I want to leave co-op 2 sizes bigger! I know it is going to be a struggle already!

My first few weeks at SHM have been amazing so far! I was so intimidated at first; I didn’t know what to expect working here because I had never worked in an office setting like this job. However, I was surprised at how natural it came to me. I loved meeting the new people here at SHM (other coops and full time employees) they make coming to work more enjoyable. It was overwhelming at first having all different kinds of training and having all my tasks described at once. But, it wasn’t so bad because everyone at SHM and The Center was very accommodating and walked me through everything step by step. Also, it helped a lot meeting Sabrina, a past coop. She was able to pass on some tasks she had been working on so I learned how to take over her position seamlessly. I felt like SHM is so familiar with the coop process that the training didn’t feel like school, but like brainstorming. I remember meeting with a few different departments and instead of lecturing us they had us think out loud and take a hands on approach to things. It made training feel a lot less to take on then trying to retain all this information the first day. So far, so good!

-Colleen

My first couple of weeks at SHM went very well! I was hit with a lot of information during the 101’s which was a bit overwhelming but once I got the hang of the regular tasks I had to complete (iMIS, phones, media monitoring etc.) I felt more at ease. I really love the environment and the people.  Brendon, the head of the communications department, gave me some independent projects to work on which was great because I felt like I was given work that was able to test my capabilities and even help me to learn more about where my strengths and weakness are. My favorite part of my first couples weeks at SHM were the 101’s. It was really interesting to see what department was in charge of what and who belonged to each department. Since I’ve been here there have been a lot of meetings about different projects within SHM. All of which I was required to attend and even participate in, that related to communications. This was great to see where the communications department would overlap with other departments to get projects done. We also had the October all staff meeting where the co-ops were formally introduced to the staff by their department head and each department updated the rest on some accomplishments/milestones that have occurred. On the other side of things we have had two SHM baby showers since I’ve been working, which were adorable and fun!

SHM Experience after first 2 weeks

The Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) is the location of my second co-op (of three total) during my undergraduate years at Drexel. The first couple weeks working as an IT Analyst/Assistant under Brett, the Manager of IT Infrastructure, have been very good overall. There are responsibilities with each and every task that needs to be completed, and there are tasks that require a use of cumulative knowledge.
As the IT Analyst for SHM, I have been multi-tasking on different types of projects and tasks to help make Brett's time less stressful and strenuous.

"What was overwhelming during your first two weeks working at a non-profit organization like SHM?"

With every new job there is a learning process, and sometimes, the amount of information that is presented to new employees in the first couple weeks can feel overwhelming.
Overwhelming doesn't necessarily have to dictate a negative connotation, and I would have to say that there may be a positive feeling of being overwhelmed.
The feeling of being slightly overwhelmed can help you stay on focus with what needs to be completed.

"What went 'just right' while working at SHM during the first two weeks?"

SHM has had times where things feel as if they fall into place; the main reason that may occur is because of the excellent and extensive training "101s" from each of the departments. Understanding how SHM is viewed from each of the departments gives the co-ops a good understanding of how the departments are inter-connected with one another.
SHM has been involved with Drexel and its co-op process for a while now, with past co-ops expressing their approval of SHM and SHM expressing its approval of the process.
During my first co-op, I had helpdesk/support responsibilities and that experience is brought over to SHM through my time at the front desk for Elaine.

"What are some of your favorite parts of working at SHM for the first couple weeks?"

As an Information Systems major (with a Business Administration minor) working as an Information Technology Analyst, I have a slightly different approach than many IT majors. Some people involved in IT are not as easily skilled at speaking with others and like to work alone on tasks, but I personally enjoy working with others and seeing how other people's work and contributions affect my work. The information that I have learned in these first two weeks will absolutely become beneficial for me during my time at SHM and outside of SHM when I end co-op in late March.
If I had to choose a #1 favorite part of working at SHM, it would have to be the friendliness, openness, and genuine hospitality of the regular staffed employees. The full-time staff members at many other organizations do not view co-ops as equal employees, but SHM has already shown the care to the co-ops that is expected from SHM's hospitalists to their patients.
(The snacks are always nice too!)

If there are any questions or inquiries, send an email!

Welcome!

Welcome!

Hi Everyone! 

I hope you all had a busy, fun and educational first few weeks at SHM! 

For your first blog post, why don't you talk about some of your favorite parts of your first few weeks here! What was overwhelming? What went just right? 

The Final Countdown

My biggest accomplishment is definitely the Exhibitor project. It was hard work and required a lot of research and time to put it together, but once the presentation was over I felt so amazing. Seeing this project go from a stack of raw data to clean spreadsheets to a mock up of a new program was amazing. It made me realize that I never give myself enough credit for the things that I do. I always make jokes about my work but I never truly appreciate how hard I work for something or how talented I am. Even writing that sentence was hard for me. That's one thing SHM has definitely taught me - owning my work and skills.

I don't think I have anything left that I want to learn here. I have definitely experienced everything I want to and more during my time here. I am a completely different person from the girl that walked in back in April. I feel so ready to take on classes and my next job and that is all thanks to SHM.

The Final Countdown

I think the biggest accomplishment for me has to be that I fixed the Windows Deployment Service. It wasn’t working the way it was intended, which made the re-imaging process a lot longer than it should take. I was able to learn a lot on how to create an image from scratch and re-added all the drivers for all the current models of computers SHM has. So now when a computer is re-imaged, all the drivers for that computer should be automatically installed.

As for what I want to do before the last day, I guess it’s to finish up all my current projects and make sure I leave enough training material for the next co-op. I hope the materials I leave behind will help make the transition between co-ops smoother.

The Final Countdown – As you approach to the final month of your Co-op experience, what's your biggest/proudest accomplishment to date? What is one thing do you want to make sure you do before your last day?

Song

The song that would describe my life at SHM right now would be Try by Pink. I just have to keep getting up and try.

A song that describes my life...

OK, If I was to be completely honest here and tell you what song describes my life you would all judge me. It would definitely HAVE to be Drop It Low because I'm that obnoxious person that loves to dance alone in my room and drop it low even though I'm white and can't dance for my life. But, for the sake of my reputation I am going to have to go with Alive by Krewella because although it is super techno-y (is that a word? just go with it), and I'm semi against the techno rage that is taking over the planet, it actually has a message that I really like. This message is basically to live life to the fullest and enjoy every moment. My favorite line in the song is "There's no regretting anymore", which basically attests to the fact that I try to never regret the decisions that I can't go back and change and to be happy with the choices that have got me where I am. I have dealt with a lot of "bumps in the road" in my short, almost 21 years of life, but I think it's important to enjoy every day and live every day like your last. I guess I could have gone with Live Like You are Dying by Tim McGraw (I think??), but I despise country music so I refuse to let a country song describe my life. Anyways yayy that's my post for the day, seeya.

F.R.I.E.N.D.S. (:

It’s super cheesy but the song that best represents my life at SHM is “I’ll Be There For You” by the Rembrants.

This song works for two main reasons.

1. In my time at SHM I’ve really learned a lot about being an adult in the working work. Having to get up and go to work no matter what. It can be a hard transition to go from classes to co-op and sometimes you just want to be like everyone else and have summer break and less hours and less responsibility.

2. Because SHM is family. Everyone that works at SHM is truly there for each other personally and professionally. That’s why I love it here so much. It makes the whole being an adult, not having a summer vacation thing easier when you like where you are spending your time. I know if I am having a bad day that there are so many people here I could turn to for help or advice or a hug.

I love SHM and this song really is the best representation of my time here so far.

What is a song or specific song lyric that describes you/your life at SHM and why?!

Apartment Decorating

I love apartment decorating...my problem is I can never stick to one theme. I like to have my decorating really represent me but I have such diverse interests it just ends up looks like a mess. I'm moving into a new apartment in September and I have begun planning out simple decorations.

I want to keep the bedding and walls neutral and then have pops of color everywhere with the use of fake flowers, pillows, candles, etc. I also want to be a lot more organized and crafty with the decor. I want to have a lot of pictures of people and places.

Overall I want to be a calm and soothing place to be since it will be my home for the next 2 years.

My house and apartment.

I current split my time between the apartment close to Drexel and my house in the North East. I spend most of the weekday at the apartment and go home on the weekend because my mom wants to see me. If I don’t go home for more than a week, she usually calls by Wednesday asking me why I’m not coming back to see her. I usually miss my cat half way through the week and would go home every weekend just to see him anyway, but he gets mad at me for leaving him every Sunday.

At the apartment, I have 2 roommates (3 including me) and we live in a 1 bed room apartment. There isn’t much room at all but luckily I only have the necessities with me. 1 person lives in the bedroom with me and the other girl lives in the living room with a bunker bed. We still have a living room with a couch and dining room table, but everything’s cramped. The girl that lives in the bedroom with me is messy but luckily the other girl and I are pretty clean, plus the messy one is moving out in a few days!

The apartment only looks nice on the outside but its old and falling apart. We live on the first floor so we occasionally see the rodents and pests, but nowhere near as bad as my old apartment that was across the street from the University City dump site.

Thinking Outside of the Box...

Share an unconventional way of doing something.