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?