CPE Jenny Chang's Extern Journal
Getting Started
11/14
I’ve been thinking about what I should do during winter break since home is far away for me. For the past few days, I have been going in and out of UCS to use online resources to help me find some possible externship sponsors in Charlottesville. Although there were only 3 results displayed when I used Career Search*, it was good starting point because I did not know about any of the organizations listed. One of the organizations listed was a health-related organization near where I live (and it’s not the U.Va. hospital). It’s called HealthSouth Rehabilitation. I decided to give it a try.
*When I used Career Search, I used "Search Wizard" to begin to search for my externship sponsor possibilities. "Search Wizard" asked me to fill in "industries", I checked the ones that are related to rehabilitation. Then I only checked "Charlottesville" for the location category because, I didn’t want to go anywhere else. I entered "physical therapy" for the keyword just to narrow down the results.
11/16
I made an appointment with Saskia at UCS to ask her for help in how I should approach and talk to the people at HealthSouth when I ask them for an externship. Saskia gave me some verbal tips but also referred me to the Extern Guide (pdf) to help me get started with the contacting process. Afterwards, I wrote up a ‘script’ which describes my interest in shadowing a physical therapist especially in the sports health department at HealthSouth. I went back to Saskia again, and she gave me a few suggestions and also provided me with more tips on how to respond if I get "no" as an answer. I think I’m going to e-mail/call up the personnel at HealthSouth tomorrow. I’m very excited, but at the same time, I don’t really know what to expect.
Making a Connection
11/20
It’s the Monday of Thanksgiving break. Everyone is gone. I used today as a chance to call up some contacts that I found last week. I felt like putting it off because I didn’t think I was ready to talk to the professionals and I was really nervous. I also felt that I have a lot of time left so I don’t need to do it now.
Then I told myself if I don’t do it now, I would never do it, and I will NOT get the externship. So I called HealthSouth Hospital. I tried a couple of different numbers that were listed on the search results I obtained from using Career Search.
The first few ones I called I got no answers and they all went straight to voicemail. I really didn’t want to leave anyone a voice message because I felt that it was very likely that my message is going to be ignored. I wanted to actually talk to someone.
Lastly I called the receptionist (I didn’t call the receptionist first because I wanted to talk to someone that actually works with the patients, like a physical therapist). I told her who I was and why I was calling. Surprisingly, she told me volunteering is possible at HealthSouth and she gave me this lady’s contact at the Human Resource Department. Unfortunately, there was no answer when I called, so I finally decided to just leave a message telling her my strong interest in externing at HealthSouth. My message was basically the ‘script’ that I had written up last week. I left my phone number and hopefully, I hear back from her soon.
11/21
I tried calling the same number (human resources) again in the afternoon. No response. I actually called multiple times during the day (once before lunch time, and a few times after lunch). Maybe the lady has already gone on her Thanksgiving break. I will try again tomorrow to see if she’s in.
11/22
She answered! I actually did not expect her to pick up her phone since it seemed like it was impossible to reach her. I was heading out to somewhere in the afternoon and thought I’d just try again (randomly, since I wasn’t really prepare to talk to anybody).
I was caught off guard when she picked up the phone, but I still started off by telling her my name and asking her if she has gotten my voice message that I had left a few days ago. She told me yes and the reason that she did not return my phone call is because she has already forwarded my voice message to "Mrs. Smith", who is the correct person to talk to about volunteering or externships. I was very excited and asked the lady for "Mrs. Smith’s”" contact information.
Unfortunately, at that time, "Mrs. Smith" was already out of town on her Thanksgiving holiday and is not going to return until next week.
At least I am a step forward now. I was glad I got to talk to someone, but all I can do for the next few days is to wait.
The Waiting Game
11/28
Today was the second day back from Thanksgiving. Since I knew I was going to be in class the whole day today, I called "Mrs. Smith" a little before I was heading to class.
No answer, however. I was very disappointed because the lady from human resources had told me that "Mrs. Smith" should be at her office very early in the morning. So I left another brief message for "Mrs. Smith" (only stating why I was calling). I also left my phone number so she can call me back.
11/29
I didn’t hear from "Mrs. Smith" all day yesterday, so I tried calling again. I was getting really frustrated because I had been making tons of phone calls in the past few days. I really want this externship though, so I called again after my morning classes.
"Mrs. Smith" finally picked up the phone! It was quite exciting for me because I finally have a chance to talk to her. I introduced myself and checked to see if she has gotten any of my voice messages. She then explained that she actually just returned to her office today.
We went on to talk about the possibility of having an externship at HealthSouth during winter break. At first, she gave me a very disappointing answer. She told me that it would be very difficult since HealthSouth is going to be short-staffed during winter time due to the holiday season. Also, to have me as an extern would give them one more thing to worry about.
After listening to her, I gave her my side of the story. I told her how much I want to extern at HealthSouth and elaborated on the reasons why I want to do it. I explained myself and really stressed the fact that the opportunity will be very valuable to me. Finally she told me she will ask some of the inpatient physical therapists to see if they are willing to have me as an extern. She also said that she’ll try to get back to me today (which did not happen) or tomorrow at the latest.
11/30
I did not hear from "Mrs. Smith".
I didn’t want to be annoying and call again, since I’ve been calling so much. I decided to wait until tomorrow to see if I hear anything back.
12/1
I did not get a phone call or an e-mail from "Mrs. Smith". Now I’ll have to wait for another weekend.
This is definitely taking a lot longer than I thought, because I thought once I had "Mrs. Smith's" number, everything was going to go smoothly since she is the one to talk to about externing. My friends and relatives have also been asking me about what I’m doing during winter break. I feel like I have put myself in a very bad position. My friends have already decided what they are going to do after exams are over. If I end up not getting the externship, I think it would be too late to get an airplane ticket to go anywhere else. Then I’ll just end up staying in Charlottesville, wasting my entire winter break. Should I not wait for "Mrs. Smith’s" reply and assume I’m not going to get the externship so I can plan for an alternative winter break?
Success at Last!
12/4
YAY!!!! An e-mail from “Mrs. Smith”!!!! I was checking my e-mail after classes today and ended up getting an e-mail from 'Mrs. Smith'!!! The e-mail stated that it took a long time to hear back from the hospital staff, but they are willing to have me as an extern throughout winter break, every morning for 3 hours. I was ecstatic and I was glad that I waited out. All I have to do now is to fill out the application she sent to me and complete other requirements such as a drug test, if necessary.
