Internship experience and team dynamics in non-traditional roles

At the NYU Langone Medical Center where I interned for 15 weeks from September 19th, 2016, to December 31st, 2016, I undertook several duties. While these duties varied and introduced me to a number of different activities connected to the internship process, the work environment at the medical center, laws that pertain to volunteering and more, my overall experience provided me with insight not only of the responsibilities of an intern at the Langone center but also of complexities faced by such an institution. This paper will provide an assessment and reflection on my internship at Langone and what I learned.

The stated mission of the NYU Langone Medical Center is "to serve, teach, and discover" (Our Leadership, 2015). The Langone center is a non-profit organization that provides patient care, education and research pertaining to several aspects of the medical health field. Located in New York City, it is literally at the heart of one of the world's most active city centers. My role at Langone was as a non-traditional volunteer intern.

My internship supervisor was named Taslema Latif and her title as Assistant Talent Acquisition Specialist. The mission of the intern site is to provide the Student Intern with the opportunity "to apply their developing knowledge and skills in health services administration/management, research, or, policy" (Student Intern, 2016). My particular duties tended more towards the administration and policy spectrum, as my main responsibilities focused on 1) familiarizing myself with understanding and applying the federal, state and local laws pertaining to volunteers; 2) participating in the processing and on-boarding of non-traditional volunteers; 3) assisting the non-traditional volunteer staff during the on-boarding of foreign national non-traditional volunteers with the legalities pertaining to their clearance into the country; 4) observing interview techniques; and 5) attending job fairs.

Overall, my duties placed me in direct contact with the administration overseeing issues regarding working with volunteers, interviewing, soliciting, presenting, and assisting staff. I shadowed several different employees throughout the duration of my internship -- all of whom were well-experienced in their roles and extremely proficient and efficient at attending to their responsibilities. I learned a great deal about professionalism simply be being in contact with these individuals and felt that the immersion process was certainly a beneficial way to understand how the medical industry operates and what would be expected of an individual looking to enter professionally into that field. The skills that I was expected to develop during the course of my internship were 1) interview techniques, 2) communication skills, and 3) problem solving skills. Throughout my weeks at Langone I was able to focus on all three of these areas.

In general, the goals of the internship were achieved in the sense that I was able to apply the knowledge and skills I had obtained during my education in health services management in a diverse set of methods: I interacted with volunteers, processed data in databases, and saw first-hand the kind of opportunities that await one in this field. Using the database to enter names into accounts was one task that I was specifically given for two weeks: it enabled me to exercise my processing skills and effectively demonstrate attention to detail and consistency in repetitive tasks. Another task given me was the duty of assisting non-traditional volunteers with questions regarding any concerns they might have about legal issues, practical matters, or work-related tasks. In these instances, I was able to hone my problem solving skills and find answers to their questions. In some cases, I was able to be of practical assistance (helping with directions, assisting in questions about the locality, identifying legal issues and familiarizing the non-traditional volunteers with them), and in other cases I was able to direct their questions to the appropriate administrator and establish contact between the volunteer and the right manager. In the latter instances, I effectively developed my communication skills by relaying information between two parties and participating in a two-way flow of channeled information. Serving as an assistant in this regard also helped me to develop my health service skills by exercising my capacity for empathy and emotional and social intelligence -- two qualities of leadership that are identified by researchers as being instrumental in promoting a positive workplace culture and environment (Cacamis, Asmar, 2014; Schyns, Schilling, 2013). Emotional and social intelligence are also effective assets when conducting interviews and I was able to utilize them to develop interview techniques throughout the internship as well. By placing interviewees at ease upon interpreting their body language and responding with words and body language of my own that would help calm their nerves or give them the confidence to answer honestly, I strengthened my interview techniques considerably.

My work impacted the intern site in numerous ways: at the job fair, I was able to assist in administering the Center's booth, field questions from interested parties, deliver information packets, and explain my role and experiences as an intern to others thinking about pursuing a similar path. I provided a positive message to many students seeking personal experiences to help them make up their own minds regarding a career path and several accepted application materials from me and/or contact information found at the Center's website regarding career opportunities. In other cases, I was able to distill what a particular inquirer was seeking to know and relay the question to the staff member working the booth, who was able to give a better and more descriptive answer to the inquirer's question. In this capacity, I was again acting as a conduit between two parties and helping the relay of information proceed appropriately and with as little delay as possible. This showed those interested in a career at Langone that the Center's representatives truly cared about them, their needs, and their questions.

Leadership, communication and teamwork are very important at Langone Medical Center and I view these as strengths of the center. As Budd (2011) points out, the concept of "work" is important in any organizational culture, and at Langone "work" is not viewed as a curse (a current in Western theology) but rather as a freedom, an opportunity, and a service. I found this tone and attitude at Langone to be highly inspirational and rewarding in the sense that it enabled everyone who participated in the organization to bring their best day in and day out. The positive lesson that I received from immersing myself among members of the organization at the center and imbibing their work ethic and organizational culture was that work is something that should receive the kind of care, attention and devotion that one would yield to any labor of love. In loving one's workplace and those stakeholders who participate in the work, the organization and its activities are elevated above the everyday and mundane (even if the activities are everyday, practical matters, like entering information into a database) and the goals of the organization shine through all aspects of work, duty and operation. Frank (2016) notes that finding a job you love is one of the most important aspects of choosing the right career -- even more so than money. From this perspective, I found that interning at Langone provided me with a good understanding of what it means to love your work and what it means for an organization to truly have a positive organizational culture that promotes productivity, workplace enthusiasm, and devoted service.

Thus, the positive lessons that I hope to emulate and integrate into my approach stem from this same orientation towards developing and supporting a positive workplace environment and culture through emphasizing strong leadership, communication and teamwork. My practice at being able to use emotional and social intelligence skills while interviewing and in being able to problem solve when working with non-traditional volunteers has given me a clear sense of what it means to be part of an organization that cares and what it means to advance the organization's mission by embracing that same attitude of commitment and care.

The only recommendation I could give on how Langone might increase its effectiveness in advancing its mission is to challenge the Student Intern to engage with the Medical Center's leaders, administrators and researchers at multiple levels. Another organization noted for having a strong workplace culture in the past is Goldman Sachs, a company that recruits graduates in finance and offers them summer intern opportunities. As Smith (2012) observes, the customer-first culture of openness and honesty that permeated Goldman was supported by every level of management at the firm making themselves visible and available to all, including interns. Indeed, interns were encouraged to involve themselves in creative ways and make themselves as useful as possible -- and their efforts were always appreciated and in some cases rewarded (Smith, 2012). This workplace culture promoted respect and devotion among interns looking to start their careers with the firm. At Langone, I think the same approach to challenging and encouraging the Student Intern could yield positive results for the organization's mission in the sense that it could really help the Medical Center to develop a reputation of openness and respect that in turn draws talented workers from around the world -- workers who seek out the best organizations to be part of. For this reason, I would also recommend diversifying the kinds of opportunities that the interns are given. Two weeks entering data into databases can make one feel like a unique opportunity to really get to know the organization is slipping through one's fingers: encouraging interns to spread out and mingle with a variety of persons would be viewed as a positive step towards engendering devotion and rapport.