Forming Connections at Work

This post is all about connections. After about 7 weeks of my internship I started to feel genuine connection in my position as Programming and Recreation Intern. I connected both with my supervisors and co-workers as well as my patients. I was making enough personal contributions to be recognized in the space of the 9th floor.

My supervisors began to call on me specifically to complete tasks. One moment that stood out to me was when my boss selected me to write a letter of gratitude to a donor. This donor had supplied the funds that enabled the summer educational events that the interns ran weekly. My boss assigned me to write this letter thanking the donor for the funds and explaining exactly what we used them for. I detailed the programs and educational components as well attached photos. I felt very proud for getting charged with this task. Especially, when I discovered the letter I wrote was sent to the director of pediatrics to read through and then sign his own name to. My boss had the confidence in me to ghost write for the director of pediatrics at MSKCC. This was a new type of connection between my boss and I.

Additionally, my patients and I began to form connections. Families began to greet me on a first name basis and get excited to see me working. Patients started to request visits with me at their bedside. One patient surprised me by notifying her nurse that she would only be happy if she could hang out with me. As a result, I was paged from across the hospital and tasked with spending time with this patient. The patient and I had formed a connection and enjoyed talking about cooking as well as playing UNO.

These two instances and examples of connection validated the notion that I had been making strong personal contributions during this internship.