MSK Flexibility

Contingency Theories

I had a bit of a slow start on my internship this summer. The state of the hospital I should be interning at was no longer able to have us come in for work. I thought that MSK would have to cancel my internship because doing colorectal cancer research outside of a hospital did not seem feasible. Mithat Gonen persisted and ensured that all of the interns could analyze data from home. With a late start date, and many medical form issues along the way, I got started much later than I had originally intended and then was delayed a week after the other interns. Instead of throwing me in, Mithat Gonen worked with me to get me back on track, doing different data analysis than the others. 

I am very, very impressed by Memorial Sloan Kettering. With every bump in the road they were able to find a different way to be productive. Instead of having me do the same data analysis as every intern, Mithat Gonen allowed me to analyze the data through excel instead of R Studio. He allowed me to have a slower start and eventually come back to discuss with the other interns. Even though the summer did not start as quickly as it should have, Mithat was able to find us each individual work based on our learning abilities and preferences. I was under the impression that the hospital would be too busy to be dealing with interns, but instead they turned around and provided us with many opportunities to learn during a pandemic.

I think that it is critical to be able to adjust to different situations whether you are a leader or working under someone. I personally believe it is easier as a follower to adjust because you most likely just have to do what you are told. I think there is a lot more pressure on the leaders to make decisions regarding where you need work and what you need people doing. During a pandemic I expected a hospital to have interns as their absolute last priority. I have been pleasantly surprised because MSK wants us interns to understand life in and out of a hospital during a time like this. They find it now more than ever, important to mentor young scientists in a historical event. I appreciate how flexible the leadership has been. I feel prioritized and an important part of the team. It is nice to be able to pass the interns onto the tedious research and have the real scientists be able to do the critical thinking without worrying about prior research or tasks that undergraduate students can do.