As the Summer Comes to a Close… Reflecting on Personal Contributions at an Essential Office

As I am coming up on the end of my internship, I want to reflect on what I have contributed to the office, as well as what I have learned.

As I have highlighted in earlier blog posts, an internship in the medical field was not my first choice. But, with all that is going on with COVID, I actually think a medical internship was the best possible scenario for me. Not only was it beneficial that the office environment was extremely safe and sterile, but I was also exposed to new information about the status of healthcare and just overall health around the United States every day. I also learned a lot about how a healthcare office operates amidst a pandemic, as any healthcare office is almost always an essential business and must continue to operate, no matter the circumstance.

In terms of what I contributed to the office outside of my assigned work, I definitely think I gave a new perspective to my co-workers and higher-ups. As a young person studying a non-medical field, I had a lot of questions, operational and not, and I was told that many of them made Asheville Eye Associates question the way they do things. Whether it be questions about a new form of technology and how it might fit into office life (like an app that allows for patient ease in the pandemic), or a question about office leadership, I was able to use all that I have learned in my various areas of studies to help them apply these questions and possibly make changes at Asheville Eye.

My assigned work as the Marketing and Project Development intern has consisted of various different tasks, but the main work I have done this summer has been with social media and small office projects, such as local artist artwork displays around the office. Unfortunately, one of the main tasks that I was supposed to be working on this summer (the annual “Run the Forest 5K”) was postponed until 2021, and I was unable to aid in securing sponsors and marketing the event. Though I was disappointed that I could not help with the event planning (something I love to do) for the 5K, I was able to work on different, smaller projects that allowed the office to function better as a whole. Communicating with local Asheville artists in an effort to display and possibly sell their artwork at the office allowed me to help beautify the office, as well as help artists who might be struggling to otherwise show their work during COVID-19.

This summer has not only helped me to improve existing and learn new marketing skills, but it has also pushed me in developing an interest in an entirely new field. Perhaps I will follow in the footsteps of my parents and pursue a career involving healthcare…