“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson
First of all, I think the term “acutely aware” usually has kind of a bad connotation to it—this does not. This post is about my experience at The Mayo Clinic, and I am just trying to be punny because it was an acute care setting. Get it? Ha. Okay, moving on… If I’m being completely honest, I didn’t think I would like acute care. I like to develop relationships, and that doesn’t always happen in a hospital setting. You actually hope it doesn’t, because that means that people are getting healthier and get to leave. I was thankful that I was getting the experience, and at the Mayo Clinic of all places, but I somewhat went into it thinking this will be an interesting semester, but acute care isn’t for me. Come on past Molly, give future Molly a chance so present Molly can take it all in… The human-sponge absorption process was in full force every single day at Mayo. My Google this later list was quite extensive just by the end of week one. This past semester has completely changed my mind and makes me that much more excited about how diverse the field I have chosen is, and that I have found another realm that I am fascinated by. Moments I was made aware:
Jonas Salk once said, “I feel that the greatest reward for doing something is the opportunity to do more.” I had an amazing supervisor that had the perfect balance of direction and independence, and had a great sense of when to instruct and when to kick me out of the nest. With her support, I was given countless opportunities to do more, be more, and learn more. Thank you, Nicole, for those opportunities. She also put up with so many questions from me. One of my favorite things about my supervisor was that if she didn’t know the answer, she didn’t make up something that I would have undoubtedly fallen for. Instead, she said Let’s Google it. Google knows all. So, I guess thanks are in order for Google as well. The instruction I had at Mayo from the entire speech-language pathology department was an incredible learning experience. Everyone was kind enough to let me pick their brains on a daily basis. I love seeing how people add their own personal style into their clinical application, and believe that everyone’s personal spin on the discipline made the department run so well—and what made it so fun. My overall experience at Mayo was extremely rewarding, and I cannot wait to apply the knowledge I have gained at my externship and in my future career. For now, I am going back to the good ole 314 area for a little bit and working with outpatient neurorehabilitation at the Rehab Institute of St. Louis. I am so excited for my next placement, much less so to be returning to St. Louis in the thick of winter. Today in Florida, it was 76 degrees. I will not be welcomed home with even half that temperature… Always, Molly |
AuthorJust a twenty-something attempting to create the illusion that I have a clue what's going on... Archives
May 2017
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