Maryland Shock Trauma Center Internship Paper

During my internship at the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center (STC), I gained more confidence in my decision in eventually pursuing a career in health care, either through being a researcher or a physician. I first started my internship at the University of Maryland STC in my senior year of high school as a requirement for my magnet program. The internship was a volunteer position but we performed basic tasks such as stocking each bay with supplies and saline solution, retrieving blood from the blood bank when needed, and providing blankets and socks for incoming patients. I never paid attention to the importance of these tasks until one specific incident.
I remember a patient coming in with a gunshot wound to the abdomen. She was a young adult, probably in her twenties. When she came in she was unconscious and the physician on duty had to perform surgery to remove the bullet. The patient had lost a lot of blood so I had to go to the blood bank to get blood for the patient. Knowing this was a serious situation, I rushed to the blood bank to retrieve the blood and rushed back so that it would be available for the doctor. After the blood was present, the doctor was able to successfully perform surgery on the patient and save her life. From this experience, I learned so much and I believe that what I have learned will make me a great addition to your institution. The first thing I learned is the significance of time. If I had inefficiently used my time when retrieving the blood, I believe that it would result in a significant consequence in the surgery and could have potentially caused someone their life. Time is very important and I will ensure you that I will be able to complete all the required tasks of this internship position in a timely manner. The second thing I gained from the Shock Trauma Center is the importance of completing required tasks. As I said before, volunteers have to restock the supplies in the bays and provide warm socks and blankets to new patients. These tasks aid in helping the doctor perform his/her job in a timely manner. Not properly restocking the bays can lead to the delay of the doctor’s duties and subsequently can determine whether a patient survives or not. I realized that the tasks I performed provided the basis for the doctor to work from. These two skills I gained from the STC will follow me in any situation I am placed in. I was able to contribute to the process of saving someone’s life and …show more content…
I am a hard worker that will strive to help researchers meet all the goals that this organization hopes to accomplish. The skills and experience that I have described before will help me to do each task that is required of an intern. I am specifically applying as an intern to this organization because I enjoy working with children and I feel that this organization is serving the public. The GNC, Growth and Nutrition Clinic, is gathering information that can be used to provide proper treatment to children that are having developmental problems and to prevent other families from being in situations where the child is not getting the nutrition and care needed to grow normally. I want to be a part of this research that will aid other people because a job is much more gratifying when you know that you have helped