MCGC Laboratory
Exciting news! This semester, I am mentoring in the lab at Mount Carmel’s new Grove City location with their Director of Laboratory Operations, Melissa Rumohr. The hospital is still under construction, so right now it is only open as an emergency department. The lab is brand new, and they are in the process of getting everything set up for when they start taking patients this spring. I have only mentored two days so far, and it is already very different from my experience last semester. When I was at the preschool, I was mostly interacting with the students, and I have worked with children before when volunteering. This semester, everyone I am working with is older than me, and I don’t already have experience being in a lab. Everything is new to me, and I often don’t understand what the people in the lab are talking about, but I hope that by the end of this semester I will at least have some idea of what they are saying. When I first met my mentor, she said that I might be able to run some tests of my own. They would be on fake samples, of course, but I am excited to be able to use some of the equipment in the lab. This is something I never would have been able to do if it hadn’t been for the Career Mentorship Program. Since the career field I am interested in is specific and unique, without this opportunity it would be hard for me to gain this kind of first hand experience that I am looking for in order to decide if this is really a path I want to follow. Overall, I am looking forward to everything about this new semester. Even though I enjoyed my time at the preschool, I am excited to be able to jump into something I am really interested in. Also, despite the fact that it took an entire semester to find this placement for me, which was a bit frustrating at times, I can now say that it was definitely worth the wait.
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Continuing on our Myers-Briggs personality type exploration, in class this week we dove deeper into our personality types and learned about the best ways to communicate with each preference. My type is ISFJ, meaning that I prefer to work “behind the scenes,” I focus on details and specifics, I value harmony, and I like having a plan that I can stick to. There are different ways to talk to people with each preference to ensure effective communication on both sides of the conversation. You may need to adjust how you talk to someone if they have a different personality type than you. If you’re talking to an extrovert, you’ll want to talk about lots of different things to keep them engaged. For an introvert, you may have to ask for their input in order for them to share their thoughts, but when they do talk it’s important that you listen to them. When talking to sensors, you need to be direct and explain everything step-by-step, whereas an intuitive type would want you to be more general and explain the big picture. A thinker needs you to be logical and organized, and feelers want you to recognize the legitimacy and importance of feelings. Finally, judgers like to get to the point and don’t want you to waste their time, whereas perceivers need time to process and prefer having options to choose from. Knowing how to communicate with different personality types is important as it helps us to better explain ideas and understand what others are saying. For example, when I was trying to describe a design idea I had for a page in the yearbook to another member of the yearbook staff, she was having difficulty understanding what I was saying. I was talking about details and specifics of my idea, and all she needed to hear was the big picture. If I had known how to better communicate with her, it wouldn’t have taken us as long to understand each other, and we could have gotten more accomplished in the time I spent trying to clarify my idea. Moving forward, I can use what I’ve learned about communication to be more effective when talking and listening to people with other personality types. I could use these skills to better communicate with my teachers or fellow students when working on group projects together. I could also use these skills when communicating with my mentor in order to learn as much as I can and get the most out of this experience. This week in class we took a test to find out what our Myers-Briggs personality type is. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is a personality test that breaks down patterns of behavior into four opposing preferences, each represented by a unique letter. These preferences are: extraversion (E) or introversion (I), sensing (S) or intuition (N), thinking (T) or feeling (F), and judging (J) or perceiving (P). My Myers-Briggs personality is ISFJ. The first letter, either E or I, represents whether people prefer to live in the outer world (extravert) or in their own inner world (introvert). I am an introvert, meaning I think before I act, and I prefer to work “behind the scenes.” Introverts possess strong concentration skills, and would rather work on one thing at a time. The second letter, either S or N, represents how people remember things. If they focus on just the given information, then they possess the sensing preference, but if they add meaning, then they possess the intuitive preference. I am a sensor, so I focus on details and specifics. Sensors remember facts (without any interpretation), and work at a steady pace to accomplish tasks step-by-step. The third letter, either F or T, represents how people make decisions. If they make decisions based on logic, then they are thinkers, but if they consider the people and circumstance, then they are feelers. I am a feeler, so I make decisions based on my values. Harmony is important to feelers, and they are very diplomatic and tactful. The fourth letter, either J or P, represents the type of environment people like to live in. If they have a plan for everything, then they possess the judging preference, but if they like to keep their options open and go with the flow, then they possess the perceiving preference. I am a judger, so I find comfort in having a schedule and a to-do list. Judgers take their responsibilities seriously, they stick to their plans, and they finish what they start. Based on my personality type, I would be the most successful in a career where I could plan on having roughly the same routine each day, but I wouldn’t necessarily need face-to-face contact with clients or patients. I believe that working in a hospital lab would be a good environment for me, as I would have the same procedures to follow for each test, but the tests may vary from day to day. Also, I would be helping patients without having direct contact with them, so this would be an environment in which my personality type could really thrive. This past week in class, we had a guest speaker, Lori Ludwig, come and talk to us about the secrets to success. She shared her story with us, and then we watched a video about Will Smith and how he became successful. We talked about how every successful person is like an iceberg; the tip represents what most people see, but underneath the water there is so much more. This is where the secrets to success come into play, things like time, hard work, dedication, and determination. These are what separate the good from the great. In order to reach your full potential, you must meet each level of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. You cannot reach your full potential if you don’t have basic necessities like food, water, or shelter, and this hierarchy gives a visualization of which needs are the most important. The higher levels cannot be achieved without the lower levels, so you have to start at the bottom and work your way up. Mrs. Ludwig also talked about race car drivers, and how they never look at obstacles when they are driving. This is because they drive where they are looking, and if they look at the walls then they are bound to run into them. Instead, they keep their focus on the path in front of them, in the same way that we need to focus on our goals and not become distracted by obstacles like naysayers or other little tasks that aren’t as important. Personally, I want to focus on my goal of spending more time adventuring, especially during this summer after I graduate. I don’t mean hiking or exploring the great outdoors, but I want to gain more experience in areas where I don’t have any. For example, I want to have a real job, because as of right now, my only work experience is babysitting. Throughout my adventures—whether it be graduating this spring, getting a job in the summer, or starting college next fall—I’ll keep the secrets to success in mind, and with that I have no doubt that I can achieve any goal I set for myself. |
AuthorA high school senior exploring the field of medical laboratory science. Archives
April 2019
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