Kristal Serrano
With every new experience that is time-bound, we ought to make sure that we make good memories. In this case, I had 300 hours to finish my internship at Asian Hospital and Medical Center. Most of my friends asked me what my course was and why I’m doing my internship in hospital and I found it pretty funny when they ask that because people tend to forget that there are people working behind the scenes.
My contract stated that I was being assigned in two different offices – the International Health Services (IHS) and Marketing. This alone gave me a different internship experience. Most of my classmates told me that they were under one department for the duration of their internship, but that wasn’t the case for me.
The International Health Services Office assists foreign patients with different credited insurance companies. I had the privilege of helping out in various ways. Like in many tasks, everyone starts from the bottom going up. Each day, I could see that the tasks given to me were getting more and more challenging. The time came when I knew the drill as for what to do when patients come in, how to make rounds, taking calls and all that. I had great supervision by Ms. Stef Sabellano, Mrs. Kat Guevarra, Mr. Ned Tiu and Mrs. Hens Miranda. They all have been very supportive and encouraging with my work and this factor made me excited to go to work every day. They have a lot of advice and stories about the workplace which I took to heart. I will always cherish the time I spent in IHS because I did not only learn technical things I could apply when I work in the future, but mostly because of the bonds and friendships built there. It didn’t feel like it’s just friendship because they felt more like a family.
The Marketing Office as I’ve been told is one of the busiest offices in the entire organization. When I heard this, I admit that I was afraid that I might end up regretting taking up marketing. However, being in this department proved that “you’ll never really know how it’s like unless you’re there”. I was assigned to do copywriting for the duration of my stay in this office. I took it in as a challenge because I write creatively (stories, poems, songs, etc.). I wasn’t really sure if I should write in a business or “professional” way, but what I’ve learned in advertising – it’s always an edge to be creative. I was given the task to write about the latest addition to AHMC – the Breast Center. I also researched and made a layout for the AHMC 2014 Calendar and wrote a write-up for different sponsoring organizations. I was also given the opportunity to interview and write about one of most prestigious surgeons in our country. That experience was so nerve-wrecking since I know that I have this weakness when it comes to conducting interviews. My superior, Mrs. Kris Yabes did say that I did a good job considering it was my first time to interview a very important person. Mr. Glenn Yosores and Mr. Mac Napoles are also in the marketing office and they have always encouraged me and took care of me while I was there.
One of my last tasks during my internship was so unexpected – it was to be used as a ‘talent’ (as they call it) for the Health Today August 2014 issue. It made it even more humbling that the issue I was in happens to be the Anniversary issue of the magazines and it was only given out to medical professionals.
In the end, I couldn’t ask for a better internship experience. I learned a lot of things, built friendships and bonds. I really felt that I was part of this family, the Asian Hospital Medical Center family – even as an intern! All I can say is that I’m so blessed to have had this experience.