During the spring semester of 2020, I interned at Navicent Health Baldwin in the quality

department, under Amanda Crandall, the quality improvement data analyst. During my time

there, I helped NHB prepare for the Det Norske Veritas accreditation survey. I had many duties

that were created to make the preparation easier and more organized. A main task of mine was

locating requested documentation such as work instructions, policies, forms, floor plans, 3-year

strategic plans and so forth. I then organized these into two folders for the surveyors. Many of

these documents needed revising or updating so I was also responsible for making sure revisions

were made and the most recent copies were available for the surveyors. I also performed

environment of care audits in nursing units. I would check for nonconformities in these

departments, document it and take photos, and then upload this data into an excel template.

These would then be sent to the managers of departments and NHB leadership. I also assisted my

supervisor with compiling data to perform a falls analysis and then determining the top three

causes of falls for the last six months of the 2019 calendar year. Furthermore, I helped compile

necessary data to create our restraint log, which is a requested document by surveyors. In

general, I assisted my supervisor with daily tasks that allowed us to be prepared for the survey

and promote continuous readiness throughout the hospital.

Unfortunately, the quality department did not have a manager of quality and accreditation

at the time. When looking for an internship, I contacted Amanda Crandall about possibly doing

an internship. When she asked me what I would be interested in, I told her I had no particular

preference. She explained what my duties would be if I interned under her and they sounded

interesting and challenging. I believe that my internship was beneficial to NHB as I took some of

the duties off Amanda and other leadership. I was also able to assist her since she was working

as a data analyst and trying to prepare the hospital for the survey. I think that my internship went

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very well. I grew professionally and personally through this placement. I learned a great bit

regarding hospital administration, accreditation and infection control. I was also able to improve

my skills on Excel, which was needed. I believe that me and my supervisor worked well together

and were able to collaborate on many ideas and projects of ours. We were also able to form a

friendship, which I greatly enjoy. I was able to use this experience to narrow down future career

paths as well. This affirmed that I do want to stay within public health and healthcare. Although

this internship was more stressful than others, I reflect on how much I learned and the

opportunities I had throughout the hospital. I felt very lucky to have been challenged in a new

way and environment.

There are not too many things I would do differently. I prepared as much as possible for

this internship by researching Det Norske Veritas and standards that applied to the hospital. The

first few weeks were still demanding and challenging because I was learning something new that

I had not experienced. I believe I would have left the stress of the internship every day at the

hospital when I clocked out. I let the stress affect my personal and social life. Since this semester

ended early, this is a huge regret to me. I would also remind myself that I was just an intern and

could not worry about things I had no control over. I let other’s energy affect mine and I truly

wish I would not have allowed this. However, this was a great learning experience for me as I

will be exposed to this throughout my career.

My materials created list is quite extensive. In my project and presentation, I mention

these materials, their purpose, and effect. They will also be attached into my electronic portfolio

so they can be easily read. Since my overall project was promoting continuous readiness, I used

many materials and documents to achieve this. I created multiple checklists for requested

documents that included their name, status, revision date and notes. These allowed me to easily

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organize over fifty documents. I also created the Mass Alert System in order to notify staff of the

surveyors’ arrival. This consisted of me gathering contact information, notifying staff to update

their information in our Human Resources database, sending out test alerts, documenting who

received them and continuing this process until all necessary staff had received the message. I

assisted my supervisor is compiling data to complete our restraint log for the Emergency

Department and inpatient departments as well. I was also given the opportunity to create a falls

analysis, educational materials, and train our scribes that would be assisting during the survey. I

was exposed to many areas and tasks throughout this internship. I feel thankful for this

experience and the knowledge that came with it. I was disappointed that I was not able to

complete my internship but feel honored to have been able to help throughout the DNV survey

that happened on the 3rd and 4th of March.