Journal Week 2

Elizabeth Kiger

KINS 4306: Public Health Internship

Georgia College & State University

 On Monday 5/17/21 I worked from 7:30-4 (8.5 hours). On this day I got to shadow the

person who oversees the stocking and restocking of supplies within the hospital. I got to see

some of the responsibilities she has and how she handles and organizes them. I was able to learn

about the great deal of small detail that goes into supplying a hospital. I also helped her to bring

some of the new supplies up to the sixth floor of the hospital which is a new floor that will soon

be opening. I then attended a meeting where we discussed another project, I will be assisting on

this summer which is implementing a safer way for nurses to administer medicine. We discussed

some of the goals and a timeline in which we plan to do this project.  After doing this I returned

to my office where I was instructed by my supervisor to look up the patients that left a comment

regarding the radiology department of the hospital. I then constructed a list of those patients that

included their address, phone number and email. After I compiled the lists, I wrote a letter that

we then plan to mail out inviting them to a focus group where we will discuss patient satisfaction

regarding outpatient imaging patients.

On Tuesday 5/18/21 I worked from 8-4 (8 hours). I started my day by inserting the name

and address of the potential focus group candidate onto the letter I worked on the day prior. I

then printed each individualized letter out which came out to be a total of 51 invitations. After

that I folded each paper and put it into an envelope then wrote their address on the envelope.

This was very time consuming, but once I finished, I brought the letters down to the mailroom.

After this I attended a focus group that consisted of the employees from different departments in

the imaging center like MRI, ultrasounds, and PET scans. During this we asked the employees

their thoughts on some things that need improvement within their department. This focus group

was very informative and allowed me to see some issues the hospital faces that I did not before

such as scheduling. During the focus group I took notes on the participants' responses which I
plan to put together with the other focus group notes I plan to attend to present to the radiology

leadership.

On Wednesday, 5/19/21 I worked from 8-4 (8 hours). On this day I began by attending

an AIDETH class which is a course the hospital provides staff to teach them the hospital’s

expectations when approaching staff and patients. During this class there was a lot of role play

where I pretended to be the patient so that the nurses and the techs could practice what exactly to

say to their patients. I found this class very interesting because it taught me a lot of things, I

never would have thought about all that goes into interacting with a patient. It also helped me

learn some things that patients are expecting from their care providers. After the class I took the

notes, I collected from the focus group the day prior as well as my supervisor’s notes and put

them into a Word document so that it is easier to read. After that I went to observe the staff and

patient interactions in the X-ray room. During the time I was there I was only able to observe

two patients, but I was able to ask them a lot of information that I can use for my research in

improving the experience for outpatient imaging patients. After observing for a few hours, I

attended another employee focus group that consisted of different staff in the radiology

department. We used the same questions as the day before and I again took notes on all the

responses. 

On Thursday 5/20/21 I worked from 8-4 (8 hours). I began my morning by putting the

notes I collected from yesterday’s focus group into my Word document I created on Tuesday. I

also took my supervisor's notes and combined them with mine. After that I went back down to

the diagnostic radiology department to observe some more x-rays. During the two hours that I

was there was only one patient that I got to observe and interview. He gave me very important

answers that I will use when determining what issues are leading to low satisfaction scores
within this department. After that I attended a staff meeting with my supervisor and fellow intern

Isabel. In this meeting we spoke how our projects are going so far and what we think some of the

main issues are. We were able to share our experiences and what we have observed in the

hospital. After that I attended the third and final employee focus group where we once again

talked to the staff in the radiology department.

On Friday, 5/21/21 I worked from 7:30- 3 (7.5 hours). On this day I attended a class

called Care Transformation and Culture Retreat. This was an all-day class where we learned

about the customer service expectations within Emory Johns Creek Hospital. I became AIDETH

certified within this class which will improve my skills when talking to patients and hospital

staff. Near the end of the day the class was more centered toward the nurses. I was able to learn

about the expectations and many responsibilities the nurses have within EJCH have and how

essential they are to follow properly.

Monday (5/10/2021): 7: 30 am - 4:00pm; 8.5 hours

Tuesday (5/11/2021): 8: 00 am - 4:00pm; 8 hours 
Wednesday (5/12/2021): 8: 00 am - 4:00pm; 8 hours 
Thursday (5/13/2021): 8: 00 am - 4:00pm; 8 hours 
Friday (5/14/2021): 7:30 am - 3:00pm; 7.5 hours 
Weekly Hours: 40
Total Hours to date: 78