High school is the time that most people begin to start thinking about their careers, but many don’t have a clue what they will actually entail. What degree will needed to be gotten? What smaller duties does the career entail? What specific skills and abilities are needed? Well, the school system has come up with a good way for students to learn, and that’s Take your kids to work day! Every year, the grade nines of the North Van school district go to a parent/guardian’s work and shadow them and other people working there for the day. You get to learn about the details of the career, what it takes to work there, and see if you may want that career or not. My Dad is s family doctor, so I got to tag along to his clinic and learn all about the medical ways.
My Day at the Clinic
My dad works at a clinic is in Burnaby known as Kensington Medical Clinic. It is a family practice walk-in clinic (meaning it is a clinic that is mainly for the use of citizens in the neighbourhood and you can walk in at any time without having a specific doctor). It has 15 examination rooms, and has family practice physicians, a psychiatrist, physiotherapists, and other specialists work there on a daily basis. They also have other staff, such as M.O.As, (Medical Office Assistants), who assist the specialists, and for the day, I got to shadow one named Cindy.
My office for the day
As I followed her around the office for the day, I began to see some of the duties that this career entails. Some of these include running the front desk, helping patients book and get to their appointments, checking lab tests, controlling medicine and supplies shipments, and getting the examination rooms ready for patients. After learning about how to do a number of tasks, I was asked to help with some to see what it would be like. I got to sort swabs, clean ear examination caps, check blood pressure equipment, and do the very challlanging job of changing the caldendars around the office. After this, I also got to interview three people at the clinic, an M.O.A, the Manager, and of course, my dad the doctor.
What Career Would I Pursue here?
After learning about the many different jobs that are in the medical field, I wonder which one would best suit me. At first I thought about being an M.O.A. I could see myself doing this job because I am good at giving directions to people, and am good with technology. It would also be a good fit because I’m not always comfortable with diseases and may not want to get up and close with sick people. I also thought about being a psychiatrist, and even though I wasn’t able to meet one at the office, I know a good amount about what they do. This would be a good position for me for I can see many different perspectives and point of views so I could understand what someone is feeling, and I can also stay calm and collected under pressure. Yet, out of all the careers I learned about, I feel like the best suited for me would be a manager. I think this because I have always been fascinated by the business aspect of careers, and prefer to be in a leadership position. I would also be willing to put in the extra effort that this position would need, and would be fine with the responsibility it would require as well.