By Kenny Pawlek
It’s nearly summer. School is finishing, vacations are near, and interns are joining our organizations!
It’s a rite of passage for most of us. An internship offers a glance into our future career, allowing us to “test the waters” and confirm the choices we’ve made. Now that I’m further along in my career, it’s my turn to give back and provide opportunities for students to experience working in a hospital.
Precepting and mentoring creates opportunities for collaboration and professional development. As a mentor, I’m able to talk about my work and the impact I’m making on my community. Interns often have some exposure to healthcare, but do not see or understand the complexities of a hospital. Managing financial performance, working to improve quality, developing new service lines, or dealing with people issues are all new experiences that can provide examples for them to use in the future. They are amazed at our preparations for a Joint Commission visit or the planning that goes into a contract negotiation. Exposure to these opportunities early in their career provides context for navigating future career decisions.
Interns also get to see the inner workings of a hospital that are not visible to front line managers. Including them in senior leadership discussions, strategy meetings, and health system discussions give them exposure to the challenges we as leaders face every day. The questions they ask after those experiences often cause me to reflect on the why –– why did I decide to share information in that way, why is this relationship important, why am I choosing to follow this strategy. These seemingly simple questions often lead to self-reflection, guiding my path forward and helping me become more effective in communicating my strategies, goals, and needs.
As the summer progresses, interns begin to ask more in depth questions that challenge my healthcare knowledge. I’ve been unprepared to answer questions like “what is blockchain and how will it impact our hospital” or “what is the funding distribution mechanism for SB 35 and what does it mean for our financial performance”. These questions are topical and timely, often coming from class discussions or news articles. Each question leads to a thoughtful discussion, often requiring some background research on my part, providing perspectives that generate more questions and even opportunities to improve hospital performance. It helps me to understand why many physicians love teaching residents and fellows. The curiosity of students requires, no demands, a mentor to be curious and investigate the world, preparing for the challenging questions that may arise during a casual conversation.
All of this reminds me why CAHL and ACHE are so important in my career. I’ve benefited from mentoring and being a mentor helps my career growth. It’s an opportunity to practice my communication skills, learn about what challenges others are facing, and continue to grow my healthcare knowledge. I encourage all of you to be mentors and share your experiences. It could be through settings like our CAHL Mentor program, taking on interns from a school or organization like Health Career Connection, helping at a local Boys & Girls club, or participating in a mentoring program through your local chamber of commerce. No matter where or how, mentoring is a rewarding experience that will help grow and develop your leadership skills.
