Internship Blog #11

Since Laura (the front desk lady) was out for the morning, I decided to manage the desk with the help of my sister. I took way more calls than I ever did, one from a website building company where I rejected their offer, and another whose accent I could not understand. I experienced the reality and stress of calling back patients I couldn't understand, almost messing up billing a payment, and swiftly adding an annual check-up to the schedule. Multi-tasking became my best friend in such situations.

If were to say I learned anything today, I would say I did so from small, negligible tasks. Moving the position of the phone from left ear to the right when calling to write down a simple phone number on a sticky note was one of many "skills" I picked up from undertaking the role. I also made the mistake of swiping the credit card the wrong way, embarrassing myself in front of the patient who probably wanted to go home quickly. Now know that the black bar on a card facing inward when swiping for a payment. Whenever a patient walked in the front doors, I greeted them warmly with a "Hi! How are you doing?", something that Laura usually does. Lastly, I added a patient to the schedule for a cleaning in six months more efficiently than before. Using the shortcuts on the portal, I managed to get slightly better at adding those patients to the calendar before they lose patience (sorry for the pun). Interning has become a daily routine now, Ieaving me plenty of room to grow and learn from it.