Everything you need to know about completing placement in the health industry
Since August this year, Beacon Strategies has been lucky enough to have Navi & Manuel join us in the office two days a week. Navi and Manuel are both completing their Masters of Public Health, undertaking their student placement with us before graduating at the end of the year.
Their 12 week placement has flown by and before they leave us, we wanted to give them the opportunity to share their thoughts and opinions of their internship experience during the weird and wonderful year of 2020.
Manuel (left) and Navi (right), two students who completed placement with Beacon Strategies during 2020.
During your student placement at Beacon Strategies what were the biggest lessons you learned?
Navi
The nitty gritty processes of public health consultancy has taught me the essential skills of project management and allowed me to acquire the capability to achieve company deliverables
The benefits of stepping out of my comfort zone. Stepping out of my comfort zone allowed me to undertake different genres of projects, strengthening my research abilities and improving my decision making skills
The placement provided me with the opportunity to sharpen my expertise in communication and networking, assisting me to acclimatise to a professional setting and narrow down what I actually enjoy doing.
Manuel
Using and understanding how to conduct project management as an important skill for my individual based tasks and team based tasks. I have learnt that effective project management makes it easy to stay motivated, self-directed and understand what my responsibilities are to achieve positive outcomes.
The importance of leveraging individual strengths in team settings. In doing so, I found that teams can ensure they are working efficiently and utilising each person’s unique skill set to improve the quality of work being produced
Maintain self-direction and self-management. For me personally, I found that I work best when I set small achievable tasks to optimise my workflow, a process I will continue to implement throughout my professional development
Do you think COVID-19 impacted your internship experience?
Navi
The COVID-19 situation created uncertainty during the commencement and initial weeks of the internship program at Beacon Strategies. The directors, Mitch and Elliot ensured safe workplace practices were implemented by reducing unnecessary travel and providing virtual coaching and mentoring sessions as needed. Various tools and technologies were implemented to help us continue with our project work during our internship and mitigate the health risks caused by the pandemic, significantly limiting the impact COVID-19 had on our learning experience.
Manuel
I would say in some ways yes. Personally I prefer working in a workplace than working from home. While COVID-19 has been somewhat disruptive to my workflow in terms of my learning habits, the disruptive nature of COVID-19 has taught me the importance of adaptability in professional settings. Innovative approaches allowed day to day tasks to be undertaken remotely such as desktop research and collaborative processes. Throughout my placement experience during COVID-19, my key takeaway is there are always opportunities to foster a positive working environment even within the boundaries set by COVID-19.
Navi and Manuel worked on many meaningful projects during their placement at Beacon Strategies.
What is your number one tip for students doing placement in the health industry?
Navi
To those interested in doing placement in the health industry, the one tip to make the most out of the internship is to: ASK QUESTIONS. You are not expected to know everything, in fact it is expected that you don’t know everything. Your mentors and supervisors understand this, which they are there and happy to help and support you throughout your internship experience - take advantage of this!
Manuel
I'll give two tips - Be proactive with your work, and trust the process. I know that the transition from being a student to working professionally in the health industry can be stressful. As time goes on however, you will find ways to adapt and grow in whichever workplace you end up in. In a new workplace environment, be proactive by asking questions early on, either to supervisors or colleagues as a means of maintaining your professional development to allow you to build upon your professional experiences and relationships.
While we enjoy the last few days of having Navi and Manuel in the office as a part of the Beacon team, we would like to thank them for the great work they have achieved during their placement with us. Their enthusiasm for working in public health and adaptability to work in challenging environments has been highly valued during their 12 week stay. We wish them all the best for their postgraduate experience and hope that they continue to reach for and achieve their goals.
We are a mission-based health and social services consultancy committed to supporting organisations to effectively plan, design, implement and evaluate their projects and services. Any questions or want to chat? Contact us via info@beaconstrategies.net.