How a Hastily Chosen Internship Led to the Choice of a Career

Ever since I can remember, I believed college would be my path to a career choice. I did not know as a child or teen that I would be a doctor, or lawyer or teacher. So I entered college with my major course of study undeclared and unknown. I did pursue two possibilities, however. The first was music, as I was a capable pianist. The second was the study of journalism and communications, as I had shown some ability and interest in writing.

I eliminated music as a career choice by the end of my freshmen year; two semesters of music theory decided that. I struggled over the next year of study to determine a major, trying a wide range of courses. Psychology? Business? Astronomy? Definitely not biology. By the end of my sophomore year, I had focused my declared major on communication and public relations. I most enjoyed classes in social research, organizational communication and speech. I never developed a journalistic fervor, and once I discovered technical writing, I hit my writing stride.

By senior year, I had amassed enough credits for a major in communications and minors in psychology and business. All I needed was an internship to graduate.

There weren't, at that time, many possibilities for an internship in public relations in the small town where my university was located. There were a few banks in town and I had worked during summer breaks as a relief bank teller. One afternoon I sat at my desk and called local banks, seeking opportunities for internships. Finding none, I looked out my dorm room window, considering my next step. My dorm sat at the edge of campus and I looked out at the growing hospital that sat next door.

I considered a public relations internship in a hospital. I had never been a fan of hospital visits and had, in fact, always avoided hospitals. Was I the only one that noticed the distinctly hospital smell of disinfectant and other medical activities? I had relatives who were nurses, but that line of work did not appeal to me. Did hospitals even have PR staff?

A talk with my advisor, a few phone calls and one week later, I began a communications internship with that 250-bed hospital. My mentor there turned me loose on tabulating patient satisfaction ratings, writing brochures and event responsibilities related to the grand opening of a new patient care wing. I discovered that every hospital employee, even if they were not involved in direct patient care, felt responsible for and had an impact on the health and satisfaction of every patient. I was surprised at just how appealing that sort of teamwork was to me. I had found my calling and by graduation determined that I wanted to apply my communication and public relations skills to a career in healthcare.

My internship mentor advised that because public relations was a new discipline for healthcare, my best bet might be to contact state hospital associations to ask about opportunities. Once home for the summer, I began a letter writing campaign to nearby state associations. I received a letter in reply from one, explaining that they knew of no PR job openings. Apparently, just after this letter was mailed to me, the administrator of a small hospital in the western part of that state contacted the association. I received a call from that administrator two days after I received the association's letter.

As the saying goes, the rest (of the story) is history. I've worked in rural hospitals and big city hospitals. I've led marketing and communication efforts for regional and national healthcare systems. I even had one patient name her newborn after me (that's another story).

My choice of a career was not well planned, nor was it accidental. It was a perfect choice for me.