1. Interviews with Professionals<br />To:Professor Quinn<br />From:Katrina Welton<br />Date:March 14, 2011<br />Subject:Interviews with Professionals memo<br />Introduction: <br />Throughout college, it is very important to learn how to interact with professionals in the desired field. This helps to provide knowledge and workplace conventions and expectations. In addition to this, it provides information on how different subspecialties work together in the same career. Talking with professionals will not only provide you with valuable insights about skills needed, salary expectations, typical career paths, and particular organizations, it will also help begin to make contacts. Since 80-85% of jobs are secured through someone that you have met or know, it is essential to talk with as many people in the career of interest as possible. For this assignment, I first chose Brenda Leady, the Lab Coordinator in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Toledo. After much consideration, I decided to choose my mother, Barbara Welton. She is a Registered Nurse at University Hospital of Geneva. I corresponded with Brenda through several emails and I interviewed my mother in person. This memo with summarize my findings from these interviews.<br />Professionals’ Background:<br />Brenda Leady obtained her Bachelors of Arts from Hiram College in Hiram, Ohio and majored in Biology. She then went to the University of Toledo for her Master of Science in Biology. At that time, her field of interest was Comparative Physiology. Brenda started her doctorate in the Biology department at UT in 2000 and has completed all her coursework and research in Aquatic Ecology, but has yet to write her dissertation. For her job as the Lab Coordinator, a Master’s is required. During her time working on her Master’s program, she began as a teacher’s assistant and was deciding what to do with her future. It was at this time that coincidently the Biological Sciences Lab Coordinator left unexpectedly from the University of Toledo. She was lucky to be able to fill the position and has remained there for the last 18 years. Responsibilities associated with her career are to coordinate all the teaching assistants, order supplies, write the lab manual, keep the labs current and up to date as well as many other small tasks. Brenda Leady works in an office and lab setting working on the computer and preps the chemicals and specimens used in lab. Because the title of a Lab Coordinator is not a very common career, she sees her job as hundreds of job responsibilities in one. The skills she has built and learned during her time at the University of Toledo can translate to a lot of other fields within the Biological Sciences Department.<br />Barbara Welton obtained her Associate’s Degree in Nursing Education from Lakeland Community College and became a Registered Nurse. After college, she had worked as a Nurse’s Aide and a Licensed Practical Nurse before becoming a Registered Nurse. Presently, she is an Emergency Room Nurse at University Hospital Healthcare in Geneva, Ohio. Among her responsibilities in the ER, she is an occasional Intensive Care Unit Nurse as well as a fulfiller of supervising positions. Her responsibilities are to take care of patients in her section; similar to a waitress in a restaurant takes care of diners in her section. While taking care of patients, Barb is responsible for talking to the doctor about care for the patient, administering medication to the patient through intra venous dispensing, electronic charting, as well as drawing blood and a lot more. Her workplace setting is in the hospital, normally in the Emergency Room as well as the Intensive Care Unit. Her perception of work is to make a difference in someone’s life and help them improve their help to the best of her ability. She attempts to work as hard as she can and views her occupation as a self-rewarding career. Since she has been trained in many vital areas of the healthcare field which allow her to be able to work virtually anywhere help is needed. Her certifications include Basic Life Support, Advanced Cardiac Life Support, Pediatric Life Support, and a Turfgrass Professional in the industry which certification can be used as a marketing tool to the public. <br />Agency Background:<br />Brenda Leady’s agency, the Department of Biological Sciences, has a mission to educate and research. Through education, this department strives to pursue and share new knowledge while expanding the understanding of existing knowledge to students within the field of Biology. This agency provides hands on engagement into the world of Biology with emphasize on cell biology, molecular biology, genetics and related areas. The University of Toledo was founded in 1872. The Department of Biological Sciences is in the College of Arts and Sciences within the university and was created at the University of Toledo in 1909. The history and origin of this department are deeply rooted in Toledo’s history. Within the University of Toledo, there are 30,000 students. The amount of students within the College of Arts and Sciences is approximately 3,000 undergraduates and 600 graduate students, but this doesn’t include those taking professional developmental courses or attending professional school. Since the University of Toledo is a state-funded school, the funding comes from the state as well as student tuition and money brought in by research.<br /> Barbara Welton’s agency, University Hospital Health System, has a mission statement, “to heal, to teach, to discover.” University Hospitals (UH) is a community based health care system serving patients at more than 150 locations around Northern Ohio. Founded in 1866, it is now the second largest private sector employer in Northeast Ohio and one of the five largest private sector employer in the state of Ohio. Barbara currently is working at University Hospital Geneva Medical Center located in Geneva, OH which is about an hour east of Cleveland, OH. This agency is a non-profit organization that employs 20,703 people. It is funded by donations as well as insurance and taxes. In 2009, there were more than $130,000,000 in donations and since the opening they have invested over $7,500,000,000 into research and medical advancement. This organization includes an expansive network of hospitals, outpatient surgery centers, urgent care centers, cancer and pediatric specialty centers, rehabilitation and mental health facilities. The amount of population that is served at University Hospital Geneva Medical Center is unknown, but it serves communities in a 20+ mile radius of the facility. <br />Comparison and Summary Impressions:<br /> Although these two careers are very different from one another, there are similarities between practice settings. Since Barbara works in a hospital as a Registered Nurse and Brenda works in an office/lab setting as a Lab Coordinator, both take on an immense amount of stress and responsibility. These two women work above and beyond of what is expected of them in their respective occupations. Brenda has built important skills that allow her to be versatile in the Biology Department. In the same aspect, Barbara has certified herself in many areas so she can work virtually wherever is needed. This flexibility through experience, skills and learning can allow Brenda and Barbara to have a stable, tremendously important career. There are several main differences between these two practice settings, the first being that Barbara works in a hospital while Brenda works in a lab/office setting. Brenda works to provide structure and teachings to students while Barbara works directly with the patient. <br />My observations of these two careers are that they both require a high level of skill and precision as well as patience and a caring attitude. Brenda Leady was more than happy to help me with this interview via E-mail. She had no problem answering all of my questions and very nice and open about the interview. As you may know, I am Biology major, and this helped me learn about the lab setting that I will eventually be making my way in to. It was very interesting to learn about how she obtained her occupation and how dedicated and compassionate she has become towards the field. As I reflect on this experience, I find that want the level of responsibility that Brenda takes on in her everyday life. After choosing to interview my mother, I found that she also takes on a very high level of responsibility in a fast-pace work environment. I learned that she has to think on her feet every single day and make split second decisions that can literally mean the life or death of another human being. Although things aren’t always as dramatic as that in reality, Barbara’s career is definitely a decision-making one. Since she is my mother, I have spent a lot of time at the hospital visiting her while she works. Reflecting back on these years, I find now that I really want a career in that type of environment. It gave me a glimpse of what it would be like to work in a fast-paced, ever-changing environment and I know now that I wouldn’t want to do anything else with my future. The impression I got from my mother during this interview was that she is a very compassionate, but strong woman. Her entire career is shaped around caring for others and making health decisions for them in their time of need.<br />Interviewing professionals within an interested field of study is the best way to see exactly what responsibilities and skills are required. Although I am not attending college to become a Lab Coordinator or a Registered Nurse, these are both two fields that relate closely to my desired occupation, Medical Technology. Brenda Leady is head of the Biological Sciences Lab Department which helps me learn about the lab setting that I will be working in and the immense amount of responsibility it takes to work in that area of study. Barbara Welton works in the Emergency Room as a Registered Nurse which gives me the opportunity to learn about the ever-changing environment I will be trying to achieve. Although these are two very different fields, both have taught me that patience, skill and precision are a vital part of my future occupation and practically every occupation available in the world.<br />