Thursday, June 28, 2012

Jarian- Week 7

It is my last week at the cancer center and everyone is taking notice. I was told several times by several different people that I should ask for a job when I get back from Innsbruck. Even the boss has told me that I have done things much quicker than he would've ever expected. This week I put all of the chart reviews onto a spreadsheet, and I did an analysis report based on each of the topics in the review. I pointed out declining trends, strengths, points where corrective action was needed and points where preventative measures should be taken in order to prevent the topic from falling below unacceptable reviews. My last day on the job the staff threw me a lunch party, got me a card, and wished me the best of luck. I am so thankful for the seven weeks I have spent with the staff of the North Broward Cancer Center.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Jarian- Week 6

This week I finally finished thinning out all of the charts in the file room, so my boss gave me another task. Similar to the chart reviews that I did with the Radiology Department, I now had the job of evaluating the patient charts for the Oncology/Hemotology and Chemotherapy Departments. I started out by going back to the Medical Records Department, where I had to do chart reviews for the last 3 months of 2010. Then, I reorganized all of the charts that were in the medical records department under the cancer center section. I then came back to do the chart reviews for 2011 and 2012. My boss commented at how quickly I got the chart reviews done.

Jarian Week-5

This week I was still spending most of my time thinning out the patient charts in the file room so that there was more room in there to file away charts. I also spent a lot of time on the phone calling patients who have not come to the cancer center in a while to see if they were still around (as in not dead). It may seem like a very depressing job, and to some extent it really was. But the cancer data center needs that information to determine if people need other kinds of care, or if they need their patient charts anymore. The hardest part is having to hear from the spouse or daughter that the patient has passed away. Its a hard job, and something I didn't want to do, but, understanding that it was something that was necessary for the data center, I did what I could.

Monday, June 25, 2012

Jarian- Week 4

This week I have been given the task of thining out the remaining charts in the filing room. This was no easy task. I had to take each chart, look through them and take out what was old and not needed in the chart anymore. This was a very tedious job, and it kept me busy for the entire week. I am still not done with it all. But this task also had things to teach me about the Oncology/Hemotology department that I never would have learned in the Secretary's desk. I learned exactly where each item was in the chart (a tool that I will need later on in my several weeks here), I learned what labs were from which laboratory, and I learned how the Cancer Center used to run before I was there. While boring, the task was not only important for my learning, but it was important for the entire process of going paperless (which is the original intention of thinning out the charts in the first place). I am excited to see how my work progresses throughout the next few weeks.

Jarian- Week 3

It is week three and I have learned how to do most of the secretary's job (there are complicated things that I will not learn in 7 weeks), I have efficiently run blood up to the lab, I have found patient charts for the next days' office visits and chemotherapy visits, and I have found charts for the staff that need to look into something specific about the patient. But, of course, like every comfort zone, we must find ourselves out to grow. My boss just gave me a new (temporary) assignment. He determined that I was up to the challange of doing the Radiology Department's Chart Reviews. These charts were unlike the ones that I have become familiar with; however, after a few minutes of instruction and showing me where to find the topics of evaluation in the charts, I immediately set to work the Chart Reviews. They took me the entire week, but I finally finished it on Friday afternoon (missing Monday didn't help me much either). The chart reviews were interesting to me because it gave me insight not only on the things that Radiology looks at keeping track of, but it gave me a good base as to the inner workings of the Radiology Department.

Jarian- Week 2

When I think about service, and the service I am providing at the Cancer Center in North Broward Medical Center, I think about what I would define as two different types of service: Direct and Indirect. This week I was asked to clean up the file room by taking all of the old patient charts (2010 and older) to the medical records department. Then, I refiled all of the charts that were in the overflow cabinet. This task, which makes it easier for the staff to find charts and allows for the charts to fit nicely into the filing system, is what I would consider indirect service. I believe that direct service is working directly with the people who need the service. An example of this is working with children at the YMCA, the Little House Next Door, or at the Chisholm Center. Another example of direct service is Habitat for Humanity. Indirect service is service that helps the people who need service by making it easier for them to acquire the services, or by assisting the people who make the service possible for the people in need. An example of indirect service is the border collie rescue that trains the service dogs to make it possible for the people in need to have the service dogs in a timely manner. My job at the cancer center is definitely indirect service because I am helping the patients by making it easier for the staff (and the physicians) to do their jobs.

Kou Week 2

I began volunteering at Florida Rural Legal Services on Monday, June 18. This organization provides legal services to low-income families. On my first day, I made a few calls to Mexico to speak with some farm workers who were mistreated while working in the United States. Last Wednesday I was able to go to Immokalee with two of the paralegals and see first-hand the problems that some of the low-income families face. It was a tiring but emotional day. Most of the families that came in were migrant workers. There are not any legal services in Immokalee so Wednesdays are the only days that the families can come in for legal advice. Some families just came in to get something translated. Most of the people were either Haitian or Hispanic. It was an interesting week and I learned that most farm workers are underrepresented and treated unfairly.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Darina's Week 2


This week was more challenging than last. I had to memorize two introductory volunteer orientations. One is for volunteers coming to work in the kitchen and the other is for those going on food deliveries. Having to practice the orientation, I learned a lot more about the history and operations of the organization. There is no way this organization can not operate without the help of the volunteers. I got to do my first orientation on Wednesday. I think it went pretty wellJ. My public speaking skills are certainly improving.
I am also in charge of making maps for next day’s delivery drivers and making sure all of the foods are distributed correctly. Although this sounds simple, it takes a couple of hours.
On Tuesday we had a quick staff meeting and Whole Foods presented the organization with a check of over $22,000!
On Wednesday we had the annual in-house BBQ lunch for staff and clients. I got to see more of the individuals we serve. To qualify for the services there are no restrictions for income, however, most clients (around 80%) are below the poverty line and earn about $500 a month. I am glad I got to witness how cheerful and grateful they are. 
Throughout this week I got to meet more of the staff who are all very friendly and interesting. Two of them are in the Peace Corps.
I also figured out that my official title is Volunteer Services Intern (which sounds a lot fancier than it really is). My director also said that he will eventually have me working on a volunteer outreach project which I am really excited about.  

Friday, June 22, 2012

SOS Week 3

So some things that have been in the works the last 2 weeks:
1. A summer Civic Engagement Camp to take place Summer '13 at Stetson! Just had a meeting about this last week to get set up.
2. NEW BONNER ORIENTATION!!! Woo! I've been organizing, planning and emailing guest speakers to make this orientation the most effective yet. A few sneak peaks: a presentation by health services, a panel of community partners (please send me an email if you have a community partner that would like to participate in this panel), and hopefully a presentation by Coach Hughes, our new football coach.  Michael and I are working very closely on this to get it all set up.
3. Lead Team Orientation! I've been putting together the schedule and trying to make it the most beneficial training on how to be a mentor, the main goal of lead team.  We also want to be helpful to the rest of the organization so we need to figure out where that puzzle piece lies.
4. Finally, I've been solidifying some plans for the Ambassadors for the fall! Can't wait to share all of these new projects with you.

Another portion of my SOS is working with the Community Partnership for Children and mentoring young girls. I have not been formally set up with a mentee through this organization but I have another girl from my service site throughout the year that I've been working with this summer. Last week we went to the library, had dinner together and then went to a DeLand Suns baseball game. She really enjoyed it. We have a deal that if she reads 700 minutes this summer (5 days/week, 20 minutes/day) that we'll go play laser tag one day. It's so important to keep consistency in her life, so the next step is to make one day a week where the two of us go volunteer together. No idea what place will let me bring an 11-year-old but I'm going to start looking.

Monday, June 18, 2012

Kou Week 1

Week 1 of my summer of service started on June 8, 2012 (last Friday). I went on a civil rights trip with Stetson University College of Law for one week. We went to Memphis, Nashville, Montgomery, Selma, Birmingham, and Atlanta. We visited some historic places such as the 16th street Baptist Church and Kelly Ingram Park. We also got the chance to talk to some of the people who participated in the civil rights movement. It's amazing how the participants of the movement stuck with the strategy of non-violence even when they were being beaten and spat on.

What made me really open my eyes was how frightened these people are for our generation. Many of them stressed the fact that we have access to news 24/7 but yet and still many of us fail to educate ourselves. Instead of fighting for a social cause, we spend our time on Facebook or texting. One of the Freedom Riders also blamed our lack of education on the school system. The Freedom Rider's daughter was assigned to write an essay on the Freedom Rides and her daughter received an F on the essay. The teacher said that the student was a liar and the stuff in her essay never happened. The student's mother had to come to the school and tell the teacher that she was a Freedom Rider and the events in the essay actually happened.

This trip was an intellectual experience that motivated me to want to do something and further instilled in me the value of helping others fight for equality. Anyone who feels that everyone should have an equal chance should go on this trip.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Lauren - Week 1

Hey everyone!

This summer has been a whirlwind trying to find a service site, as unimaginable as that may be. I thought I was going to be working at a reading camp, which fell through then I went through 2 other sites trying to get things set up, but finally I found Hlifax Hospice.

Monday June 11th I started for the first time at Halifax Hospice working in the kitchen preparing meals for the patients. I have gotten to meet countless amounts of other volunteers, and have also started working to help make the volunteer department more electronically friendly.

Alot of what I have been doing has included cooking breakfast, lunch, and dinner for patients and then cleaning up the dishes and the kitchen. It is heartbreaking to see some of the patients when I am delivering their meals, however I know that by doing the little things and making their meals look presentable and beautiful it makes their days just a little bit brighter as well.

Courtney Week 2

This one is a bit late but it's from SLI which happened June 4-7th. We woke up at literally the crack of dawn and met at the CCE to travel to Carson-Newman College in Tennessee.  We flew into Knoxville and from there took the "funniest" car ride into Carson-Newman. The conference was awesome (except the dorm rooms but you really can't complain about free)! We had a great time learning Bonner chants, watching talent shows, and learning more about B-Love. Michael, Scarlett and I came up with some really great ideas for next year and I think it's great that we all have our own areas of focus. Not only do we have our own projects but we were able to work closely to plan out our entire year together. I think that this time was very important for us as a group.
Some of the most memorable moments were just spending time with our leadership group and enjoying Amanda Nix before she leaves us. Those times are so important to us as an organization. Here are a couple of videos I think you'll appreciate! One is an original song titled 'Bonner Love' by Rachel Yenko-Martinka which I think you'll all hear a lot of this year! Another is a video made by Carson-Newman titled 'St*ff Bonners Say'. Both of these are great and I hope you watch!

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Jay- Week 1

      I arrived at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp last Friday, June 8th. At first I was unbelievably nervous about what kind of people I would be working with. I was part of the first wave of counselors to arrive, the lifeguards. We had to arrive early to do extra training in order to get our certification. Slowly but surely all twenty two of us arrived on campus. To all of our surprise by the end of the first night all twenty two of us had become one family, we were a unit. Now that we are on our seventh day at camp,  have spent countless hours in classroom lectures, in-water training, and late night study/practice sessions, it seems we have all been best friends for years. Last night the unit directors threw us a lifeguard graduation ceremony in honor of us passing all of our tests and exams. It was an awesome, and incredibly fun way to finish out our first phase of camp. Now today we start all of the preparation work. We have to clean the pools, beaches, and some other parts of campus in preparation for the students. On Monday the rest of the counselors will be here! However, the campers will not be here until June twenty-seventh! This seems like SUCH a long time!!! There is SO much information for us to learn, and so many jobs to be done in preparation.
      Despite the long wait, time is flying by extremely fast! Despite the regimented wake up, meal, and sleep schedule, time has become one big blur. I can not distinguish events that happened yesterday from events which occurred on day one!
      Well I have to get back to my family now, they need me for some tall people required work!!!

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Darina Week 1

Today was my first day at Food & Friends Inc. “The mission of Food & Friends is to foster a community caring for men, women and children living with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other life-challenging illnesses by preparing and delivering specialized meals and groceries in conjunction with nutrition counseling” (official Food & Friends web). Another volunteer and I took the University bus to the Metro and then a shuttle from the Metro to the Food & Friends building. We were greeted by friendly staff and joined a quick orientation being given to a group of students from Ohio State University who are volunteering there for the week. We compiled personal meal packages for individuals based on their dietary restrictions or preferences. Cleanliness is very important! These packages are going to be delivered to people tomorrow by volunteer drivers. Some individuals have very restricted diets because they may be diabetic, vegetarian, have poor kidney function, can only eat soft or puree foods, can only eat mild foods, etc. We also met with our supervisor and talked more about the organization over lunch. Afterwards we did some more work in the kitchen and worked with a group of young students from Pennsylvania who were on a missionary trip. I am glad I get to meet and talk to volunteers from all over the nation. In addition, we get a small but cozy space in the office with a computer. There was a handmade sign on my desk that welcomed me! :D These first two weeks are what are known as “boot camp”. We should be learning various duties within the organization by taking part in them. Tomorrow we will be accompanying one of the delivery drivers and will get to bring meals to the doorsteps of many individuals. Later in the week we get to meet with other staff, volunteers, and dietitians I can’t wait!!! :D