Externship Expectations

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	Externship Expectations

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Externship Has to Do With Y-o-u!

The professional externship is designed for several purposes. It gives you the opportunity to prove your knowledge, skills and dependability. You are expected to perform duties at the work site that were previously taught in school and learn and refine new skills that are transferable. Most importantly you are expected to interact with patients, follow physicians and healthcare professional's daily routine, pay attention and ask questions.

Midway of the externship you will be evaluated by the medical office supervisor and will be given a final evaluation on the last day of completion of hours Medical assistant shows chart.

Be a Good Communicator:

You must learn to communicate with supervisors and not allow problems to go unresolved. You should not ask or expect the physician to treat you, or your family members, if an illness should occur during the externship period. Do not expect, or ask the physician to dispense any medications from the office.

Take It Serious:

The professional externship extends the medical assistant's education to an actual work site and is an important part of the vocational training.

Be Punctual:

Attendance and punctuality are indicators of reliability and dependability and are transferable skills.

Be a Team Member:

The ability to perform is important, but equally of value is your ability to be a good team member. Everybody is in the same boat and depending on the other team members. To fit in, you must use appropriate interpersonal skills, have a professional appearance and display a good attitude.

Develop Transferable Skills:

Learn transferable skills that you can take with you should you have to leave after your externship ends and seek a permanent position in a medical office. A transferable skill is a skill that was developed in one career and can be used in a new career. For example, originally you may not have been specifically hired to enter patient's names and insurance information into a medical office's patient database. But when the medical secretary was out you were shown how to do it. You were so good at it that your employer requested that you jump in more often and help with computer data entry tasks to keep the workflow going.

Welcome Criticism:

It is important to accept constructive criticism and change any habits that might be unacceptable on the externship site. As you perform certain tasks people in charge of you become more confident and aware of your abilities and they will cut you a little more slack to allow you to grow.

Step Up and Step In:

You must be willing to help with the smaller duties, like pulling and filing patient's charts and sometimes answer the phones, as well as the more critical ones, like assisting with patient intake and doing basic clinical procedures.

Be Open Minded:

Make it your goal to remain open-minded throughout your entire stay. Nothing works better and leaves a better impression than a person's willingness to observe and learn new and unfamiliar procedures. Ultimately, you will prove that you are able to recognize certain tasks that need to be done and do them as you were shown.

Know Office Policies:

It is recommended that you read the office policy handbook during the first few days and note any memos on the bulletin boards. Also, make sure you know how to locate emergency equipment, emergency exits, fire extinguishers and emergency telephone numbers.

Dress Professionally:

Always remember that while performing at the externship site you are a guest of the facility and will be expected to follow the same office policies that the employees do. You must wear appropriate work attire, such as a uniform that identifies you as a student, or wearing an identification badge. Be neat, clean and professional in appearance.

Adhere to Confidentiality Rules:

Also remember that confidentiality guidelines apply to the externship student on an externship, as well as the hired staff. No information regarding a patient should be discussed outside the office for any reason, including with the faculty supervisors, without express consent of the client and the externship site's office supervisor.

Steer Clear from Gossip:

Do not gossip, complain, interrupt, or insist that the office is performing a skill differently than you learned in school. You should not have excessive personal phone calls on the site. If there are problems on the externship, you should first speak to the site supervisor and if no resolution is obtained, the school supervisor get involved.