To give you the latest update on the status of my upcoming internship at the mental health clinic at a New York hospital, I finally finished the process for getting clearance for the internship position at the hospital. (yes!)
As requested during my first medical clearance appointment, I had brought with me the additional paperwork from my doctor plus the actual Rx containers of the medications that I am taking regularly and/or occasionally so that I would be covered regardless of what showed up in the drug test. It was good that I did this because one of the medications I take occasionally did indeed turn up in my urine test.
Mind you, it was still not a straightforward procedure to get the medical clearance even during this second visit. I had to ask my doctor to fax over one more document and I had to provide the date of when I had been given one more vaccine (that had not been on the original medical form).
In other words, I had to call my doctor (or my doctor's nurse, to be more accurate) twice that morning. Thankfully, my doctor's nurse was able to respond to these two requests on the spot. Otherwise, getting my medical clearance would have required yet a third visit.
After the getting my medical clearance, I went to the floor for the line to get my photo ID. This took almost an hour but I was just so happy that I had finally obtained my clearance and was going to have everything in order that I didn't mind the wait at all. Then, as luck would have it, the ID woman actually took a nice picture of me (not the usual "I want to burn this picture" variation of an ID picture).
I handed in my ID to the volunteer office (the volunteer office handles the administrative side for the head social worker) because they want to hold onto it until the day my internship actually begins. I was then asked to fill out...more forms. One thing that I have learned from this experience is that hospitals seem to be just a tad bureaucratic and require you to fill out several forms/applications at different points in the process.
If memory serves me correct, this last batch of forms (or so I hope) included: letters and envelopes to previous employers asking them for references, information about the dress code and other rules to follow, confidentiality, and a list of all the places I have lived since 1981 (for a child abuse and neglect registry check).
I wish I had been forewarned about needing to know the exact addresses and exact years beforehand. I was not 100% sure and had to guess-estimate two of the dates. Going forward, I will make sure to look this stuff up beforehand so that it will be easy to fill out such forms.
So when do things start up? School resumes on Tuesday, right after Labor Day and my internship will begin on Monday, the week after. I can't believe that the summer will be totally over in just a few more days. Time has really flown!
As always, please feel free to share your thoughts and comments. I really appreciate them!
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Wish List for 2nd Year Placement
Hospital Clearance
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Photo credit: Ibrahim Iujaz
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