Performance Appraisals and Reflections during my Internship

Here you will find my midpoint and final performance appraisals and reflections.

Midterm Appraisal

Midterm Appraisal Reflection

To start, I was very surprised and happy with the performance appraisal I received from my supervisor. I hadn’t realized how well I was doing, and it made me proud that I was not only a good fit to the program but the work I have been doing was appreciated. I am happy to report that in going over the appraisal with my supervisor, she didn’t have much for me to work on and was happy with what I have brought to the table and impressed by the work I have done thus far.

In respect to professional disposition, I was pleased to see that I was marked exemplary in each category. I am happy that I am perceived as having integrity, respect, and having a willingness to help with improvements and discussions with the team. In history I have been wary of asking questions and giving input so I am very happy that I am able to be perceived as a professional individual and that so far, I have been recognized for wanting to do everything I can to help with the success of the team, and my want to help others. To speak on professional skills, I have been still learning the policies and requirements for each screening and evaluation measures and have been marked as proficient. I am happy that this is proficient as I have tried to learn as best as I can and if I am not sure on an answer to a question, I ask about it so I can ensure the clients we serve are helped and given the best advice and guidance as possible. For this specifically, I would like to improve in my knowledge of policy and resources. I will also work on getting to my internship earlier to ensure that I can receive exceptional for this section in my final review. In speaking with my supervisor, I was told to keep up what I have been doing as I have been a great addition to the team, so I plan to keep doing what I am doing, and as I get feedback working to better myself. For the competencies section, I was happy to see the feedback I received. After going over this section, I was made aware that I was given proficient as I am still in the middle of completing many of the projects mentioned. Because of this I have still been learning and working on fulfilling each of the competencies mentioned in the appraisal while working on my knowledge as a public health professional. For the most part, I am happy to see that the areas I am improving in are the tasks I have been working in and improving in already. I am overall very happy with the feedback I received and am excited to work with the team for the rest of the semester.

Other than the improving category, I was not given anything I need to improve on in specific. Because of this I plan to continue working on learning everything I possibly can and ensure that I am helping where and when I can help. I personally would like to see myself have growth in completing tasks and getting the new procedures down a bit quicker when it comes to the new grant cycle guidelines (in terms of learning what is newly in place and what was in place before to see what I can do or learning what I can that will help me complete the tasks I have been assigned). Overall, I will do this by using time management, writing down and prioritizing the projects that need to be completed. This will ensure that I have everything that needs to be completed done while giving myself time to review each project and get feedback on the project before submission. This will ensure that I am completing and handing in the best work I can while gaining insight from others to apply to another project I may be working on.

In terms of growth so far, I believe that I have grown in many ways. To start, at the beginning of my internship I had a very hard time navigating what I needed to do on a week to week and day to day basis. I have since been able to set up reminders and track what needs to be done and when so I can complete everything before it is due. I have also noticed that I haven’t needed to ask as many questions and seek as much help than previously. Due to this I have been able to pick up more thing to do around the office, not only keeping up on stocking consents, but also making sure FIT kits are made, ensuring tabling materials are ready but also ensuring I can help with anything that needs to be done. I have enjoyed doing this as I feel it has given me more opportunities to learn what I can about the program but to also give me a fuller experience in working at CSP and in public health.

Final Appraisal

Final Appraisal Reflection

I cannot begin to describe how excited I am to get my final review from my supervisor Michele. I cannot believe all that I have done as well as how much I have grown since I started as a person in the public health field. I couldn’t imagine a better internship to have honestly. Michele was such a positive influence in my learning and growth through this entire internship and my team helped push me to do my absolute best each day.

I am personally proud of all I have accomplished throughout my internship. I have completed a resource guide that encompasses services through the six counties Cancer Services Program of the Finger Lakes Region serves. This ended up being 108 pages and took about two months of non-stop work to ensure it is comprehensive and correct. This was just one of the many projects I worked on. I oversaw all colorectal cancer screening calls and follow-ups. In saying this in November, we received 21 completed screenings. This may not seem like a significant amount, however last year during November, they only received 5. I have been able to connect with some of the leaders in the communities we serve as well. For one of the outreach coordinators, I was able to contact new and potential partners who can collaborate with the Cancer Services Program. The goal for this is to reach as many individuals as possible who may need services from us. Every day was extremely exciting being able to work not only with the people in the community but also be able to make a difference in these communities by promoting health and education while creating positive relationships with those I met.

I believe this experience is a powerful start to my career in the public health field for many reasons. Primarily, I learned how to be culturally competent when teaching and meeting with the communities we served. Every time I had a phone call, I ended up learning more about the person and what was going on with them from a birth in the family, recipe, or ideas on how to reach more of these populations. Being able to learn how to make these connections with people while starting out has been a revelation. I went from learning about it to then really doing it, which can be quite different. I noticed this for example with the Amish and Mennonite populations we serve. I had to learn how to speak to them and what their schedules were like to ensure I can meet them not only where they are but also be able to be sensitive to their lifestyles and beliefs. Without the experience at CSP, I don’t believe I would be able to connect with the communities I have as well as I have been able to.

In terms of concerns and strategies of concern I don’t believe that I have anything to note. I mostly had trouble with time management and being able to figure out how to get everything done to the best of my ability on time. By using lists, pointers and advice from my colleagues I have been able to overcome this issue and be successful in everything I have been doing.

I believe I have grown in my communication skills and time management. At the beginning of my internship, I struggled with figuring out time management and figuring out how to make sure I am completing the entire process and procedure of enrolling people as calls come in while also working on my projects. I found that writing to do lists helped with keeping myself on track and giving myself accountability for what I would have liked to complete that day. By the end of my internship, I still used the lists, however I was at a point where I didn’t need to use them do as much compared to the beginning. In terms of communication, at first, I struggled with knowing what to say to ensure that our clients understood the importance of preventative screening while also staying focused on ensuring the client was comfortable and felt heard. This took some time and a lot of asking questions. By the end of my internship, I was able to not only have these sometimes-difficult conversations, but I found ways to present the facts of screening while also listening to the concerns of our clients and assure that they will receive the help that they need.

Overall, I am immensely proud of the growth and accomplishments I have had through my time at CSP. I am so incredibly grateful for the opportunities I have had from networking to connecting with the community and much more. I am excited to use the skills I have learned at CSP as well as use them as foundations for further growth through my upcoming educational and professional careers and opportunities.