Clinicals turned out to be better than I had expected. I went in to the lab at Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga, TN expecting to experience something somewhat like [student] labs at Andrews, except it would last the whole day instead of only a couple of hours. But after the first day, it registered in my mind why it’s called a clinical practicum. We were expected to take all that we had learned both in class and in labs, and put it to practice in real life. This was the culmination of all that time, hard work and money spent in school, and I was all too happy to rise to the challenge.
Clinicals not only gave me the opportunity to put my learning to practice, I was also able to learn new skills and procedures, experience workplace politics firsthand, and make valuable connections for my future. After five months of clinicals, I was offered a position as a Med Tech at Memorial where I continue to thrive.