My Unforgettable Experience from Work Immersion

Written by Glaiza Crespo

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Last week was a busy week for me, but it was full of learning and knowledge. My work immersion started last week. I woke up around 6:00 am in the morning and prepared myself to get ready for my work immersion. Firstly, I cleaned my bedroom, brushed my teeth, ate breakfast, took a bath, got ready, and lastly, I organized things before leaving to make sure I didn’t forget anything.

On the first day of our work immersion, I left at 6:40 am to go to school because the school was close to our house. On the first day, we went straight to school before going to the workplace assigned to us because our teachers took us there on the first day to guide us. We arrived at the Bayanan Health Center Main, where we were assigned, around 7:00 am. When we arrived there, we introduced ourselves and were also introduced to the workers. There was a short briefing and tour of the workplace. After that, the workers started teaching us how to do surveys, encode in Excel, record chest x-ray results, and organize patient papers. When we were taught, they entrusted us with the work, and all of us completed it well. Even though it was our first day, the workers at the health center did not treat us differently, and we did not have any difficulty adjusting to the workplace and the workers because they were kind to us. They also gave us vitamins, treated us like we were their employees, and at the same time, they guided us. After finishing our work, we went home around 4:00 pm, but I went straight to school for the dance competition meeting because I was a member of the R-18 Dancers. I got home at a quarter to 6:00 pm because our meeting was delayed. I rested for 30 minutes and also cleaned my body because this was important, especially since we had patients to interact with. I ate dinner, did schoolwork, told my parents about my first day of work immersion, and finally got ready for bed.

The second day of work had the same routine, but we didn't go to school and we went straight to work. What we did on the first day was still the same, but we took turns with my colleagues so that we could all learn those things. We were sent home early that day around 3:00 pm because the workers had a meeting and there wasn't much to do. When I got home, I rested, took a shower, ate, did schoolwork, and went to sleep.

On the third day of our work immersion, we were taken to a lecture about dengue in a certain place, and we also learned from this lecture. After the lecture, we encoded again in Excel, wrote patient records, conducted surveys, and in addition to this, they also taught us how to take a patient's height, weight, and blood pressure. After work, some of my friends and I went straight to church to attend Ash Wednesday mass. I went straight home after mass and rested again to be ready for the next day.

On the fourth day of our work immersion, they entrusted us with taking the patient's vital signs, which are height, weight, and blood pressure, since the morning. On Thursday, there were more people because there was a check-up schedule at that time, meaning we took vital signs and did a survey until the afternoon. We also witnessed the various problems of the patients and workers. In the afternoon, our teachers made a surprise visit, and we took their vital signs ourselves. We applied what we learned from them, and they seemed proud and happy with what we learned. We were also checked up on by the doctor that time and were given medicine. They also offered us snacks in the afternoon.

After work, I went straight to school to practice dancing even though I was still tired. When I got home, I rested, took a shower, ate, and went to bed early to rest.

The last day of our work immersion was a mix of joy because our duty was about to end and, at the same time, sadness because we were getting closer to the people there and we were enjoying what we were doing. What we did was take vital signs again, do a survey, and assist because the schedule on Friday was immunization. In the afternoon, we didn't do much; we just rested, and around 3:00 pm, we did Zumba with the workers. They do that every Friday to maintain the bond with each other, and it also serves as exercise. Before we went home, we wrote a reflection about our experience and what we learned during the 5 days of our work immersion there. We took a picture with them, and we finally said thank you and goodbye, but in reality, it seemed like we didn't want to finish our duty, and we just wanted to do work immersion. I went straight to school for practice, and after that, I went home, rested, took a shower, ate, and did schoolwork before going to bed.

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I am so happy, and my classmates and I learned a lot. We are so grateful because we had the opportunity to experience this, and it would not have been possible without my friends because through our teamwork, we accomplished the things we needed to do. To our teachers, health workers, and doctors, we are grateful beyond this experience. We will cherish these memories and knowledge forever