(CMR) After a one-year hiatus due to COVID-19, the Health Service Authority (HSA) relaunched its annual summer internship program for 2021, providing approximately 80 college and high school students with the opportunity to get hands-on experience in a variety of departments in the medical care field.
Participants applied either online or in-person and had the option to choose what most aligned with their interest from over 16 departments, including Nursing Administration, Physician Services, Biomed, and Information Technology. Placements are set to last between 4 to 6 weeks, each with a different starting and ending date.
The purpose of the HSA Summer Internship is to help guide young Caymanians with the knowledge and training they would need before entering the world of work. Eye Clinic intern Kimberly Sterling, who attends Glasgow Caledonian University, shared why she decided to return to HSA for an internship.
“HSA has the best ophthalmologists and ophthalmic technicians and I have learnt a lot from them. This is the reason I’ve decided to return to the eye clinic since my first summer internship experience with them in 2019,” she said.
“I am an optometry student in my third year, and working at the eye clinic has taught me so much. I plan on applying my knowledge.”
The internship program has also provided others such as Dayger Martinez-Taylor with an understanding of the importance of non-clinical departments to the Authority.
“I’ve learned so much since starting my internship in Marketing and Communications. It gave me the chance to see how important marketing is for any business or hospital. Being here has also helped me develop my creative and critical thinking skills, which is essential for any field. I’ve received great advice and support from the staff in my department and would definitely love to work here in the future,” he shared.
The HSA has made it their responsibility that each intern has an interactive but safe experience within the duration of the program.
“This summer, we are making sure that all of our interns are placed in a safe environment with adequate opportunities within their departments for their educational growth,” said Chief Human Resources Officer Samantha Bennett. “We at HSA are determined to offer our professional guidance in any way possible and are thoroughly pleased with this year’s interns display on achieving their goals.”
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