Blog #4

The headline of the week was the launch party for the Communications Disorders Clinic new website on Monday. The website was the brain child of Dr. Whiteside and the Health Services interns from either summer ’09 or fall “09. The launch party was an opportunity for the staff, the former interns, clients, and faulty from the UCF community to view the website and its features. The best part of the website are the links that connect the potential visitors to client testimonies, where they expressed how much of a God send the clinic was in helping them battle their speech limitations due to sickness, fluency issues, or other complications.

For me it was a great experience to talk to the clients of the clinic one-on-one and hear first hand what the services offered meant to them. They were so excited to a part of the something they know will change other people’s lives like it has changes theirs. It was also exciting for me to be introduced to the guests of the party as someone helping the efforts to spread the word about the clinic.

The rest of this weeks duties involved working on a promotion brochure and compiling a contact mailing list of schools and churches in the area with active musical and drama programs.

This is the URL for the new website: http://www.cohpa.ucf.edu/clinic/index.shtml
Feel free to visit!!!

Blog #3

This week has been pretty slow despite the fact that we are still unable to get or announcement on the UCF News Listserv (UCF has soo many rules and procedures). The clinic has never tried to use the campus resources to make announcement of their services. And I have realize that just how disconnected they are from the UCF community even though they bear the UCF name. As an intern my goal is to open the door and make the necessary connections to help with their marketing, but it is a long road ahead. The first step on Monday is for me inform my mentor that someone with a regular longer-termed position at the clinic must be appointed to handle their events/announcement for UCF’s My Organization. My Organization is the portal that we must be a part of to get things running; it is the step to getting information posted on Good Morning UCF Newsletter and so on.

I am setting deadline for myself to clear this situation by Wednesday. However, next week will be a big one for the clinic. On Monday, the clinic is having a launched party for their new website. It is something they have been working hard to get off the ground since I believe the summer. I have had an opportunity to sit in on a meeting with the webmaster for COHPA and Dr. Whiteside and previewed the website and it is excellent. The website will be a big part of marketing for the clinic and a value source of making sure there announcements reach the public.

Approvals, Approvals, Approvals!

Through my career as a student have been a part of numerous group work assignments and had to deal with diverse personalities, creative natures, and other people’s procrastination a couple times. My health services professors stressed the fact that teamwork will be a critical aspect of healthcare industry, and there are many channels you will have to go through to get your work completed. As I continue on in my internship I now appreciate the preparation on how to deal with different individual’s wants and needs to get projects completed.

This week in the Communications & Disorders Clinic we have been working on PowerPoint ads to be displayed on COHPA TV, and event emails for the UCF News listserv. The advertisements are geared to promote the clinic, as well as the dates of special evaluations that will be conducted at the Voice Center every other week in March and April. Dr. Whiteside is the head of the board for the clinic is very involved in how she wants the publicity of the clinic handled. For one ad to be approved and finalized, I must consult about five different channels of people in and outside the clinic to receive the okay to proceed. However, this is where the problems lie, when seeking approval from so many people your time to push forward will come against some delay. Delays can be due to someone not understanding the initial concept, problems with presentation, e-mails not being answered in a timely fashion, and trying to understand the difference of what is a priority and what is not. Which in return leads into numerous revisions until everyone is on one accord. Although receiving everyone’s approval can be tedious and time-consuming, everything worked out for the greater good and we are still adhering to the timeline set to get our goals accomplished.

The COHPA TV ads will be airing next week and the UCF News Listserv emails should be in circulation also.

I am still enjoying my experience, and understand that there is a lot more to be learned and accomplished before semesters end. Hard Work Leads to Great Benefits!!

Hitting the Ground Running

I think it is appropriate to start with a little background information before jumping into my experience thus far in my internship. My name is Charlean G., I am a senior majoring in Health Services Administration, working on two minors in Business Administration and Health Sciences. I am almost to the end on my collegiate career, in May I will be graduating with my Bachelors’ Degree.

This semester I was offered an internship with the UCF Communications & Disorders Clinic, under the direction of Dr. Janet Whiteside. The staff has been wonderful, and the clinic is extremely student friendly there is a generous selection of undergrad and grad students working within the facility.

Initially I was assigned to help the clinic prepare a Marketing Strategic Plan, and with me having to take a Marketing course in order to complete my minor in Business it put me a step ahead my HSA counterparts. However, after our first meeting to go over the goals and objectives of the project I realized and pointed out to my mentor that their plan was pretty much established. And what she was ready to embark on was a marketing and promotional blitz for their Voice Center. Dr. Whiteside’s main concern is getting the word out in the UCF Community and to the ENTs and ALFs in the surrounding area. So far I have had a meeting with Karen Guin who is the head of Communications for COHPA, I have helped design two flyers, teasers that will be in circulation through e-mail, and I am working on a powerpoint slide that will be displayed on COHPA TV soon. I am excited about how the rest of the internship will go, we are already off to a great and busy start.