Kevin Dulion
Intern, Integration
Life at The Resource Group | A Day in the Life of a Summer Intern
By Kevin Dulion & Renee Muthakana
We cannot believe our 2023 Summer internship has already ended AND our Summer 2024 internship recruitment is about to begin. As we enter this recruitment season, we know it is important for prospective candidates to get a realistic idea of what an internship really looks like so we wanted two of our 2023 interns to provide us with their typical 'day-in-the-life'. With just under two weeks until our 2024 internship positions are posted we encourage you to read about Kevin's and Renee's experience and consider applying to intern with The Resource Group!
Renee Muthakana
Intern, Pharmaceutical Support Services
Pre-work Rituals
"My summer internship was in-person at an office building within walking distance of the hospital. Monday through Thursday I would go in the office to work but on Fridays I got to work remotely. When I was in-person I would be the first one there around 7:40 AM and get settled in (lights, water, etc)."
- Kevin
"My day started off at 7:00 AM with a morning run. This would typically take about an hour to an hour and a half, then I would clean up and hop online at 9:00 AM EST which aligned perfectly with my manager's starting time of 8:00 AM CST."
- Renee
Starting the Day
"Normally, I would start my workday by catching up on emails. This took about 30 minutes and helped me ensure I didn't miss anything urgent needing to get done. After going through my email I would check in on my individual project, group project, or get started on any ad hoc tasks that came up from the day before."
- Kevin
"In the first 30 minutes of my day I would make sure the previous day's tasks were completed, respond to emails, and plan my day. The main tools I used to plan were Google Keep or my sticky notes. The great thing about Google Keep is after completing a task you can easily cross it off. This helped me see what I completed the previous day, what I wanted to complete that day, and what I would need to complete in the future. After planning out my tasks, I would jump into my work."
- Renee
1st Half
"In the first half of my day, I would have weekly Monday morning 1:1s with my manager. We would go over my projects or any questions I had for the upcoming week. Other than a few additional meetings, I would spend the first half of the day working through my individual project or the intern group project. My individual project was focused on purchased order spend and inventory in our Gulf Coast hospitals. The goal of the project was to identify opportunities where we could switch to the preferred vendor. This involved a lot of Excel work, and was actually the first time I got exposure to big data. "
- Kevin
"I am a morning person, so when it was possible I would schedule my meetings for the morning. I would specifically fill my Monday mornings with mentorship touchbases. This would give me the opportunity to talk with other associates, including former interns, and learn from them. Some of these learnings helped me in my work week! After my morning meetings, I would begin going through off my tasks. I closed out the week with Friday morning intern 1:1s. The intern 1:1s were a great way to end the week by connecting with my fellow interns."
- Renee
Lunch Break
"I do intermittent fasting from 7:00 PM to 11:00 AM for personal health benefits. With this in mind, I would normally take my lunch break right around 11:00 AM. I didn't have a specific routine but I really enjoyed using my lunch breaks to look up a YouTube video about Tableau or something educational related to the workplace. Finding ways to integrate learning into my work not only satisfied me but also helped move my work along."
- Kevin
"Typically I would take my lunch break around noon. From noon to 1:00 PM, I rarely had any meetings so it was a good break to my day. During this time, I would take about 30 minutes to eat lunch and reset. Then, I would give myself a 30 minute grace period to start logging back on, get organized for the second half of the day, and do some simple tasks to get back into work."
- Renee
2nd Half
"In the second half of the day I would typically have more meetings. The recurring meetings I had spread throughout the week included The Resource Group Weekly Wednesday Call, the Gulf Coast Integration Call, the Florida Integration Call, and other 1:1s or check-ins. Besides the meetings, in the afternoon I would spend time working on my group project or individual work. The group project I worked on was the Sterile Processing Classroom Dashboard (find out more about this project here). Throughout the project, I learned how to use Tableau and collaborated with other interns."
- Kevin
"The second half of my day was typically not as meeting intensive and allowed me time to work on projects or other daily assignments. I would go through my list of tasks on Google Keep and work through the list based on each task's priority level. As I completed each task, I got the feeling of fulfillment as I crossed it off the list. Throughout the second half of my day I would check in with my manager to see if they had any additional projects I could help with, or I would ask them any questions I had to move work along. Then, once I completed all my tasks for the day I would log off."
- Renee
Signing Off
"I would usually leave work around 4:30 PM and just place my computer to sleep to preserve the memory. This way I would be able to open it up the next morning and jump back in right where I left off. I also liked to tidy up the work area and go through a standard end-of-day checklist (lights off, lock the door) before heading out for the weekend.
- Kevin
"In order to close out my work day the first thing I would do was check in with my manager to see if they needed anything. Then, I would check to make sure all my tasks were completed. If there was a task I didn't have time to complete I would determine when in the week I would work on it. Typically, I would log off around 5 PM EST. If I got all my work done early, I would be able to log off early and let my manager know if something did come up they could chat me. With that, my day was complete."
- Renee
"If you are looking to be a Resource Group summer intern, my advice is to put in what you want to get out of it. This organization is centered around helping others, so don't be afraid to ask questions, reach out to associates across the organization, and stay curious at work. " - Kevin
"If I could tell future interns one piece of advice, I would tell them to be confident. The way you present your work, lead a meeting, or communicate with others can have a very big impact. In the remote environment it is especially important to carry yourself confidently and be willing to learn from everyone in the organization." - Renee
We will be accepting Summer 2024 internship applications starting on September 11. Check the Internship page for more information!