As a doctor, I'm still using lessons I learned working at In-N-Out as a college student.
Here are six fast food lessons I'll keep forever:
1 - Show Up Ready to Work, Early
Do I have everything I need for my shift?
Am I dressed, fed, and watered?
Do I have my name badge?
Better be 5 minutes early!
2 - Sweep the Floor and Shuck the Lettuce
I'm not "too good" or "too smart" or "too special" for any aspect of the job.
• I clean up my messes
• When needed, I mop the OR floors.
• Patient needs a blanket? I grab it.
• Pre-op nurse running behind? I pull the pre-med.
3 - Actively Listen to the Customer
In fast food, you have to listen closely to get a customer's food order correctly.
If I'm busy thinking of the next thing I'm going to say, I'm not listening and will miss something important that matters to the patient.
4 - Repeat Back the Customer's Order
Knowing the patient's priorities makes a huge difference. Make sure you got everything right by repeating the order.
Miss something that matters to the patient? Now is the time to correct it - not later.
5 - Work Hard, Still Struggle To Make Ends Meet
I worked 38 hrs/week on top of a full course load in junior college. No benefits because I wasn't "full-time." I learned how hard it was to work while in school, pay rent, and stay afloat.
My patients and their parents often struggle to make ends meet, working in the service industry. Having little insight into those struggles helps me avoid assumptions about what financial worries a family may be facing.
6 - Team Work Makes All the Difference
Every day, my feet hurt & I smelled like a grill, but I was happy to go back each shift.
Who you work with matters.
Having a great manager and team makes every tough job easier and more fun. It makes every hard day a little better.
What valuable lessons did you learn in an entry-level job? Drop them in the comments below!
Enjoyed this thread? Here's a link to the first tweet. 🍔
My stomach is in knots over the EMTALA case in the Supreme Court today.
Here’s what’s at stake:
EMTALA (Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act) requires hospitals to provide emergency treatment to people, even if they don’t have insurance.
The law enacted by congress in 1986, requires hospitals that receive federal funds to stabilize patients.
EMTALA is a
backbone of medical ethics and necessary to protect patients from corporate greed.
Codifying protections like this into law is supposed to protect patients from laws like Idaho’s near total abortion ban.
I mentor a lot of junior faculty at work. The number one process question they have is "how do I organize my life"?
One key process that helps me:
I synchronize my Amion schedule with my digital calendar and my family's shared calendar.
It's critical that when I'm on a shift or on-call, my partner knows:
• I won't be home when the family wakes up
• They are 100% in charge of the kids
• Not to expect me for dinner
• Not to expect me home by bedtime
• Don't schedule any other responsibilities for me that day
Unfortunately, the inertia of figuring out calendar integration is enough to shut some of us down completely!