Hello! My name is Luke and I have been at CHEPS for a little over a year now. I am a recent graduate and I studied Industrial and Operations Engineering with a minor in Computer Science.
So, let us start from the beginning! I first joined CHEPS during May of 2019. I had no idea what to expect at first. On the first day, I just remember reading a lot of HIPAA rules and regulations. Not super exciting, but I do realize the importance of taking the time and effort to do so. I was then placed onto three teams: Surgical Instruments, Shift Scheduling, and the AD ICU team. I am not going to bore you with all the details, but I will say AD ICU was the most interesting project in my opinion. I was the main coder for that, and we wrote simulation code (in C++) for patient flow through the cardiac ICU. I thought it was cool because I finally got to write code that wasn’t for a class or homework. What was even cooler to me was just being able to work with such a diverse set of people. We had undergrads to master’s students to Ph.D. candidates. It was honestly a lot of fun getting to know people and their backgrounds. One of my fondest memories of that summer was when we had a volleyball tournament outside. Although sadly my team didn’t do too well, it was still fun playing games and just goofing around with my coworkers!
Going into the school year, work became a little different. With the onset of classes, clubs, and other obligations, it was harder to fit in working at CHEPS. But honestly, I was so thankful for the CHEPS family. There were many a time where I texted my project lead last minute as I did not have enough time to finish the code or emailed last minute for an absence due to illness. Through all of this, my coworkers, and the staff at CHEPS were always patient and understanding. I realized that even though I was still working at CHEPS, taking care of oneself was something that everyone valued over anything else. I will always be grateful for the cute little care packages during finals seasons that were packed with snacks and a note! I think just those little things made me deeply appreciative of the community.
Fast forward to this summer, things are even more different. Because of COVID 19, everything has gone virtual. It has honestly been difficult since Zoom brings a lot of technical difficulties; it’s actually the worst to sit through video chats that lag or stutter. But I’ve gotten used to it more and more! Lately, I’ve gotten a lot more used to using Zoom for everything, and after playing around with settings, things work more often than not now. We’ve also still been able to experience community through virtual student presentations, lunch and learns, and fun stuff like talents shows and sharing life hacks.
One of the biggest lessons that I’ve learned from this past year is the importance of communication. Whether it’s giving Amy updates on the code, communicating with teammates, or emailing clinical partners, I’ve learned that it’s always better to be overly communicative rather than not. Another lesson that I’ve learned is to not be afraid to ask for help. There have been many times where I’ve been building a schedule or writing simulation code and just got stuck. It’s okay to ask for help in these cases. It’s okay to not know everything!
Before I go, I just want to give a huge shoutout to Amy, Liz, Julia, Billy, Gene, and all the other wonderful staff that make this possible 😊, y’all are awesome! Thank you for taking time out of your day to read this blog post and remember to always Go Blue!!