Leveraging your supervisor's support to overcome challenges
Yashasvi Modi (she/them) is a third-year Biology student in the Life Sciences program. She speaks about her experience and how reaching out to her supervisor allowed her to make the most of her co-op.
Yashasvi’s co-op journey:
Work term one: Yashasvi’s first co-op was with the University of Waterloo’s Health Services as a patient facilitator where she assisted patients and helped with day-to-day clinic work.
Work term two: She then worked as a teaching assistant for the Centre for Work-Integrated Learning at Waterloo where she marked Professional Development (PD) coursework and helped students with any concerns they had.
Q&A with Yashasvi:
Did you use any techniques to stay organized during your work term?
“I found that creating a consistent routine helped with how chaotic the clinic schedule was. Sometimes I would have shifts from morning to noon and other times from noon to evening. I like getting up in the morning so I would wake up and get ready, work on my PD courses and then have some time to relax. Having a routine reduced my stress as I knew I’d have time to finish the stuff I needed to do and that I’d still have time left over to recharge.”
What challenges did you face during your co-op?
“During my first co-op term, my main challenge was working with others.”
“I'm an overachiever, so I tended to finish my work quickly. That was sometimes frustrating for my colleagues.”
“Luckily, the staff at the clinic were incredibly kind and welcoming. My supervisor went out of their way to support me. The nurses also took an active role in helping me learn new things and referred me to work on projects in areas I was interested in.”
“For example, the nurses allowed me to run some labs, urine UTI tests and help with the vaccination program. These tasks were not part of the original job description, but they took time to teach me anyways. Those aspects of the job were really fun!”
Did you employ any strategies to deal with a challenging work situation?
"The first thing I did was do less work. I hoped that would make things better but it didn't."
“That didn’t last long though as my supervisor noticed that I wasn’t working as hard. We chatted about it, and they were really helpful and supportive.”
“The entire situation was stressful for me. I shared the situation and my concerns with my supervisor who supported me through this situation.”
“She told me I should go back to working hard and that I shouldn’t limit myself from excelling.”
In what ways did the support from your supervisors impact your overall co-op experience?
“The support allowed me to grow my skills and get more experience in the medical field.”
“I’m planning on attending medical school so being able to talk to the doctors and get their tips and tricks to stand out was invaluable.”
“I also realized that they had dealt with the same things I’m dealing with.”
“So, even though many aspects of my co-op were difficult, it was comforting to know that the doctors had also been through hard times and still made it out okay.”
Did your co-ops change or reinforce your career goals?
“Working in the clinic cemented that I want to pursue a career as a doctor, but it also showed me that I'd likely prefer working in a fast-paced environment.”
“I didn’t find a placement for my current co-op term, so I am volunteering at Grand River Hospital, which has been rewarding so far and has further cemented my goal to enter the medical field.”
“My biggest piece of advice to other co-op students is to take it term by term. I didn’t find somewhere to work this term, I am instead using the time to build my network and develop my skills. Most people don’t know this, but you can still graduate on time with one less co-op term than in your sequence.”
“After finishing my first co-op, I had no doubts about pursuing becoming a doctor and I’m going to look for more medical focused roles in the future.”
What’s next for you?
“As I said, I didn’t find a co-op placement this term but in addition to volunteering at Grand River Hospital I’ve also been doing lab research and volunteering with HELP (hospital elderly life program).”
“Apart from that, I am studying to take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). I’m planning on taking it in January so I can apply for medical school in early 2025.”