A Part-Time Job in Healthcare - Swab Operations Crew
Creative Side-Hustles in 2020 - Circuit Breaker Period to Early 2021
For the past two years, I’ve spent most of my time pursuing the thing I’ve always believed I’m passionate about – Media and Storytelling. Since the start of the new normal, staying safe at home has become the recommended option due to the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic in an attempt to 'stop the spread'.
Despite the challenges, there were many medical breakthroughs and challenges we saw ourselves through during this fight. We now have access to COVID-19 vaccines and Self-Testing kits. We’ve also witnessed the way this pandemic’s mortality rate shot up and experienced going back to a lifestyle of stringent safety measures that ensured we minimized social contact and refrained from going out. Throughout these long periods of staying home and attending online classes, I have been spending most of my spare time working on creative projects related to social media and videography, since I was able to work on them remotely and away from in-person social interaction.
When 2021 started, I was already beginning to crave for something new. I knew what I loved and wanted to do in the future. However, I couldn’t help but think about the endless possibilities the pandemic would be able to offer me if I took a step beyond the screens and social media.
Transitioning from Creative Gigs to Working Part-Time in a Hospital Swab Operations Crew
I applied for a position in a Swab Operations Team at a local hospital after I ended my first semester in University. I wanted to challenge my current thought processes and working habits with something beyond what I was familiar with. I thought that maybe, if I tried something new, I would develop new perspectives to things and my world would not just be all about views and creativity all the time. I wanted to stay in touch with people, and interact with them first-hand if possible, so I thought joining a swab team would be perfect in enabling me to attain these things.
The swab team I was in typically consisted of Swabbers, Cashier, Floaters, Admin Staff and a Team Leader for the day.
The long hours of Swab Ops and the many protocols I was supposed to keep up with weren’t exactly things that appealed to me at the start. I am definitely not the best at retaining loaded information that updates itself very often, and knowing myself, manually noting these things down wouldn't assure me that I was able to remember everything perfectly.
I saw this weakness of mine as a challenge in my new job, which worried me at first because I have a history of forgetting stuff, probably more times than I should. I'd forget things such as specific steps in procedures or missing out on certain information in emails. This job does require a fair bit of memory work on the administrative side of things, and remembering every step of specific procedures is also extremely crucial to the job.
Unexpected Realizations About my Biggest Weaknesses in an Unfamiliar Work Environment
Although this is admittedly one of my biggest weaknesses that I’ve been working through since I started polytechnic, I’m truly impressed at how much I have learned more about this insecurity of mine and even ways to deal with it through this Part-Time job.
Back when I solely focused on tapping onto my creativity and communication skillsets, this flaw always felt like an annoying obstacle to me because I couldn't figure out how to work through or improvise on situations where this weakness would catch me off-guard. I’ve always denied this weakness as a part of me, and there were many times when I would just give up on trying to improve in that area because I simply couldn’t figure out how to.
A Shift in Perspectives and Learning About my Insecurity in a New Light
Despite such experiences in the past, this flaw has never bothered me more than it did whenever I was working this specific job - because the way I saw it, the well-being of many people will be affected if I missed a step or made a mistake in following protocols. It wasn’t about publicity and making anyone look good online anymore, it was about people and their well-being. I was very aware about how forgetful I can be, and I barely had any ideas on how to improve on it.
One of the team leaders whom I’ve worked under for the most part of my experience did notice this insecurity of mine too. I remember her telling me that it was okay and that I shouldn’t be so hard on myself for not remembering EVERYTHING at the back of my hand, because even the most experienced people anywhere would forget basic stuff sometimes, and it was all part of a constant learning process.
A Teammate's Weakness is Another Teammate's Strength
As we are working as a team, it is important to remind our teammates whenever they recall any information incorrectly or make mistakes. I've come to realize that reprimanding and self-blaming are counterproductive to getting better at what we do, and it would only make us loathe our jobs, or worse, loathe ourselves. I do believe that this wouldn't be an ideal outcome we would want for ourselves especially in this line of work, where burnouts are very prevalent and high expectations are often placed on us. Realizations and Why Weaknesses Should NOT be an Insecurity (More in Additional Notes)
I once had a manager who told me that my forgetfulness was a result of an attitude issue. Back then, it really hurt because I did try my best, as a newbie to the workplace. I did end up disliking that place to a point where I told myself that I’d never work with them again in any capacity, because of the way they made me feel about my abilities.
It took me a long time a process that experience all by myself, and I’m thankful for this part-time job, for showing me how wrong they were about me all along. It was never about having superior memory or being perfect at our jobs.
It was about putting our best into the work we do because regardless of scope, someone, somewhere will be impacted by what you do in some way. It’s never really about the work, it’s about people. Beyond this, I was also able to teach myself to be receptive to the people around me and be open enough to rely on them as teammates whenever I needed to. I feel the strongest at my weakest when I know I can count on the people around me. I Believe - All Jobs Can Impact Somebody
I feel that at times, it is so easy to forget how the lives of people get changed and impacted everyday in big and small ways by the things we do for a living. Landing a job in healthcare has taught me how to see my work, regardless of position and industry, for how it impacts people, rather than merely seeing work as a cash cow and our bread bowl.
I believe, human beings are compassionate by nature, people talk all the time about putting our hearts into our jobs, and personally, the ability to realize and identify the kind of impact our jobs could make on people is a powerful fuel that encourages me the most at any job I find myself in.
As of 20th December 2021, the swab centre will cease operations due to the new directive by MOH, which enables the hospital to accept self-testing kits results of visitors and would no longer require swab operations to carry on in their facility. It is always bittersweet to leave, but I am thankful to have gotten so much out of the past six months here.
Additional Notes: A friend told me that I was very brave in writing about my weaknesses in a public blog. I would like to say that I now believe that there is no reason for me to be insecure over my weaknesses. I am not defined by these weaknesses and I am constantly working on them to get better for my own personal growth. Progress is progress no matter how slow. I believe the whole world can tell us that we are not good enough because of our weaknesses, but this is just society's way of projecting their expectations of us onto us, and I believe that weaknesses are simply chances to grow, NOT reasons to beat ourselves up. After all, a perfect life is a dull life.