Pristine Wong
Senior, University of Irvine
“I work in Human Resources with the HR Consultants at the Baldwin Park Medical Center. This summer, I have been attending grievance and manager meetings, attendance reviews, manager orientations, building workflows for the HR processes, and building the HR SharePoint website. Daily, I work little-by-little on the SharePoint website and, when meetings or issues arise, I am there to help document and learn about the actions and conversations taking place to resolve those issues. Most of the meetings that I attend are grievance and union focused. This is due to Kaiser Permanente’s strong upholding of the Labor and Management Partnership (LMP). Through this process, we able to give fair and consistent representation to union employees working in the medical centers. Being that Human Resources is a very process-oriented department, they place a high value on knowing workflows and understanding the sequential ordering of each case. After any meeting, I am tasked with building a workflow for the processes and procedures that took place.
The functionality of the SharePoint site is for managers to be able to have access to all the written processes they are expected to use frequently. These include recruitment, termination, disability leaves, attendance review, the MyHR website, transitional work, etc. There are also set sections on the site for HR team use. Within that section, there is a team calendar, discussion board, announcements, and specific department pages that are specific to each HR department. All of this allows for better communication within the HR team as well as more efficient, fluent and consistent communication from HR to the medical centers’ managers. In developing the site, I reached out to many different departments in HR at both Baldwin Park and Walnut Center. They provided wonderful assistance in guiding me through all the procedures that managers need to know and valuable information on all the internal HR procedures. Overall, the tasks I were given provided high functionality to the department and the managers throughout the medical center and served as an outstanding learning experience.”
Journey Benson
Junior, California State University, Long Beach
“This summer, I am working in the Human Resources department at the South Bay Medical Center. Asides from the several projects I have been given this summer, my daily tasks consist of filing, copying, faxing, and transcribing paper documents into electronic documents. I also work as a team with a Summer Youth Education Program (SYEP) student and other high school volunteer students to complete process-oriented and project-based tasks. For example, we were responsible for scanning documents to the Human Resources Service Center for storage in their database. We gained experience transcribing written documents into electronic documents to support the South Bay Medical Center’s transition from written files to e-files as well. Additionally, I was tasked with filing away documents for the Human Resources Consultants. Files either stayed in the file room or were sent to the National Human Resources Service Center in Oakland, California. I had the opportunity to work as a team leader with HR department volunteers and was responsible for delegating tasks to ensure that projects were completed in a timely manner.
The results of my projects provided more space in the HR Consultants offices, improved Kaiser Permanente South Bay Medical Center’s electronic filing system, and cleared the office of unnecessary files. These projects keep me busy and I enjoy moving around while performing the tasks. My tasks are unique because I manage the volunteer students, communicate directions, answer questions, and assist them. By doing so, I am building my leadership, organizational, communication, and professional skills.”
Tunika Onnekikami
Sophomore, University of Pennsylvania
“I have enjoyed my time here at Kaiser Permanente and I feel that I have learned a lot very quickly. My internship is under the Public Affairs department for the Downey Medical Center. I enjoy working in my department because of the different things I get to do and the level of freedom I have to do it. I have specific projects for the summer, but everyday is different. There are some tasks that have remained consistent, such as drafting posts for our social media accounts and attending meetings with my supervisors. Other projects assigned to me are expected to be completed by the end of summer. Therefore, I have been able to use my organizational skills to plan accordingly while also developing time management skills to work simultaneously. I also know when to check in with my wonderful supervisors to help them whenever they need me and to discuss my progress.
My main project this summer was to create a presentation about how to properly brand materials at the Downey Medical Center, primarily intended for departments that create flyers or give many presentations. I began with countless hours of research and searching through videos of other medical centers. I learned a great deal about branding such as what it means and why it matters. I reached out to several well-versed people and compiled tons of information about KP’s brand into about 20 slides.
My other projects have been interesting as well: I have learned about the intranet and how healthy internal communication helps to build a company. I have also been able to cover exciting events and important issues that impact the hospital and the surrounding community. I love my main project because of the hard work I put into it— it made me realize the importance of trusting a brand to make decisions on products and services. I have learned so much in my department. I am grateful for the opportunity to help strengthen Kaiser Permanente’s brand and build employees’ trust in the organization.”
Wendy Aponte
Senior, University of California, Riverside
“For the last five summers, I have had the pleasure of being a part of the Riverside Administrative Team. Now, towards the end of my final summer as a K.P.L.A.U.N.C.H. intern, I look back at my accomplishments, growth, and the relationships that I’ve built along the way with pride. When I started my internship experience, I was matched with the Diversity and Inclusion department and I learned much about the organization and its structure. Due to what I’ve learned my first summer, I was hungry to dig deeper into the organization and transferred to Hospital/SCPMG Administration Department at the Riverside Medical Center the following summer. I have stayed with the department and my supervisor ever since. My most memorable experience throughout my internship was my third summer because I really shined and proved that I could take on more responsibility. I got to work with the Service Area’s Leadership team, expanded my network, and gained mentors who support my work at Kaiser. I do want to give a special thanks to my supervisor, Karen Sirski-Martin. I could not have asked for a better teacher, mentor, and sponsor; she has truly given me unconditional support, and has been instrumental in my developmental process. This internship in one word: Transformational.”