Reflection on my 2022 summer internship at UCLH and Vertual

female student presenting at a lectern with a digital image on the screen

This summer I got the opportunity to work on a studentship with UCL, UCLH and Vertual Ltd. We set out to introduce the Vertual application into the education system and adopt the new code of practice from NPL. I had the opportunity to work with an experienced team which guided me during this term. At this stage we have managed to accomplish what we set out to do and am looking forward to the application being adopted in UCL.

Throughout the internship I have been able to see how vital good communication skills are and how they can impact your working relationship with others. The friendly work environment makes it easy to blend into their work normal work activities. Most importantly I have realised the importance of finding a job in a field you love and how choosing the right job is the most important decision that you can make. Moreover, it has been a good dose of reality of what life will be like upon graduating. As a student it easy have late classes and late study sessions but this summer my working hours had me up at seven and in bed by midnight.

The work world is not easy, and it is now obvious as to why it is so important to do what you love. An internship gives us the opportunity to learn how to interact with other employees and gain experience in the working world. Open communication was one of the strongest and most apparent skills that I learned during my internship. I found out that my supervisors appreciated it more if I asked many questions to make sure I really understood what I was doing and that I did it correctly. If I had not worked with such cooperative and helpful team, I probably would have been too intimidated to ask questions in my next job. Practical experience is the best, and the studentship gave me a hands-on experience I need. Throughout this internship I have polished my skills such as multitasking, communicating, learning to deal with diversity, and deadlines. Which were mostly tested through the weekly meetings I had with my supervisors, workshops and working with an external team.

As my internship draws to a close and I reflect on all I have learned, I realize what an excellent experience this has been. I gathered much knowledge in the classroom, but a hands-on approach has been invaluable. I believe that an internship is extremely valuable to a student. It is a small taste of the real world. It has served as a beneficial ending to my formal education. In my opinion, the best way to learn is by doing. I thoroughly enjoyed my internship this summer and now have very valuable experience under my belt. I can now easily converse about what Vertual is and how it makes it easy to adopt the new code of practice. Words are not enough to express how grateful I am to have been part the team that is at the for front in inventing new ways to help patients and student in the radiology field. One of the moments that stand out to me the most is when I had work at Hull with the team at Vertul Ltd. Throughout the two-day workshop I got learn more about the software and had the chance to make changes in the application that will have an impact on the education system. That really solidified my intent of what I wanted to archive at the end. I am happy with what we have achieved as a team, and this will be a steppingstone for future development.

Read about Oreeditse's 2021 studentship at the RNOH