Week 1

My first week was so busy! I didn’t even get to sit down at my desk until the middle of my second day! The very first thing I did on my first day was grab a hard hat and head to the construction site for a walkthrough of the Cancer Institute that UT Medical is building. I barely had time to set my things down before we were off and on with the day. We walked around and made sure that everything was going smoothly on the site, which for the most part, it was. As soon as I got back my supervisor, Heather, took me to get my badge and clearance with the hospital. Before we could even walk back from the Human Resource department, Heather was notified that the Arc|Con representative was there to meet with the two of us. He showed us his new fabrics, and there I learned about HAI’s, which are Healthcare Acquired Infetions, and what a new line of fabric is doing to prevent the spread of these. Basically, HAI’s are infections people get because they went to the hospital. For example, if Amy cut her foot open and had to get stitches at the hospital, there is a chance that she may pick up an HAI such as staph if she is not careful. These HAI’s are usually not covered by insurance companies, and can be quite expensive. I learned that there are fabrics that designers can specify that reduce the likeliness of being contaminated.

 After the visit with the Arc|Con rep, Heather and I went on a hospital walkthrough. She showed me the ropes, and tried to help orient me with locations of important places throughout the hospital. Past interns warned me to wear comfortable shoes. I should have listened. We walked around the entire hospital, up and down floors, where she showed me where all our current renovations were. After lunch, we were asked to help a doctor, who had recently had Facilities Planning update the furniture and floors in her office, add more feng shui to her office. She is an alternative medicine doctor, and was very concerned about the placement of furniture in the waiting rooms. After speaking with her receptionist, we decided that we needed a few more end tables, and there we took off to Pier One, Kirklands, and HomeGoods to put the finishing touches. When we got back, there was just enough time to unload before the end of my first day.

Day two was a little less hectic. Before I even walked in the building, Heather caught me and told me we had a meeting with all the big dogs of the hospital to talk about the grand opening of the Cancer Institute. When we got back I finally got my computer log in all set up. Heather was double booked with meetings, so I attended a meeting with an LVT representative alone that day. The rest of the day I ordered samples for the Cancer Institute. Today I learned that a memo is another word for a sample!

Day three I worked on fabric selections for the furniture in the lobby of the Cancer Institute and in the waiting room of the Breast Cancer wing. I followed Heather to a meeting with the President of the hospital to discuss a donation of benches given to the NICU of the hospital. For the rest of the day I worked on fabric selections and ordered some custom artwork for a family practice office. That day I learned that maintenance matters. Crypton was specified in a project around 9 months ago and is completely worn out and filthy because maintenance has not been keeping up with the cleaning as they should.

Day four I worked independently finishing ordering finish selections, organizing the library, and other small tasks. I had a lunch and learn with a lighting distributor we are working with for the Cancer Institute. Today I learned that if you specify a bench longer than about 4’ in a hospital, there is a good chance you will have people sleeping on it, so try to keep all benches 4’ or less.

Fridays I work with Mary Beth on her research project for healthcare design.

The Facilities Planning Department of UT Medical Center is very different than working with a firm. There are no billable hours, there is no bidding process, and the clientele are different. This is nice because if the two interior designers, Heather and Rebecca, feel like I should learn something and we have a block of free time, they have that freedom to go very in depth with an explanation.

Since things work so differently at UT Medical, there is no actual organizational chart to follow. Heather, Mary Jane (the architect), and Ted (the director of facilities planning and the engineer) all work on projects together. The only other people in Facilities Planning are Rebecca, who works under Heather, a purchaser, and a CAD specialist.

HeatherThis is a picture of Heather. I have been following her like a little duckling this week and have gotten to know her quite well. She has two little boys: Morgan and Tristan. They are adorable and she has got hilarious stories about them! Heather is the Project Manager and the Interior Designer here at UT Medical Facilities Planning. In her free time she likes to go shopping, garden, and pinterest!

Comments

[MBR]

From all the walking, you probably spent the first weekend soaking your feet! What a great way to stay in shape this summer! There is a common thread that is showing up in your post, as well as in other posts: an internship is a great place for learning more about FF&E (furnishings, finishes, and equipment) and details about resources. In school, the time available to learn in detail FF&E is not available. The best way to really learn this area well is to be working on actual projects. Finish boards is another another deliverable that in school has been replaced by digital images and loose sample presentations. I would appreciate students during their internships this summer posting images of what they produce in this area -- sample boards and portions of projects they produce. Thanks for all the great details of your experience. Week 1 has been a great beginning!