Alex Hickey is one of our 2016 Health Management Graduates. Here, he tells us the story about his first week in the office.
My first day started fairly early. Wearing my best suit, I headed to the Medibank building in Docklands. Upon arriving, I was greeted by a few familiar faces. A couple of the other graduates – whom I had briefly met at orientation a couple months earlier – had already arrived. Talking amongst ourselves, I began to realise that we were a very diverse group. There were people with backgrounds in economics, finance, HR, pharmacy and physiotherapy to name a few.
Once all the graduates arrived, we were ushered into a conference room. There, we were introduced to Debbie – the Learning and Organisational Development consultant. Debbie gave us an overview of Medibank’s long-term strategy and vision. This was very helpful as it enabled us to understand how we, with all of our different qualifications/skill-sets, would contribute to that vision.
The day continued with lunch and then a tour of Medibank Place. For me, the tour was one of the highlights of the day. The Medibank building is amazing. Not only is the building architecturally impressive, but it has facilities that I’d never thought I’d see in a workplace! This includes a demonstration kitchen, edible garden, multipurpose sports court, ping pong table and foosball area.
The following morning, I met up with my people leader. We headed downstairs and grabbed a coffee with the rest of the team. Here, we talked sport, music and, of course, healthcare. This quickly led us to discuss some of the projects that I’d be working on. These ranged from pilot studies to contract negotiations; each of which would have a positive impact on the health of our members.
The next few days were fascinating. Working with my team, I was exposed to some very interesting tasks. So much so, that I was somewhat disappointed when the week had ended. I couldn’t wait to return to work on Monday morning!