Small steps, big impact: exploring health care across Ontario

Carolina Meyhofer Pedroso (she/her) is a third-year Health Science student with a pre-clinical specialization and a minor in medical physiology. She discusses her experiences finding co-op and positively impacting patient care.

Carolina's co-op journey

Work term one: In her first work term, Carolina was a research assistant with , assisting with a project about physician workflow in emergency rooms in hospitals across Ontario.

Work term two: For her second work term, Carolina continued her time at Mount Sinai, this time as a clinical research assistant (oncology). She divides her time between the and the clinic working directly with patients.

Q&A with Carolina

How did you set yourself up for success in co-op?

“The summer after first year, I started my journey in the health-care system as a pharmacy assistant. Quite honestly, when you have limited experience, it’s such a challenge to find jobs in health care.”

“I was really motivated to find a job that summer because I knew my chances of getting a health-related co-op would be much higher if I had prior experience.”

“I found a job at a pharmacy near my house in Burlington where I was working as a pharmacy assistant. It was definitely not an easy job, but it was a great first experience in health care.”

“I got to have a lot of patient interactions and learn how a clinic operates. Most importantly, I learned a lot about prescription drugs, which has helped me with every co-op. That has helped me in everything that I do and in most classes that I take.”

Carolina Meyhofer Pedroso smiling in front of a tree

“When my first co-op came around, everyone I know told me that it would be hard to find a job, especially in health. Good jobs are matched with good students really quickly. I was scared about that, so I decided to apply for 50 jobs in cycle one.”

“It worked pretty well. I ended up getting 10 interviews. It can be overwhelming to have so many interviews at once. But eventually I was able to get a job at working at Mount Sinai.”

How have you become adaptable through co-op?

“I didn't really what adaptability meant before my first co-op, but after working in the emergency department, I learned you always need to be on your toes and things can change every second. There's always something new coming in through the doors and you have to be able to keep up with that, along with the physicians and be able to track everybody's data.”

“To remain adaptable in interviews, the best thing to do is research the company ahead of time to show that you care. I think the biggest part about finding a job, especially in health-care, is caring a lot about it. Caring about the patients, caring about the health-care system and caring about making a difference. I think if you can do that, then you can easily adapt to any job with those core values.

To be adaptable, you have to expect the unexpected. I think working in emergency embedded that in me.

Carolina Meyhofer Pedroso

What is the most memorable experience you had from your co-op terms?

“Getting to grow my independence. It wasn't a specific moment, but a general reflection on the term as a whole.”

“In my roles, I have had little direction from supervisors and while that was a bit scary at first, I realized that I was able to quickly adapt to the environment. This way I was able to grow my independence and realize that I can do this on my own. I really appreciated the trust and autonomy I was given in my work.”

Carolina Meyhofer Pedroso taking a mirror selfie in scrubs

“For my last co-op it was definitely a moment. There was a situation in one of the hospitals I was stationed at where there was a patient who had come in and was in a really bad situation.”

“When the patient came in, nobody knew what was going on because they didn't speak English. They only knew how to communicate in Portuguese, which is my first language. So, I stepped in and assisted the doctors with translation. It was a wonderful experience to be able to learn from the doctors but also support the patient when no one else could understand them.”

“Eventually, the patient was admitted and the family was extremely worried. I again helped the doctors communicate with the family overcoming any language barrier. Before they left, they gave me the biggest hug in the world. It was just the best feeling, getting to help somebody else in a moment of worry.”

What have you learned about the health care industry so far?

“Definitely a lot of good things and a lot of bad things as well. I got to see the duality of the system when you're working with so many different health-care providers, especially in my first work term."

“I saw a very realistic view of the health care system – both the good and the bad."

What’s next for you?

“I'm still undecided about what I want my future to look like, but my current plan is that I'll be taking four months off co-op to study for the MCAT and DAT.”