Slowly settling in

I've been in my new job now for five weeks. I still have a lot to learn but I am starting to feel the new-kid-on-the-block jitters fade away. I had my first monthly meeting with my supervisor yesterday. This guy knows how to manage people. During the hour long meeting, I was given a draft of his proposed goals and achievements for me to accomplish in the next one to three months. We talked about them and I was given a chance to offer feedback. When it comes time for my performance evaluation, material from these meetings will be used to evaluate my job performance.

He fully understands that if I get bored or don't feel I am allowed to work to my potential, I can become a problem child. I never made a secret of that. This week I took a course in Contribute, which is the software the University uses to produce and manage its many websites. Man! I was like a kid on Christmas morning. I loved learning how to do that. When I feel comfortable, I will take over the management and production of our division's website.

THEN we talked about our division's newsletter. Now, folks, I know newsletters! I have a lot of experience and training and I know how to use newsletters to showcase whatever it is you are doing, whether it be selling homes in real estate, promoting a chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club, or letting the world know the value of the Clinical Translational Science Institute at the University of Rochester Medical Center! I bounced a few thoughts off him and he readily agreed with me. He allowed me to be editor as opposed to someone who just collects articles from people and plops them into a newsletter. That really made my day. I want the focus of the newsletter to be toward the lay person who, although intelligent, most likely does not have a technical background nor understand clinical research jargon, but who will understand when you tell them, "this is what this research is going to do for YOU." People know about cancer and heart research and they are willing to donate to those causes. But even many people that work at the Medical Center don't have a good understanding of how the CTSI can benefit them. I hope the newsletters that I produce will put the spotlight on the CTSI in the community.

Stay tuned!