Welcome Ashley Miller to the MCR Medical family! We're so happy to have you helping our customers in the front office. You, along with Cindy Young (another talented and recent MCR addition), are pushing us further than we ever thought we could take the company. The passion you bring to our office is contagious -- in a good way -- and we're looking forward to doing even more in 2015!
I asked Ashley to write about her first impressions of us and the company. Not giving her much guidance in what I was looking for, this is what she had to say:
Just recently joining the MCR team, I was taken back by their kindness. I was welcomed with open arms and treated as if I had been here for years. Not only was their hospitality noticed, but their hard work ethic as well. I can recall during the interview process being asked where I envisioned myself in let’s say the next ten years. I didn’t have an answer for them; all I knew was that with them is where I wanted to be - learning, helping others and growing with an amazing company. The growth of this company is unbelievable and the ability to maintain the close customer relationships they have is mind blowing. Within this short time I’ve been here I’ve learned so much. Not just computer software and how to take an order over the phone, but so much more than the outside eye would perceive.
We’ll start first with the products. During my first or second day of shadowing I was given a tour around the warehouse. I remember distinctly being told something along the lines of “this is where the “so and so” items used to be, but the quality of product we were receiving wasn’t living up to our MCR brand standards so we’re no longer carrying that particular product”. That right there says it all; being affiliated with and organization that actually stands behind the products that they are offering to their customers and not just shipping out something that will make a quick buck for them.
During my tour I was also introduced our team of employees. Afterwards, I learned that MCR has a very close relationship with ViaQuest Employment Services, an organization that helps special needs children and adults stay stimulated with work or activities along with assisting them with any other needs they may have that might be a little more difficult for them to do themselves, including but not limited to, work placement and housing. Working for MCR and knowing their involvement in the community makes me feel like I personally am a part of something that is making the lives of others better. Which leaves me feeling accomplished and proud of my affiliation with them.
Continuing on with my affiliation with MCR, I was pleasantly surprised that not only did my working training consist of my everyday office tasks but CPR and First Aid training as well. I have been certified for the past four/five years through an old employer that made it a requirement. Not knowing much beyond the basics of what’s illustrated on a laminated poster that’s required by most employers to hang in various locations around the work environment, my training consisted of 5-7 short videos (that where mentally exhausting) and a few breaths/CPR compressions into a manikin.
I was looking forward to broadening my knowledge of the proper protocol for various first aid and CPR emergencies. Not knowing any better, I considered myself “certified” based on a little card saying I was. Had an actual emergency took place I cannot guarantee I would even know where to start.
Until I came here.
I was instructed on the various emergencies, how they may differ and how to act calmly and promptly. With all the proper training supplies at my finger tips and the guidance of an amazing team to educate me, I can now honestly say I feel more than comfortable in my abilities to attempt to resuscitate an infant, child or adult. The material I’ve learned here was simply bypassed in my previous training. Like tilting the head back to make sure the air way is clear when giving breaths or the amount of pressure to use on an infant when doing chest compressions. It was only after learning all this new material I came to realize how important it is to make sure that you are properly trained and that you feel comfortable using your skills if the time ever comes.
Coming to work is no longer an obligation or chore for me. Having a passion for something you do truly does make your career feel more like a life style. Being able to educate our customers and myself daily on our products and their capabilities has given me a completely different outlook on the medical field and its services. Being involved with an organization that gives back to the community brings a peace to me and knowing that I’m now a part of a something so much bigger than I can fathom is reassuring and hopeful.
Wow, I was not expecting that!! Goes to show you never know what another person is thinking until you ask. I'd always hoped to make people feel welcome in our office and empowered to act in any emergency, but never imagined it could have such a profound impact on a person's perception of us as a management team and by extension, a company as a whole. Thank you Ashley for your kind words!
