Field trips and site visits also provide an opportunity for students and the program to connect with various businesses and organizations that might provide internships or employment opportunities for students and graduates. These businesses might also become more supportive—with ideas, opportunities and financial resources—of your program. Therefore, making contact with individuals and recording what they say can be an important aspect of a site visit.

Preparing for a Visit
One of the best ways to help students take maximum advantage of a site visit involves prepping them for the visit. That means talking about the company or encouraging them to check out the website, TripAdvisor comments and other sources of information about the company. That research typically builds interest in the visit, helps them to develop questions to ask and increases their interest in particular things they want to observe.

Encouraging or requiring students to prepare questions for the tour leader, chef, maitre d’hôtel, manager or owner is another way to help students prepare for a site visit. I require questions as often as I can—typically a week ahead—and then share them with the tour leader or host. It helps the professionals remember why you are bringing your students for the visit and keeps them focused on the purpose of the site visit. The students are also better prepared to ask questions because they have thought about them ahead of time.

Taking Notes
Sometimes, it is appropriate to provide students with a set of all their questions as a way to organize their note taking. If the questions are asked, then students can write down responses and have notes and even quotes for their field-trip report. (For more information see Mayo’s Clinic from May 2011, “Using Field Trips and Site Visits Effectively.”)

Some faculty members give students topics for their note taking or even forms so that students make sure to investigate and observe various aspects of what they are supposed to notice. For example, when taking students to visit a large commercial operation with several kitchens, providing them with the following list of items to look for and describe ensures that they bring the same perspective to observing the design of each kitchen: hand-washing equipment, number and types of ranges, sizes of ovens, types of reach-ins, prep areas, storage areas, dish-washing set up and HACCP systems. Otherwise, students can get overwhelmed with the new facilities and not notice several important elements.

A third way to encourage good note taking is to demonstrate the value of 3”x5” cards that can be placed in a shirt or pants pocket and are easier for taking notes—especially during a tour—than large notebooks. Using them yourself can provide good role modeling; pointing out that each item, quote or statistic can be described on one card also helps students use the note cards for both taking notes and later writing their papers.

Thank-You Notes
Who would have thought that we need to discuss with students the importance of thank-you notes. Many of us, however, have learned how important it is to remind students to write them and sometimes even what to say. Having good notes from a visit can help students write personal thank-you notes that are noticed and make a difference. It can help prevent the generic but useless thank-you note. Therefore, push students to take notes of the names of the speakers or tour guides, the actual address of the company and the details of the visit. Nothing is more embarrassing than a thank-you note that misspells a person’s name, mentions an incorrect date or describes something that did not happen. Good notes can prevent that problem—or at least diminish the chances—from ever occurring.

Summary
Thank you for reading this column on note taking. Next month we will discuss networking for students, a skill they know to learn, but which can often discourage them. We can help them learn, however, how to network and build their professional connections, an increasingly important activity these days.

If you have comments about this topic or suggestions for others, send them to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and I will include them in future Mayo’s Clinics.

Dr. Fred Mayo, CHE, CHT, is a clinical professor at New York University and a frequent presenter at CAFÉ events nationwide.