My LHSI Internship ('21-'22)

This internship will improve my skills by pushing me to communicate with others on a research study. I already have research skills from my experiences of making my experiments and research papers from the International Baccalaureate program, so joining a large-scale study will improve my research skills.  

I'm pretty excited about being an active part of the ongoing research studies! My supervisors said they don't typically allow undergraduate students to conduct interviews, but I get to interview physicians for the research study and be a data manager for another survey. I'm learning how to be an active person who plays an active role, so I'm working hard to voice my opinions and chiming in with ideas that may help things flow easier. I'm also getting a lot of excellent experience in the database, IU REDCap, which I'm sure I'll see more of in the future. 

After observing professionals in the workplace this school year, I hope to have at least half of the sanity of Mrs. Hoffman and Dr. Tucker Edmonds! Their workloads are very demanding, and everything on their to-do list appears to be a priority. Their email inboxes could drive anyone crazy! Therefore, as a professional, I hope to manage a workload like them with ease and manage my time even more effectively. I love the workplace because I learn something new every day. Growing into a professional, I hope learning will be enjoyable rather than a burden. Going into the workplace with them is fun, so I want all of my future workplaces to be just as enjoyable. 

I am surprised about the day-to-day life at the office because I thought I would have a more passive role on the team and complete various tasks. However, it's been the opposite! I feel like an integral member of the team who contributes a lot. Attending meetings, receiving updates on the research studies, and meeting participants have been eye-opening experiences. I can view so many perspectives concerning periviable delivery through these research studies. I take the positive as a research assistant to speak with providers, healthy families, experienced families, and other members on the team and learn where everyone overlaps or disagrees. 

The workplace culture is very comforting. That may be an odd way to describe it, but I feel welcomed at my internship site. There are high expectations, but I have never felt as though I was under insurmountable pressure and stress. My supervisors are incredibly kind and find ways for us to have outings outside of work despite their busy schedules. I can always ask questions and learn something new, which I love. Something that surprised me when I became an intern was being asked, "what do you want to learn?". It may seem strange to be amazed at that question, but I do not think I have ever been asked what I wanted to learn in my past experiences. In this workplace culture, I feel seen and appreciated. Not only that, but I do a ton of independent work that contributes to a team. I love working independently and wanted to get more experience with teamwork, so I feel like this internship helps me gain exposure to that. With all that being said, this internship site is ideal workplace culture.