My Internship

My internship is with Dr. Desai, gastroenterologist. Currently I am in two studies under her supervision. As of right now I am writing up a proposal to submit to the IRB concerning social determinants of health and how it affects the outcome of patients with chronic liver disease. The second study focuses on patients who have had liver transplant surgery and whether they are experiencing any anxiety, stress, or PTSD. With this second study, I am enrolling patients into the study and performing simple physical activity tasks with them. 

Learning and Skills

So far my internship site has been very welcoming and understanding of me. I came in knowing only a little bit of what was expected. For example, part of my study is to write an IRB proposal, I am familiar with writing but not in a scientific IRB proposal sense. My supervisor took the time to meet with me in person to go over what is expected with this proposal and gave some tips and advice on how to constructively write a well written proposal. I have used what I learned from my supervisor to write a well-written proposal for our new study. With the skill of communication, I was able to reach out to my supervisor when I was in need of assurance and help. 

I am also involved in enrolling patients into an occurring study about post transplant surgery vs PTSD. I was trained on how to speak with patients, HIPPA rules, and consent. I also shadowed the research coordinator to see what it is like to enroll patients. After shaddowing for a couple days I was able to enroll patients myself with the help of my research coordinator, Janeth. She helped me every step of the way and let me know how I can improve the way I speak with patients, how I handle to physical tests with them, and how to enter the data. 

One thing that has been challenging for me is reading and understanding scientific journal articles. After getting assigned multiple articles and having Dr. Desai teach me how to effectively read these articles, I am more confident in what I have read and can easily organize my thoughts into a document. 

My biomedical class is where I first learned how to read and analyze scientific journal articles. Learning from this class in high school really helped my in college. Not only did I need this skill for my courses, but as well as for my internship. Reading and analyzing scientific journal articles is one of my responsibilities in order to write the IRB proposal. 

My favorite experience so far has been enrolling patients and performing the simple physical tests with them for the study on post liver transplant vs PTSD. The physical tests include a grip strength test, a balance test, and a sit-up test. For the grip strength I show them how to use the dynamometer which measures hand grip strength and we measure the strength three times. For the balance test we observe to see whether the patient can stand feet together, feet half tandem, and feet full tandem for a total of ten seconds. Lastly, for the sit-up test we test how long the patient takes to complete five sit-ups from the chair. 

I was able to do primary literature review for the first study on social determinants of health. That is what got the study going. It gave us a baseline and told us what we needed to measure for the study and how we should do it. I also helped enroll patients in the PTSD study which helped me learn how to properly communicate with patients while also performing the simple physical activities required for them. For the medications study I am also doing literature review and chart review.

So far what I have done is literature review, enrolling, chart review, and data input. These skills will help me in the future. 

The research we are doing will hopefully improve the care for patients who have been diagnosed with liver disease. 

My skills have definitely strengthened over the course of this internship. I have been a stronger communicator, with Dr. Desai, Janeth, and the patients. I am able to uphold professional conversations with the people on my team. I am able to work independently and showcase what I have done so far to Dr. Desai and bring up any questions or concerns I have to her. 

I would like to strengthen my skill of asking for help. I have been active in asking for help over the entirety of the semester from the LHSI ambassadors and my supervisor. I feel like I could have asked more questions to clarify the minute details from my teammates. 

The Workplace

Both Dr. Desai and Janeth have shown what it is like to be professional in a healthcare setting. I look up to them and use them as my models to how I should act in the hospital. Working in the hospital requires me to be professional, humble, polite, and empathetic. I show up to the hospital in business attire with my school badge which identifies me as a student intern so patients know what organization I am apart of and so they feel comfortable.  

Everyone in this research team has been so understanding and supportive of me joining. I am very eager to learn from all of them because of the support they give me. I am not afraid to ask questions when I need help. I am constantly learning from each and one of them in order to grow professionally.  

I am the only student intern at this site so I mainly work with my supervisor, Dr. Desai, and her research coordinator, Janeth. I learn something new every day from them whether it is a small fact about medications to learning how to interact with patients. 

Going into this internship I thought I would need to dedicate a lot of time and commitment. But Dr. Desai is understanding of my school schedule and how I am a full time student. So she makes sure I am not too overworked because school should be the number one priority. Both Dr. Desai and Janeth are also understanding of my class schedule and are willing to work around my schedule when I have upcoming exams or club meetings I need to attend. 

Professionally, I have grown to make my own schedule and make sure I have certain parts of the project done by specific deadlines Dr. Desai has put forth. I also make it a mission to do the best I can so she can see the hard worker I am and that I would like to continue researching under her supervision. 

As I have said before, I really like the work environment I am in. Sometimes I will go into the hospital to enroll patients, and other times I am able to stay at my apartment and do literature review or chart review. Both Dr. Desai and Janeth are very helpful in making sure I am on task and doing the job correctly. 

Successes and Challenges

My first success is when I was first able to do the physical tests with the patients. After a couple weeks of shadowing Janeth, I was able to complete my first physical test on a patient on 11/10/2022. As Janeth was watching me perform the physical examination she gave me advice and pointers for my next patient. This was very exciting as it was my first time actually getting involved with the study and being able to interact with the patients. 

So far what has been challenging is being able to go to the hospital as much as I can. As the year is progressing, I am getting more and more busy with class work so it sometimes gets difficult to go into the hospital for the study. But on days were I am too burnt out to actually go to the hospital, Dr. Desai and Janeth are understanding and I do my work from home.