My LHSI Internship
My Internship Experience
During the 2019-2020 academic year, I had the opportunity to do clinical research for Dr. Liana Apostolova at the Indiana Alzheimer Disease Center. Specifically, I participated in the LEADS study, which focuses primarily on people who have longitudinal early-onset Alzheimer's Disease (EOAD). This form of Alzheimer's Disease occurs before the age of 65. This research is significant because patients with EOAD are understudied, so the primary aim of LEADS is to fill this gap in Alzheimer's Disease research. Clinical, cognitive, and multimodal biomarker data is collected and analyzed from approximately 450 people, who are either cognitively impaired or cognitively normal. One of the ways this data is collected is through various imaging techniques (MRIs, PETs, etc.), which is one of the reasons why this internship was of particular interest to me.
What I Did
Some of my duties as an intern included data entry, filing and chart organization, prepping blood/CSF kits, and attending consensus meetings where diagnoses are discussed based on image analysis. I made sure everything was up to date and ready for each participant visit. The work that I did at my internship was very important because data entry is time-consuming but necessary for any research study. It involved inputting information online from all of the forms that were filled out during each of the participant visits. This helped keep track of what each participant had done and what they still needed to do. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I am not able to finish out my internship on-site, but my supervisor and I were able to work out a way where I could still work remotely. Now, I am working on a study that investigates how the novel coronavirus is impacting LEADS participant's social networks. I am responsible for collecting the data by conducting phone interviews. Below, you can find more information about this study.
About the Study
A visual summary of what LEADS is about.
COVID-19 SNAD Study
The Social Networks and Alzheimer's Disease (SNAD) study is a longitudinal study where information is collected about subjects' social networks, such as who they talk to about important information and who they rely on for help. The subjects are asked "generator" questions that are meant to generate a list of names the subject interacts with on a regular basis. The next step is to gather demographic information for these ties as well as relationship dynamics like how close they are to each other and what their relationship is like. Another major part of this study involves building a density matrix. This is best explained in an example: Information collected through generator questions reveals that a subject interacts with his/her brother and best friend almost daily. Not only would questions be asked about the relationship dynamics between the subject and the brother as well as the subject and the best friend but also about the relationship dynamics between the brother and the best friend and so on. In addition to social network data, information about socioeconomic status like quality of life, where they have lived, and what work they do is gathered. This data can be used to study how behavioral measures correlate to neuroimaging and neuropsych data. For instance, network size (how many people the subject interacts with) and changes in different regions in the brain associated with dementia/Alzheimer's disease may be studied to determine if there is any correlation between the two. In light of the recent COVID-19, a new set of questions has been added to this study to collect more data and examine subjects' social networks in this unique situation. I have been responsible for conducting 30 minute phone interviews and recording the data on RedCap, a secure web application for building online databases. Through this project, I have become more confident with conducting phone interviews and am happy to have been given this opportunity to develop a new skill.
Why I Chose It
This internship was a great match for me because it allowed me to explore radiology, the field I want to go into. Shadow opportunities, patient interaction, and the opportunities to learn other important skills like data entry exposed me to some of the daily tasks of a radiologic technologist. Also, I was very interested in the research topic because I wanted to learn more about how Alzheimer's Disease is diagnosed and how it progresses.
Expanding My Professional Network
Working at my internship offered me many opportunities to expand my professional network. I got to work closely with Dr. Apostolova and her team, and it was truly a pleasure working with and getting to know everyone. During the planning process for my poster, I worked with a doctor who is completing his fellowship training at my internship site. He told me a little about his experiences in medical school as well as in the field of radiography. I learned that he completed x-ray school before becoming a doctor, so I had the opportunity to ask him questions about a variety of topics.
My supervisor and I
Strengths
Organization was very important for this position because lots of files and data were coming in each day, and it was my job to sort it out so that it was easier to interpret later. I was able to keep up with everything due to my strong organizational skills. Being able to work together as a team was also a crucial part of this internship, and I think I excelled at this. Sometimes, a deadline required us to work together and divide up the responsibilities involved in certain tasks to get things done on time. I would always fulfill my role and work hard to do my part of the project quickly and effectively. Last, another strength that I was able to utilize a lot for this position was my communication skills. I am very approachable, friendly, and can easily express myself. This was helpful in establishing meaningful relationships and connections with my co-workers as well as for networking opportunities. Not only was I able to improve these skills that I already had, I was also able to gain new ones thanks to my internship experience. One of these new skills is professionalism. Many of the other team members exhibit this quality, and I was able to observe and learn from their examples. Another major skill I gained was knowledge about the research process and data entry. I think having this knowledge will greatly benefit me if I choose to apply to more research opportunities in the future.
Challenges
The biggest challenge at my internship was becoming familiar with all of the abbreviations and new terms I was learning daily. Also, keeping up with the procedures for data entry was difficult because of the frequent changes made by the IRB, as is common for all research studies. For instance, consent forms are updated very frequently, so it was important to keep track of all the updates to avoid inputting incorrect data. My team helped me overcome this by always being available to answer questions and explain to me various aspects of the work I did. This not only solidified how to do my work, but also helped me understand the meaning behind different tasks. A new challenge I am facing as I near the end of my internship is conducting phone interviews. It's definitely out of my comfort zone, but, for my training, I practiced with a fellow intern at my site and the director of the COVID-19 study. They gave me excellent feedback as well as tips for what to say in different scenarios. I have successfully completed several interviews now, and I am becoming more and more confident.
Expectations vs Reality
Before I started my internship, I expected to be able to start working on tasks within a week after I completed the required training. I quickly learned that there are a lot more steps in the training process for clinical research than I thought. In addition to the training, paperwork had to be signed so I could get access to the data entry system. I also needed to get card access to the office as well as a parking permit. In the end, all of these things took about a month and a half to complete. Although I was eager to start working on the study, I understand that these steps were necessary to ensure the safety and protection of participants' rights. Another thing I expected was to have more tasks involving patient interaction. The description of the site said I would be responsible for scheduling patient visits, interacting with the study population, and performing informant interviews. During my internship, I was mainly responsible for data entry and chart organization. Last, I didn't expect to have as much independence. After a short time of working there, I knew where everything was and what I was expected to get done without having to ask many questions. I could tell that my supervisor trusted that I would get everything done correctly and in a timely manner. I liked the independence because it challenged me to work on my professional skills; if I had someone telling me exactly what to do all of the time, I wouldn't have been in certain situations that I was able to learn from.
How My Internship Has Impacted My Professional Goals
One way my internship has impacted my professional goals is by providing me with insight about myself in regards to what kind of career I would like/dislike. For instance, at my internship, I spent a lot of my time independently working at my desk, entering data. I realized that I need a career where I'm on my feet, frequently interacting with people. Also, many of the tasks I was responsible for were somewhat repetitive and not challenging once I got familiar with them. I discovered that I would not be happy with a long-term career that involved performing these types of tasks. I want my future career to be fulfilling, to challenge me, and to push me out of my comfort zone. By giving me the opportunity to learn more about myself in a professional setting, my internship allowed me to evaluate and narrow down my career options to one that I could really picture myself enjoying. My internship also exposed me to other careers within my field of interest, and I was able to learn more about them through shadowing experiences. This really peaked my interest in radiologic technology and influenced me to change my major from Biology and Forensic Sciences to Radiography.
Connections to Classwork
One of the classes I took this semester involved learning about the different systems of the human body. One of these systems is the nervous system, and I had many different opportunities to apply this to my internship. For example, since Alzheimer's disease primarily affects the nervous system, I was able to gain a better understanding of how and why it does this. Another opportunity to apply what I was learning in the classroom to my internship involved my main task as an intern: data entry. In my chemistry labs, I often record extensive data from the experiments I perform, and it is necessary to make sure it is very detailed and organized. This was also important in my internship because without detailed and organized notes, important data that yields significant information about the participants could be lost. What I was learning in my medical terms class also applied to my internship because a lot of the forms I uploaded to the data capture system contained lots of medical terms and abbreviations. This was very helpful in my class because I could actually apply the terms at my internship which helped me remember what they mean.
My Ideal Workplace
At my internship, most of the work was completed independently, with each team member's independent work contributing to the larger project. Therefore, although we often didn't physically work together on tasks, the success of the project depended on the work of everyone. Progress on tasks and other updates were communicated formally through meetings. Occasionally, there were scheduled events to celebrate birthdays, baby showers, farewell parties, etc. Everyone I worked with was very friendly and easy to talk to, and they made me feel comfortable and welcome throughout my whole experience. During my internship, I had not personally witnessed many opportunities for career growth and professional development, but I do know that there were seminars and other informational meetings that employees were welcome to attend. My supervisors were very flexible with hours as long as it was reasonable.
My ideal workplace is a friendly environment with lots of opportunities for social interaction. I like an environment where people feel comfortable enough to joke around with each other but still know how to productively work together. I also like to clearly know what is expected of me and what needs to be accomplished each day. In addition, my ideal workplace offers guidance when I need it, but also allows a significant amount of autonomy. I prefer a set schedule with predictable hours, but if things come up where I would need to switch my hours, I would like to be able to do so easily. As far as career growth and professional development, I would like to be informed frequently of opportunities to expand my knowledge. I want to be able to continuously challenge and improve myself.
The main difference between the workplace at my internship and my ideal workplace is the amount of social interaction. At my internship, the majority of my time was spent at my computer independently working on a task. Another major difference is the opportunities to challenge myself. As an intern, I think I had a lot of these opportunities just because it was new, but, over time, I think the tasks I was responsible for would become routine and these opportunities would decrease. Other than that, I think my internship site fits my ideal workplace fairly well. My favorite part about my internship was the friendly and positive atmosphere, which I think is very important in any work environment.
Internship Goals
Become more confident in my chosen field of study
To achieve this, I will participate in shadowing opportunities in radiology, go to the Imaging Lab to be exposed to MRIs and PET scans, and interact with patients.
Progress: I have definitely become more confident in my chosen field of study. Thanks to the shadowing opportunities my internship gave me, I decided to apply to the undergraduate radiography program at the IU School of Medicine. I recently got accepted, and now I am on my way to becoming a radiologic technologist!
Make new connections in the radiology field
To accomplish this goal, I will shadow different doctors for references, attend LEAD events/community events, and be exposed to different people in radiology.
Progress: I had the pleasure of meeting several radiologic technologists who were able to share their experiences and answer my questions about their profession. I also worked with doctors on various tasks and had the opportunity to observe a consensus meeting. This gave me insight into the field of radiology and provided me with multiple perspectives that reflects the diversity of it.
Be able to apply the knowledge gained in the classroom to what I will be doing in my internship
I will be learning about the nervous system in the body for biology. This relates to my internship because I will learn how Alzheimer disease affects the normal functioning of the nervous system. Some terms may overlap between the classroom and the internship. In my chemistry labs, I collect and interpret data all the time. I will be doing the same thing in my internship only in a real-life situation.
Progress: Although I did not directly apply the knowledge gained in my biology class, I most certainly applied what I was learning in my chemistry labs by organizing and recording data. I also applied what I was learning in my medical terms class because a lot of the documents I had to upload to the electronic data system contained medical abbreviations and terms that I recognized from my class.
Gain new skills
By the end of my internship, I want to know how to perform imaging techniques like an MRI or PET scan and be able to recognize abnormalities on brain scans that lead to diagnoses of disease. I will gain this knowledge by observing various scans and consensus meetings where image analysis is discussed. Another skill I would like to master is electronic data entry. This is one of my main tasks as an intern, so I want to be quick, efficient, and accurate. I will accomplish this by practicing and asking questions. In addition, I want to grow as a professional. There are many people who I work along side with at my internship that display good professionalism, so I can learn through observing how they behave and handle certain situations in the workplace. Last, I want to learn how to effectively communicate with patients.
Progress: I didn't learn how to analyze brain scans, but I definitely became more familiar with identifying major structures on them. I am much more confident with electronic data entry. With the new study I am working on, I have been completely independent and am now very familiar with the process. I am also more confident as a professional. This was my first professional job, so it was new to me, but I was exposed to various situations that I was able to learn from.
