Learning Goal #1 Develop a greater understanding of clinical research and the processes involved.
What tasks, responsibilities, projects, or activities will you do to meet this goal?
1. Review the protocols of current and future studies
2. Participate in patient recruitment for the various studies contribute to
3. Review and manage patient data submitted to REDCap
Throughout my internship I have been able to develop a far greater understanding of the clinical research process due to my involvement in weekly meetings, protocol review, REDCap use, and more.
Learning Goal #2: Utilizing scientific research to develop a greater understanding of gastrointestinal diseases
What tasks, responsibilities, projects, or activities will you do to meet this goal?
1. Participate in weekly meetings to discuss all ongoing studies with the research team
2. Review study protocols and participate in additional research
3. Discuss studies with patients and conduct further research into the studies
My work with Dr. Shin has allowed me to learn about a number of various different gastrointestinal diseases. This has also further developed my interest in gastroenterology and has made it a field that I am interested in working in the future.
Learning Goal #3: Develop in discussing and communicating scientific findings to other individuals and develop professional communication skills
What tasks, responsibilities, projects, or activities will you do to meet this goal?
1. Internal communications with individuals on the study team
2. Participate in patient recruitment to further develop communication skills with patients
3. Discuss reports and publishing study materials within the team as well as sharing our research with the scientific community.
I have been able to greatly improve my communication skills as a professional due to my involvement with research. I have learned a lot about email and meeting etiquette which has allowed me to develop greater communication skills.
Overall, throughout my time at my LHSI site my overall career goals have not changed. I am still incredibly passionate about pursuing a career in healthcare due to the interesting science and ability to help others in need. My internship has allowed me to continue to progress further into my achieving my goal as it has allowed me to learn more about the field of gastroenterology, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, diseases, and other aspects of healthcare. Additionally, my internship has allowed me to participate in writing research papers which will further develop my graduate school applications. My internship supervisor has also allowed me to learn more about gastroenterology and helped further develop my interests in this specialty.
In the near future I plan on spending time shadowing physicians and PAs to allow me to develop a greater understanding of the ways in which these members of the healthcare team provide care for patients. With the help of my research team I am also looking to publish a research paper investigating the the psychological impacts of the various IBS subtypes. By this time next year I plan to continue to work with Hendricks Regional Health to further my knowledge of healthcare and create a great graduate school application. I also plan on starting to prepare my graduate school applications to be better prepared for the time to apply.
My internship has helped to reinforce my career plans and goals as well as increasing my interests in science and healthcare. One way in which my internship has reinforced my career plans is through assisting in my learning of gastroenterology and additional experience within healthcare. Prior to my internship I was interested in gastroenterology however, I had little to no experience within the field and was not aware of how diverse, complicated, and intriguing GI diseases may be. This information that I have learned throughout my internship has helped to reinforce my interest into the field and passion to potentially pursue a career within this field as a PA. Furthermore, the internship has allowed me to learn more about my internest as a professional and has helped me to increase my confidence in making career related decisions and has helped me develop a plan to help me achieve my goals.