Goals

Internship Goals

Labs & Procedures

For every experiment that I do as an intern, I have to write a full, detailed procedure and include my results. After I finish the procedure, I am required to perform the experiment again, but I am only able to use my notes that I wrote. In saying this, I am required to take extremely detailed notes the in order to get the optimal results that I received under supervision. This process helps build my active listening skills in that I am required to listen to every detail my supervisor tells me when he is walking me through the lab. In order to improve my formal procedure notes, my objective is to take detailed, rough-draft notes that I can alter or ask questions on as they arise.

Excel Fluency

Many employers or college courses find that using and being versed in Excel be extremely helpful and efficient. I am currently not very strong with this software as I have never used it much before coming into this research position. Overall, learning more about the excel software, what it is capable of creating and all the short-cuts within the program, will not only be useful to me as an intern, but it will also be helpful knowledge for whenever I may need it in the future. I plan on becoming better at using Excel by playing around with the app itself and using it more frequently.

Career Exploration

As of right now, I am highly interested and motivated to go into the medical field; however, since starting my internship, I have also been interested in pursuing research. The LHSI program and my supervisor have opened my eyes to the world of research and what exactly I could be capable of discovering with the right education and guidance. I, by no means, wish to leave my passion for medicine behind, but I am intrigued about what life may look like within the MD/PhD career.

Developing Professionalism

While working as a research intern, I would like to develop my character into a well-rounded professional. As of right now, I believe I contain many qualities of a professional. Some of these qualities are responsibility, directness, proactivity, and curiosity. I currently build on these characteristics of mine everyday, regardless of whether I am in the lab or not. However, there is one defining quality to a professional that I lack experience with, being formal oral communication. I would like to be able to speak in a more professional manner by the end of my LHSI internship. I will work on gaining this quality by watching my word choice and working on my anxiety related to professional speaking.

Career Goals

As a sophomore in college, I believe that I hold myself to extremely high standards and want to accomplish many things in my future career. Currently, I am planning on graduating in May 2024 and attending medical school in the fall. People always ask me why I want to go to medical school and why I would ever subject myself to so much stress and time in school. To some extent, I can see why they express these concerns. I sort of have a philosophy... individuals can accomplish anything with the proper motivation and drive to achieve what you set your mind to. In my specific case, I have set my mind to doing the two things I enjoy the most, which is learning about science and medicine, as well as helping those who need it most. Unfortunately, some individuals only set their mind on attending medical school for the salary and possibly because they have the skill set valuable to their field of interest; however, this does not fit into my specific case. I am one of the many few people that want to spend the rest of my life doing what I am passionate about rather than find an adequate job that doesn't necessarily interest me. Lucky for me, the job that I would enjoy doing the most just happens to have a nice salary, but it is not about the money by any means. The one thing that I want to accomplish in this lifetime is to know that I bettered the lives and health of individuals who have little to no access to the privilege of quality healthcare. I plan to accomplish this lifelong goal by becoming a successful physician and then participating in an organization similar to Doctor's Without Borders. I find the work that these people do fascinating and there's nothing that would bring me more satisfaction than helping people in under-served communities get access to proper healthcare.

Finnegan, J. (2018, November 6). Physician groups hope to work with CMS on E/M implementation, ensure fair reimbursement. FierceHealthcare. Retrieved December 23, 2021, from https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/practices/physician-groups-hope-to-work-cms-e-m-implementation.

(2018, June 25). 7 tips for making the most of your shadowing experience. Windsor University School of Medicine. Retrieved December 23, 2021, from https://www.windsor.edu/b/7-tips-for-making-the-most-of-your-shadowing-experience/.

Although I do have a good understanding of what I want to do when I retire, I do not quite know exactly what type of physician I would like to be, which may seem weird. I think this fact is okay, though. I believe that students going into medical school should keep their options open, minds clear, hearts less focused on the highest paying job, and more in tune with how they can make a difference in the healthcare field with their specific passions. I am doing all of these things, currently, and I am also exploring different career opportunities and emerging myself in the world of medicine to try and figure out what it is that I may or may not be interested in. Currentyl, I am partaking in research and I am also working as a part-time scribe at Eskenazi Emergency Department. In the near future I plan on shadowing multple physicians from general surgery and areas of oncology to see if I enjoy one specialty over the other. I feel like these opportunities that I currently have going for me will last me the entirety of my undergraduate career. If I am lucky, I will hopefully be able to balance more on my plate if I am able to manage my time more efficiently.

After working in a research lab for the past two semesters, I have expanded on my previous career goals. I still would like to one day be a physician; however, I am considering applying to an MD/PHD program, or simply doing research with an MD. I am still not completely certain what I would like to do or if I would like to add a research component. Needless to say, research has opened my eyes to the detailed science behind medicine and how I might be able to make a difference.

How has the time at your internship affected your career planning journey and goals? 

- After my internship through LHSI, I have come to the realization that a career in research is not for me. I am a people person and I do not believe that I will feel satisfied in a position where I do not get to talk to people everyday and collaborate heavily with others.

How confident do you feel in your self-knowledge and preferences and in using that to make career-related decisions? 

- Being able to explore this profession and speak with others about a career in research has allowed me to become more confident in my career preferences.

19 research activities at Rutgers. COVID. (n.d.). Retrieved February 24, 2022, from https://covid19research.rutgers.edu/covid19-research-overview.

Progress of Short Term Goals

Medical school is extremely competitive in this day an age. In order to achieve my long term goal of attending medical school in the Fall of 2024, I have to make and achieve several short term goals, some of which include:

MCAT Score of 518+
GPA of 4.0
Continous Volunteerism
Physician Shadowing
Research Publication

In order to obtain the first two goals, I will have to continue working hard and staying dedicated to my dream of being a physician. I have maintained a high GPA my whole life and I will try my best to maintain a 4.0 until graduation. In addition, I would prefer to score a 520+ on my MCAT, but the lowest I would be content with is a 518. The MCAT is going to be extremely tricky because it is an exam that tests over all your experience and years of learning. I plan on reaching my desired score by beginning MCAT review in the Summer of 2022 and taking the exam in April. The third bullet, continous volunteerism will not be a problem for me, as I am highly involved in VIDA and volunteer with them quite frequently. Another requirement to apply to medical schools is to have experience with shadowing physicians. I currently work in an Emergency Department and work for IU doctor, so I am planning on reaching out to multiple physicians in internal medicine and surgery to begin shadowing in the summer. The last goal I have for this semester and future semesters before applying to medical school is becoming published over the research I have done. This would mean the world to me if I would be able to put my hard work on display and show everyone just how much work and effort I put into my area of research. I feel like this would also make me stand out from other applicants and show how interested I am in all areas of science, including molecular biology and oncology.

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