Goals
Professional/ Career Goals
SMART goals was a well-established tool that was instructed and rehearsed within my freshman year of college because the transition into adulthood can be stressful, overwhelming, and confusing but it can also be successful. S-specific, M-measurable, A-attainable, R-relevant, and T-time based help clarify ideas, focus your efforts, increase chances of getting things done, and encourage time and effort is used productively. With this in mind, I have created goals for myself, long and short term that help me direct my energy about things I am passionate about, strengthen my weaknesses, and use my strengths to my advantage. Just recently I wanted to get more involved within the community so with that intention I set a goal and a weak later I began volunteering at the soup kitchen in my local neighborhood. Goals in my opinion don't just have to be things you benefit from directly, when you work towards a goal you are essentially teaching yourself to have an open mindset, challenge new and unfamiliar things, and possibly travel new pathways in life. While everyday I explore new goals I also have ones that I work on each and everyday. My goals that I am currently focused on from my internship are below but I also have personal growths and achievements that I plan to accomplish.
Learning Goal 1: I want to gain leadership/independence skills and experience
What did you do at the internship to achieve this goal? What can you do remotely?
I believe as an intern I will gain leadership skills not only within my responsibilities regarding conducting and analyzing research but also demonstrate the confidence and leadership among my supervisors. My supervisors display strong qualities that have influenced me in ways to become a better version of myself. My supervisors have allows me to advocate for myself and take leadership positions on research I believe to be relevant and helpful towards our mission and project. Since we have not had access to data, I have been conducting my own literature reviews on NAS and with the constructive feedback and creativity handed down from my supervisors I have been motivated to be more independent within my internship and other activities outside of LHSI. Remotely I have been attempted to work with my best foot forwards regardless of the setbacks and be actively engaged in participating in zoom meetings.
Learning Goal 2: I hope to not only learn but be a part of a team, actively contributing to my supervisor, campus, and communities
What did you do at this internship to achieve this goal? What can you do remotely?
When there was a lack of "internship duties" to perform because of the minor setback of waiting around for the data I didn't let that stop me from doing everything I could to contribute towards our project. I actively and independently researched prevalent data from other research journals and articles so when the day comes that we do receive data I will be ready and know what to expect. I believe that online did play a big part of this process since I did not have access to the database I used my IUPUI resources and websites to review and apply everything I found.
Learning Goal #3: Build professional connections and long-term career development
What did you do at this internship to achieve this goal? What can you do remotely?
I believe since day one upon meeting, I was fortunate enough to have such great supervisors to work alongside and we were able to connect professionally. Communicating with them was never a "scary" thing to do, in fact I enjoyed our zoom calls and emails because I learned how to socially interact and create a professional relationship with my supervisors. I actually utilized these profound skills to go through an interview process and achieved a job as a Bepko Academic Mentor for the fall semester of 2021!
Other Goals Expected for Professional Growth
Compare and discuss healthcare professions and roles
The research revolved around the internship that we have done has opened my eyes to a variety of different fields, specialities, and professional healthcare roles provided within Pediatrics. While pediatrics connects with my dream of becoming an OB/GYN yet it has also allowed me to re-access my career goals and possibly develop interest in neonatology- caring for newborn infants that are premature and high-risk or specialize in maternal-fetal medicine.
Relate knowledge from classroom activities to internship and vice versa
I believe that because my major is Biology and I am within the School of Science and my internship focuses on medicine and healthcare they connect and apply knowledge that is interchangeable. I am confident that science and medicine provides a good foundation to continue to grow and improve upon goals that will advance my career.
Demonstrate mastery of online research
In all honesty, before this internship I had always struggled with utilizing online resources for research I never knew where to start, how to properly cite, etc. However, since the pandemic occurred this internship as well as many aspects of my life has been heavily relied on online interaction and research, which gave me the ability to master various softwares and resources to navigate and observe patients data.
How These Goals Align with My Career Options
For as long as I remember as "cheesy" as it may sound, I have always held an interest and passion for women healthcare and child development. Therefore diving deep into NAS research has given me a new career aspect of becoming an OB/GYN and possibly specializing in maternal-fetal medicine. This once in a lifetime opportunity has allowed me to explore and improve various goals that have made me challenge myself daily in order to exceed beyond my own expectations. Creating goals has given me the potential to assess what I want to gain from not only this internship but within life experiences. I have grasped the idea that this internship is what I make of it and so every little assignment can be a learning experience that I can use towards future career options. I believe that the goals I set up for myself not only align with my professional career but that they are all relevant in starting my journey within the world of medicine and healthcare. I have reached my goals because I learned to be confident in my abilities and strengths but also be self-aware of my weaknesses and how to reflect upon those.
Reflecting Upon LHSI Goals Then/Now
When I applied for LHSI as a freshman, everything was normal "pre-covid" and I didn't have to think twice about leaving my house and forgetting to wear a mask or having to be socially distanced from my friends and family in fear of the virus. In other words, I took advantage of the little things in life before the pandemic. While we continue to fight covid everyday, going into lockdown and being socially isolated allowed me to reflect on important aspects of my life. Keeping this in mind, my passion to pursue a career within the medical field strengthened as the demand for frontline healthcare workers skyrocketed even with numerous concerned friends and family trying to convince me otherwise, "that a career in the world of medicine was not worth it right now". At this point within my life I knew more than ever that becoming a doctor was exactly where I wanted to take my career pathway in order to help others. This clarity allowed me to not only reinforce my goals but create new ones to achieve milestones upon graduation and beyond. Many of the high hoped goals I approached LHSI with have become accomplished. With that, I have displayed successful interpersonal and independence skills that have supported me to build a strong foundation of professional network contacts to pave further opportunities. Therefore, with the goals LHSI has implemented through various activities and my internship site involvement, I proudly plan to perform accomplished goals and create new goals in order to improve upon my weaknesses.