Goals & Learning

Career Goals

I am currently a phlebotomist at a plasma center and a patient care technician at a local hospital. After I graduate, I want to go to school to become a Physician Assistant. These are my goals because being a PA is something I am interested in. I really enjoy the work life balance that PAs have. I am interested in pursuing dermatology, women's health, or endocrinology. Also, I believe they play a critical role in the healthcare circle and I would love to be a part of that team in the future. I have done my research so I am sure of this career option. This year, this internship will help me determine what field I really want to go into and what experiences I should delve deeper into. This internship explores women's health so I will find out this year if I am interested in women's health as a career or not.

Now, this internship was able to confirm my interest in women's health and how I would like to pursue it as a possible specialty in PA school. I feel confident using my self-knowledge and preferences to make career-related decisions now. I was able to make a lot of progress in my goals especially learning about data management. This summer, I will start shadowing PA's in different specialties, especially women's health, to further my interest.

Reflecting on this experience, I feel much more assured in my ability to make thoughtful career decisions based on both experience and self-awareness. The internship provided a real-world context to apply what I already knew about myself—my interests, strengths, and values—and helped me see how those align with a career as a PA. I now trust my judgment more when it comes to choosing opportunities that will shape my future in healthcare.

Since submitting my LHSI application, my goals have become more focused and informed. Initially, I was broadly interested in the PA profession, but this internship helped narrow my interests to women’s health. I’ve also made progress by building technical skills like data management and gaining exposure to clinical environments. Looking ahead, my plan is to continue working as a patient care technician, begin shadowing PAs in multiple specialties over the summer, and engage in community health outreach opportunities. During my remaining time in college, I will focus on preparing for PA school applications by strengthening my clinical hours, academic record, and leadership experience. The hands-on learning and mentorship I received during this internship have directly influenced these plans and helped me shape a clearer path forward.

Internship Goals

Learning Goal #1: I want to explore the field of women’s health and see if it is something I want to pursue as a PA.

Relevance: This goal fits into my career journey because it will help me to figure out what field I want to pursue as a PA. This means that I can also have other experiences in women’s health that help me refine the field as well.

Action Plan:

1. Help in research in OB and health equity

2. Learn about extreme pre term birth and decisions that families have to make when going through that

3. Learn about shared decision making and how it impacts and supports the decisions that women make about their pregnancy and related outcomes

Progress: I definitely made a lot of progress in this section. Through listening to interviews, I was able to successfully learn about pre term birth and decisions that families have to go through. I was able to help the other research assistants in completing some of their tasks as well about health equity.

Learning Goal #2: I want to gain personal and professional skills related to working in a collaborative team

Relevance: As a future PA, I need to make sure I am able to work in a team because PA’s often work in a multicare team alongside nurses, doctors, physical therapists, and pathologists.

Action Plan:

1. Attend team meetings

2. Do health literature reviews

3. Collaborate with team and help take on workload—learning communication skills both written and orally.

Progress: I have definitely attending team meetings whether in person or when I was working from home. In my year of being an intern here, I did not complete literature reviews. However, I was still able to make towards my goal in other ways by collaborating with my team. Before starting my work, I always make sure to ask the team if they need help with anything before I start my own personal project.

Learning Goal #3: I want to strengthen my analytical and quantitative skills

Relevance: This will prepare me for the future in case I want to do research again my junior or senior year. This would mean I would already have the necessary skills allow me to take on the role faster and aid the team more.

Action Plan:

1. Learn how data can be collected in different ways

2. Learn how to store, clean, and manage data in secure data bases.

3. Work with secure data bases like IU RedCap

Progress: Through my work as an intern, I am definitely progressing to my goal and have reached it. Most of my work lies in IU RedCap, therefore I was able to learn how to work with secure data bases effectively. I was able to see how data was collected via interviews and survey formats. I had first hand experience in managing and cleaning the data as well.

Learning

In the fall, the skills I have been using a lot is communication and teamwork and I have gained my confidence in these skills. For communication, I always make sure to check in with the internship team right when I start my shift. Whenever I feel confused or need help with a task, I always make sure to communicate with my team. For example, we use Microsoft Teams a lot so I make sure to have it always open while I am working so I can quickly communicate with my team members on what I need to work on or any questions that I might have. For teamwork, I know I am growing in this skill and am using it because of how our team delegates our tasks so not one person is stuck with everything to do. We have small team meetings which really makes me feel part of the team. The internship team always CC's me on memos and other important information even when I am not in office.

In the spring, I have definitely been communicating with my team more. Also, since I have gotten my own personal project, I feel as though I am able to do a lot more work independently. I listen to the audio interviews on my own and I am able to edit the survey data to match the audio responses in case there are any mistakes. I like having my own independence versus having to constantly ask my supervisor/ research team what I need to do every time I come into the internship. I was definitely able to work on my problem solving skills as well.

In the fall, the skills from the survey I would like to continue to work on is independence and problem solving. To grow both my independence and problem solving skills, I think I need to start exploring RedCap and other researching methods on my own therefore I do not constantly have to ask for help. This will allow me to be more helpful towards the team as well. On my own, I need to learn to work with secure data bases more and be taught how to store, clean, and manage data so I can do it in the future by myself if my team needs my help.

In the spring, something I need to work on is learning to ask for help. There is no such thing a dumb question. I just need to be more vocal and express my opinions more.

This internship helped me gain a deeper understanding of my major because as a health science major we learn a lot about the study of well-being and care for those who are unhealthy. This internship, as it focuses on women's health, exemplifies what I am learning. It showcases the point of view of women who are experiencing peri viable birth in terms of their healthcare and the care that they are receiving. By working closely with the actual data itself, I saw how theoretical concepts—such as patient advocacy, health behavior change, and ethical considerations—play a role in real-life scenarios. This experience reinforced the importance of holistic, patient-centered care and strengthened my ability to evaluate and apply health science principles beyond the classroom.

To continue growing the skills I developed during my LHSI internship—such as data management, patient communication, and clinical awareness—I plan to seek out more opportunities that challenge me both technically and professionally. I will continue working in patient-facing roles to sharpen my interpersonal skills and clinical judgment, while also exploring volunteer roles in research or data collection to build on the foundational skills I gained during the internship. Additionally, I intend to take advantage of workshops, seminars, and student organizations related to healthcare to expand my knowledge base and professional network. These ongoing experiences will ensure that I continue building on the momentum I gained through LHSI and stay on track toward becoming a well-rounded and prepared PA school applican

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