Goals
Internship Goals
I want to gain a couple of different things from this internship including new skills and a new perspective. This lab uses a lot of procedures such as cell cultures, western blots, staining, and microscope usage. I have been able to watch a few of these procedures and learn them in hopes of replicating it myself. I want to start a project that contributes to the ongoing research within the lab. I would like to do something that the other people in the lab can learn from as well. Lastly, I would like to improve my communication skills with the different people I work with like MDs, lab technicians, and med students.
Goal Number 1: To be familiar with the lab setting and how a lab really works. To understand what it is like to work on a single project and see it to completion which includes learning more lab skills.
Working alongside technicians and researchers in the lab. Developing skills like sterile cell culture, dna/rna isolation, and protein isolation. Develop some basic skills so that I can understand what is going on in the lab. Once I have the basic skills down then I can learn new skills that specialize to the experiments that I will carry out. In learning new procedures, I will understand the way a lab functions and how everyone’s research fits in. I have learned how to use both microscopes, prepare cell cultures, and create slides.
Goal Number 2: I would really like to be confident in my work and find a way to share it with other people. I also want to have a way to get feedback on my work so that it can better than before.
We will have lab meetings where we will share what we have been working on and I will meet with Dr. Sears to keep track of my progress. The other people in the lab will also be there to help with any confusion and what the purpose of all the procedures are. I have met with Dr. Sears a couple of times to discuss my progress and eventually find a project that will be a fit for me.
Goal Number 3: I also would like to learn more about laboratory work and have more background knowledge on the type of work that goes on in this specific lab.
It will take a few weeks to develop the basic skills and really learn about the lab before starting my own experiment. I will start off with just observing and asking questions. I will eventually get a chance to work alongside them and once I am comfortable, on my own. Attending things like lab meetings will help me understand the big picture of the work that goes on at the lab.
Career Goals
Some of the goals that I have for my professional growth are to learn a new skill, network, and challenge myself. I think I will have many opportunities to learn new skills throughout the year. I have even started to this a month into the internship. In order for me to network I will have to produce work that is very thorough which is something I will work on over the nine months. I will also have to talk to all the different people working in the lab in order to network properly. Lastly, I want to use this experience as a way to challenge myself. I think that will be achieved by just working on my project and trying to produce results that go well with the research.
Improvement
As an intern I have been able to improve my goals such as having better communication skills and more confidence in my work. It has also impacted my career planning journey by giving me reassurance of the field that I would like to continue in. I feel a lot more confident in knowing what I enjoy doing and how I can use that to make my career decision. I really like doing detailed work and going through the right steps to reach the final goal. I also enjoy interacting and collaborating with the other members of my lab and have their insight on certain things. Knowing all this information, I think my choice in wanting to pursue dentistry is the right decision for me. It combines detailed work and human interaction into a very great career.
What's Next
I have a couple of goals for this summer that coincide with my career. I plan on finishing the DAT by the end of August and have around 30 hours of shadowing completed. My goals for the rest of my time at IUPUI are to study abroad, become an RA, become a TA, take an art class, and work at the dental school. These are a lot of different goals that range from helping my career to trying it out for fun. I think studying abroad would be a wonderful experience and develop my cultural understanding of the world. This is an important skill to have when interacting with so many different people throughout my life. I would also like to take an art class because the Heron School offers some great courses and it is a good way to keep my mental health in check when my other academic endeavors start to get difficult. I will be an RA starting next fall which is very exciting. I love to guide and support incoming freshman in their journey through IUPUI. It will be an interesting job that presents different challenges to this LHSI internship which will be interesting to navigate. Another goal is to be a TA for one of my classes so that I can keep up with my own biology and chemistry skills but also help others create a deeper understanding of the course.