My Experience

Successes and Challenges

Getting a lot of clinical experience during my internship has been one of my biggest accomplishments this year. This experience has greatly improved my practical abilities and provided a strong foundation for my career in nursing by enabling me to apply what I've learned in nursing school to real-life scenarios. In particular, I actively used my theoretical understanding of how to perform vital signs, such as how minor events like not having your arm at heart level can affect blood pressure.

However, I've had trouble understanding medical terms, which at first made it hard to communicate with medical professionals. I asked my work cohort for advice on how to get over this, and they suggested that I question about unfamiliar terminology. This enhanced my understanding and made clear the significance of ongoing education in the medical field.In order to ensure that I can communicate effectively in all clinical settings, I intend to read medical articles and medical books. Through these experiences, I have learned the importance of ongoing education.

LHSI Internship Experience

I would recommend becoming an LHSI intern to any student. It’s a great way to grow both personally and professionally, and it helps you build a network and get comfortable in real healthcare settings. My greatest accomplishment as an intern was learning hands-on nursing skills like how to take vital signs and perform blood draws. These are things I’ll use every day as a nurse, and getting to practice them early gave me a lot of confidence. One of the challenges I faced during my internship was when the charge nurse I was really close with left. For a while, there wasn’t a clear replacement, and that made things feel a little confusing and overwhelming. But I made sure to ask for help when I needed it and stayed focused on what I was there to learn. That really helped me push through. I gained so many transferable skills from this experience, not just the basic nursing tasks, but also professionalism, time management, and learning how to navigate a hospital setting as a student nurse.

Workplace

In my current role, I actively assist and watch over registered nurses (RNs) while they carry out various activities. I currently assist the nurses by collecting prescriptions, setting up supplies, and taking patient vitals. I'm also committed to lifelong learning, and this internship has allowed me to learn a ton of brand-new skills and knowledge. I aim to be able to perform some fundamental medical procedures by the end of the year, like drawing blood samples on my own. That would be a fantastic accomplishment. As an intern, I learned how to take vital signs and draw blood independently with careful guidance and observations of my colleagues. One difficulty I've had is that certain medical procedures require practical experience. To address this, I'm asking for help and practicing under supervision.

As my internship progresses toward its conclusion, I've observed significant evolution in my role and responsibilities. My main responsibility at first was helping with patient care, especially with blood draws that were crucial to our studies. There were additional difficulties in making sure that blood samples and vital signs were taken on time, particularly when there were several patients. But with my coworkers' help and collaboration, I've become more capable of handling these responsibilities on my own. I also started nursing school during this time, marking the beginning of a new chapter in my professional development. My working hours had to be reduced to juggle the demands of my internship and college coursework, but I've been able to succeed in all areas.

My contributions, while seemingly tiny, have had an actual effect on our team's overall goals and mission. I've developed into a dependable asset by skillfully managing responsibilities on my own, especially during busy times, which helps the department run more smoothly. My position on the team has changed from that of a mere participant to that of an essential support member who boosts output and helps us accomplish our goals as a group.It has been eye-opening to work with a team that is so diverse since it has allowed me to absorb knowledge from a range of viewpoints, experiences, and backgrounds. This diversity has encouraged innovation and creativity within our team in addition to enhancing my problem-solving skills. In summary, I am thankful for the learning opportunities and the support structure that have allowed me to make a significant contribution

Project Summary

I interned at the IU Simon Cancer Center, At my internship site, we work as nurses to support procedures like blood draws, vital signs, infusions, and various medical procedures while guaranteeing patient safety to help researchers in their efforts to develop healthcare. The motivation behind this effort is the trust that such research would result in more efficient treatments and improvements to the healthcare system. Our main focus is on collecting and handling data for safe medical research. One interesting study going on onsite is the Audacity study. Which has more than 550 participants and is ongoing globally. The Audacity study primarily targets those who suffer from unhealthy excess body fat. The significance of our research is demonstrated by our patient's participation in certain studies, which reveal their last hope following failed attempts at traditional treatments.

LHSI Ambassador

Becoming an LHSI Ambassador was a decision driven by my desire to give back to the community that supported me. As an intern, I grew significantly, and I wanted to help incoming students feel the same confidence I gained through the program. Supporting new interns and making them feel comfortable has been incredibly rewarding, and it has deepened my understanding of the behind-the-scenes work that makes LHSI run smoothly. This role has not only allowed me to grow as a leader but has also helped me develop valuable skills like time management, organization, and team collaboration while balancing ambassador duties with clinicals, coursework, and my job.

Through my clinical experiences, I’ve gained more responsibility and independence, which has reinforced my passion for nursing. Additionally, being an ambassador has enhanced my appreciation for the “soft skills” like communication, organization, and leadership that are emphasized in our classes. My strengths as an ambassador were my reliability, my ability to connect with others, and my supportive presence. The role was a bit different than I expected, especially in terms of the planning and flexibility to create positive experiences for others. I’ve gained transferable skills such as Tabling, public speaking, peer mentoring, and professional communication. Most importantly, this experience has built my confidence in leading and supporting others while continuing my own personal growth.

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