Goals & Learning

Career Goals

From this internship I have fallen in love with laboratory work, and know it is something I want to continue to do with my career path. I like working in a more research environment compared to clinical, and I have figured this out after a few shadowing opportunities. I know I want to further my education with either going to graduate school for cancer biology, or into medical school for pathology. I feel confident in the choices I am making for my future, using knowledge I have gained from this experience. It will forever go on to shape my decisions going forward because I now have experience, and background knowledge on what certain things in a laboratory environment entail.

Internship Goals

Learning Goal #1: Be able to communicate clearly and accurately my discoveries and procedures of the experiments.

Relevance: It will allow me to gain the ability in the future to accurately communicate with fellow scientists and defend my own work.

Action Plan:

Keep detailed and up to date lab notebook
Presentation at the end of the year and present

Progress:

My lab book is up to date on most protocols
- A few challenges I had with this task is some of the protocols I was given orally, or through watching other first. In these times I was more focused on memorizing everything, and taking quick notes, than to write it all down specifically in my lab notebook. For things also such as Western blotting, which is a few hours process, in the first semester I worked shorter shifts. This meant that I was learning the protocol in sections other than all at once and therefore had gaps in both knowledge and in the written notebook protocol.
There are sometimes where I was left in the lab to finish a procedure by myself, and afterwards I had to explain the steps I took, or the expected results. This helped build my accountability, and confidence when communicating my knowledge on what I had done.

Learning Goal #2: I want to discover if working in a research/testing environment is what I want to do for my definite career path.

Relevance: The internship will teach me what it is like in a laboratory environment with a centered purpose around their research. It will be interesting to see what the work, and dynamic is like, and if I want to be a part of something similar for the rest of my working career.

Action Plan:

Medical/Graduate school conversations and considerations
Participate in design and execution of experimental protocols to answer hypotheses questions

Progress:

Through this internship I learned I love working in a laboratory and it is something I want to continue to do for the rest of my life.
I have learned that Cytotechnology degree is one I want to continue to pursue, and I want to go to graduate school for cancer biology, or medical school for pathology. Either way I want to pursue higher education focusing on work that can be done in lab.

Learning Goal #3: Learn how to use laboratory tools accurately and consistently

Relevance: If I do decide to continue working in a laboratory environment, I will need to be knowledgeable on general tests that need to be run, as well as the techniques commonly used.

Action Plan:

Be trained to use micropipette and other common lab instruments related to protocols in our research
Be able to replicate the experiments with continuously accurate results

Progress:

Western Blotting: can detect trace amounts of protein in a sample
Nanosite Reading: can detect the number of particles in a sample
Size Exclusion Chromatography: Separates samples through size of particles.
BSA (bovine serum albumin) Assay: detects the amount of protein concentration of a sample.

In The Future:

Continue to work in this research laboratory through undergraduate degree, either for credit or through different funding opportunities.
I am going to start my Cytotechnology training in the fall of 2026, which allow me further access into medical laboratories and trainings.
Research into graduate or medical schools will start this summer, and applications either this coming fall or the next.

Learning

October: Skills that are routinely being used in this site are communication, teamwork, and independence. Communication regularly happens between members in the lab, from robust scientific discussion which happens with appropriate language and reception from the opposite party, to text messages of what is going on that day. I also have taught some things that I have learned to other people, for them to either replicate or understand what is being done and why. Lab members several times have discussions on what they believe should be the next steps in procedures. I am encouraged to listen, participate, and ask questions on points I am confused demonstrating teamwork, and respect. Independence is happening more now that previously, there are mornings where I am carrying out protocol under my own knowledge, and written instructions with very little advisement or monitoring. The end goal of independence being able to run any certain experiment by myself with little outside instruction.
March: I am more confident in my communication, and independence skills since this past October. There have been times where I am left to do a procedure by myself for a few hours, and after that time is up, I have to explain what I did, and the results that could be expected from these. I also have to communicate what I feel comfortable doing by myself, and areas I might need a little extra help in which requires self-evaluation of my confidence and skillset. For example, I had only observed a section of Western blotting protocol once and then was expected to repeat it a couple of months later. When it came to do so I communicated the fact I had only seen it done once, I did not want to mess it up from my vague and rushed notes and therefore would like someone to be there to quickly asks questions on clarification. I have also been placed in charge from translating the protocols that I have written in depth detail in my laboratory notebook and placing them on a shared google drive so other people starting or participating in lab follow the standardized procedure. This has made me rethink all the things and evaluate once again how I was taught to do things, and make sure to communicate clearly so other people can do the same.
October: I would like to continue working towards a greater amount of integration and adaptation. Currently I am decent about reading a protocol and being able to follow the steps for it to turn out correctly. However, when it comes to interpreting those results, and knowing what they mean I often struggle. When it comes to figuring out what results mean is something I need to work on if I want to continue succeeding in this environment. To grow in this area, I can start writing interpretations of data I helped make in my lab journal, and writing down with the exact protocol I followed, and their conditions that helped ascertain those results.
March: I did start writing down exact protocol for procedures, and the conditions that they are typically done under. I have started developing my understanding on why we are doing some of the procedures at each step. It is still an area where I need to continue to grow, and to help this I could continue asking questions like "why, what are we looking for, what does this mean, where does this lead you?"

During this internship I have gained a deeper understanding on what it means to work in a laboratory environment. Also gaining an appreciation for the people that work together by having discussions about experiments and results, and their implications in a respectful and open manner. It allows me to see what it would be like to work in this environment for the rest of my career. From further working in this environment, and previous shadowing opportunities I have learned this is the environment I would like to continue working in for the future. It has helped me realign my goals and make me think about medical or graduate school opportunities to continue in this career direction. This has also showed me areas I need to continue to develop before I am placed in a more professional setting, that way I have all the tools I need for success right from the start.

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