Goals
Internship Goals
Goal #1: Have professional oral communication and learn how to write scientific papers.
I have done the following activities to achieve this goal:
Attend weekly research team meetings
Compose and send professional emails to communicate research-related information with multiple co-workers
Write my own portion of a scientific article for the research and understand what information is critical to writing a successful article
Presented my research efforts to my supervisor and research team
Collaborated with research physicians on a multi-site study
What I need to do next...
Continue to do the steps above and learn to improve my skills by asking questions
Goal #2: Learn to apply critical thinking skills in-order to problem-solve
I have done the following activities to achieve this goal:
Learned how to conduct a qualitative analysis of 25 in-depth interviews of women's birth experiences to search for meaningful themes
Learned how to use the Cerner medical record charting program and REDCap for data management
Conducted two, in-depth literature reviews and presented my findings in a PowerPoint presentation
What I need to do next...
Maintain my technical skills of Cerner and REDCap by attending continuing education and training classes
Continue to read and analyze published, peer-reviewed scientific articles
Goal #3: Step out of my comfort zone (personal growth) by confronting challenges head on
I have done the following activities to achieve this goal:
Asked questions and reached out for help when needed
Learned new skills and learned that it is better to learn from mistakes rather than trying to avoid making mistakes
Consistently asked for feedback on my project work
Offered to complete tasks that required new training so that I could challenge myself to gain more skills
What I need to do next...
Continue to ask questions
Not be afraid to say "no" or "yes" to certain tasks
Goals for My Next Chapter
Potentially search for another job opportunity after my LHSI internship so that I can continue making meaningful connections with healthcare and research professionals (Update:Joined LSAMP)
To continue learning the research process so that I can fully understand and grasp what it takes to be a clinical researcher
Skills and experiences that I need to achieve these goals:
Continue to ask questions, learn from my new experiences, and not be afraid to try new things!
Why I Chose These Career Goals (My Future Career Goal)
I chose to set these goals for myself because I believe that they are critical to accomplishing my career goal of becoming a doctor. All of these goals pertain to a vital skillset that I need to be proficient in to be prepared for medical school and beyond. It has been my dream to be a physician since I was a young girl and I plan to continue pushing myself to take the necessary steps to accomplish that dream. I will continue to seek out other internships and extra-curricular activities while I am at IUPUI that will help pave my path for medical school. This internship opportunity will allow me to expand my network and learn the skills required to conduct meaningful clinical research that inform patient care. The skills I will learn and have learned so far will aid me in my future journey as I carry these experiences and skills with me and apply them to other internships, jobs, and opportunities.
How My Goals Match What I Enjoy Based on My Previous Professional Experiences
Have professional oral and written communication skills: This goals matches my love for presenting. I went to a PBL high school and presenting was a skill that I was often required to use. I am always willing to learn and grow from each of my presentation experiences in order to reach my goal.
Learn to apply critical thinking skills in-order to problem-solve: This goal is very important to me because I love to help others in need by problem-solving, and this skill is critical to have as a doctor.
Step out of my comfort zone (personal growth) by confronting challenges: I am a bit timid and need to push myself out of my comfort zone in order to try new things. I always love to look back and see how much I have grown from new experiences and the skills that I gained.
Professional Goals Reflection
My career goal of becoming a physician has remained the same, and this internship has reinforced why I am pursing this field. There are far too many injustices caused by racial bias and language barriers, and thanks to my involvement in this internship, I have learned about more topics related to medical disparities than I had known before. In order to gain the experiences I need to further my career pathway, I am going to continue to be as involved as I can on my site and try to get involved in new opportunities to learn new skills. For example, I am going to make a poster for my internship site as an opportunity to learn a new skill in presenting and communicating research findings. The main takeaway from the mid-year workshop that I had was being able learn about the other struggles that many other interns were having with having to adjusting to online format and the impact this has had on everyone physically and mentally. It helped encourage me to know I was not facing these struggles alone, and I had the chance to hear about everyone else's amazing internship opportunities.