Learn about the research side of healthcare
I am unsure of which field of healthcare I am going into so I am exploring many areas to help me find the right spot for me. Research is an area that I am heavily considering. This internship will allow me to explore the research side and help conduct meaningful research.
Tasks
Proper literature searches
Endnote
Surveys/interviews
Progress: I have learned a lot about research. Dr. Salih has helped me with my main research topic and has brought me onto multiple other research projects with different focuses. It has been wonderful to see other areas of research. One of the most helpful tasks for me is the literature searches. I have been able to apply this to other areas of my academic and career life.
Next: I will continue to explore the research side of healthcare and literature reviews in other areas of my life. Next semester, I will have a research course and will continue to work with Dr. Salih.
Learn more about professionalism and how to conduct yourself in a nonclinical healthcare environment
Professionalism is important in any career field. In some of my other jobs I have lacked a professional environment. This internship site will allow me to be professional which interacting with people both in and outside the research field.
Tasks
Surveys/interviews
Possible conferences
Frequent meetings with Dr. Salih
Progress: I have had frequent meetings with Dr. Salih and multiple meetings with people on other research teams, which have been imperative for learning the dynamics of these teams.
Next: One of my next steps for my research project is surveys and interviews that I will be giving over the phone. I will be able to exercise and practice my professionalism to a wider group of people.
Work on better time management
In the past I have been a big procrastinator. I struggled staying on task and getting things done by the deadline. I am going to be working almost completely remote so I have to rely on myself to stay on tasks and get things done in an timely manner. My tasks and my school work will require me to have good time management.
Tasks
Creating lists for tasks
Creating schedules to manage tasks and schoolwork
Progress: I have done very well with staying on task and getting things done in a timely manner. Dr. Salih has expressed satisfaction with how quickly I am able to complete tasks for her.
Next: I will continue to schedule tasks to be completed in a timely manner. I have a master calendar that allows me to visualize when tasks are due and complete them before then.
Career Goal
Get my RN license
This is what I am currently in school going for. I am completing the nursing program with all of the clinicals and skills. I am exploring different options that I can go into with it to best decide which area is right for me. Getting my RN will open up many opportunities for me
I am very independent. I work completely remote and have meetings with my supervisor every other week. I have to be independent and set my own goals to make progress on the research. This is an important skill for my future career because no matter what field I go into, I will need to be independent and rely on myself to get tasks done.
I have found that I am more comfortable being independent in a work setting. I have had a lot of success with setting tasks and timelines for myself to be able to get everything done in a timely and efficient manner.
I will continue to work on accepting failure. I don't like failing, but I need to get more comfortable with it to be able to grow and evolve. Failure is an important part of being human. If I make a mistake in my career, I have to not let it affect me because I will have other things that I will have to do.
I have gotten better at accepting that I am not perfect. Before this internship, I didn't know a lot about research, so I had to get comfortable with not knowing the answers and having to ask for help.
I am building on my strengths by being able to work independently. I have been able to be motivated, set goals, and hold myself accountable if I want to progress with the research. In my future career, the more independent I am, the more tasks I will be trusted with.
I have done very well at holding myself accountable. I am the main person working on my project, so I don't get tasks done if the project gets delayed. I have set goals and timelines for myself that I have been able to achieve, and this has allowed me to be brought onto other projects.
This internship has deepened my understanding of the research field by allowing me to see what goes into creating a research project. Right now I am mostly doing background and literature searches, and I will soon be going into making surveys and distributing them.
Every process of my project has given me a deeper understanding of the research process. I have done many literature reviews, created many surveys, and am about to start distributing surveys and performing phone interviews. Most of my experience has been in clinical settings, so this has been very valuable in exploring an area I hadn't had the chance to.