It’s my final blog post, concluding my internship. I am honestly very grateful for the whole experience. It opened up new possibilities to my future. I had always committed of doing something in the medical field. And to this day, my idea has not twitched. However, the medical field is just so grand that there are many options to choose from. I had thought I wanted to pursue something in medical care where you are working with the patient directly dealing with illnesses. This internship, though, introduced me to a new area: healthcare. Healthcare focuses on helping patients before they are sick. It helps in preventing illnesses from occurring and promotes living a healthy lifestyle.
All of the workers around me are definitely passionate about their work. People look up to them. Doctors look up to them. They provide answers and do so with a tremendous amount of knowledge yet are all so incredibly humble. I had an amazing time working with everyone and would enjoy working in an environment like this. Of course I still have a long way to go but as I receive more exposures to new areas, my sense of direction keeps growing. This field is definitely a solid option now!
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My Internship ProjectNow that it's our final week of internship, all of the projects I have been working are being finalized. I have finished all of the infographics which are about breastfeeding benefits, tips for breast pumping, and information on the Zika virus. I have also finished my original project which is a guide that will be given to participants that are enrolled in the research study that analyzes their exposures during pregnancy and seeing if those exposures correlate with any minor or major malformations that occur during pregnancy or post birth. Throughout this guide, they will be able to see how their baby is growing and compare it to everyday objects while also having space to write down what exposures they have received and any questions (kind of like a diary). In addition, I created another guide on the developmental milestones from newborn until they go to kindergarten. I will attach all of them below! All of these projects required a tremendous amount of researching, note taking, and writing. It was definitely exhausting but it makes me feel proud of all the work I have been able to accomplish. These projects helped grow my writing and communication skills (explaining complex topics in 8th grade language), marketing skills (infographics have to be bold, catchy, yet informative), and my focus skills (there is so much reading)! I'm glad I was able to create things that will actually be used by the organization and of course by all of our participants. Presentation: prezi.com/hfwrjcmsqtwb/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy InfographicsGuidesPart 1I honestly cannot believe that this internship is almost over. It definitely flew by! I was always busy working on a project that I did not feel the days pass by. But now that I reflect on it, I realize I was always able to keep myself occupied throughout my time here which prevented any boredom from rising. I have already completed the two guides that will be published for the research program (fetus development and developmental milestones) and two infographics on breastfeeding. Since I still have another week, I may end up doing another mini project maybe on the Zika virus. I enjoy keeping myself busy. Continuous research on new topics excites me. The ongoing progress makes me feel productive and gives me the ability to talk at the levels of those around me. This internship allowed me to do quantitative research on globally significant topics that I would not have realized was so important on my own time. As an intern, I definitely grew both in advocacy and knowledge. After multiple rounds of critique, I was able to work and improve my projects to make them more reader friendly. Explaining complicated terms was probably the hardest thing I faced but it definitely helped ME understand the topic better. I also received valuable insights from doctors across the world who would come to our research center or Rady's Hospital to talk about their research or solutions. These included:
Part 2I am still amazed by how collaborative everyone is around me. When they see someone falling behind, they will offer to take a task off their shoulder. Being able to help others when they need it is something that will make you a valuable worker. In addition, everyone is just so smart. They all have such a profound knowledge on what they do. As I walk down the halls I always see plaques on offices from like Harvard or other ivy league schools. But since there is a lot of patient interaction for the research program, one of my mentors was telling me that she hires people based on their people skills. A lot of top researchers and doctors apply to counsel patients here but she says that even if they are the smartest person in the world, she hires based on the how they talk to patients in a way that's easy for the patient to understand and makes them feel comfortable. It seems that now in days, having holistic skills are more valuable than a degree.
Pursuing a career in the prenatal/neonatal field was definitely already in my interest. But I've always been bouncing between specialties in the medical field. Now with this exposure, I have been more intrigued to pursue this area. Learning about such a fundamental aspect that literally allows us to be here today is pretty fascinating. Of course I'm still a high school student who hasn't even applied to colleges BUT this internship has given me some sense in direction.
Throughout my days here, I have witnessed how collaborative everyone in this service is. My cubicle is positioned near the main counselor's office and across my mentor's. They are the two main people that others go to for any questions or advice they need. Even though there is a lot of research going on, people are still communicating with one another which brings up the mood!
Most of my project is research based and with my mentor being incredibly busy I rely heavily on the textbooks and the internet (especially google scholar and resources I have been aligned with by my mentor on the first day). If I have any questions on content, 99.9% of the time, I will research it on my own. However, for questions on the actual project structure, I will ask my mentor Kerri, or my "second mentor" Kelly who was the person who organized all of my training and set up. The thing is, they are both constantly out in meetings and when they are here, everyone is bombarding them with questions. So if I have a question or need critique, I just pass by their cubicle and ask to meet with them for an available time period they have during the day. Sometimes it will take 15 minutes and other times it will take a day or two. Either way, if I can't progress on the project until my question is answered, I have plenty of other work to be doing so I'm definitely never just sitting doing nothing! For now, I have been working independently on these projects. However, if I keep working diligently and get patient consent, I will be able to work with my mentor and meet her patients to get some field data collection for the research study! As for being a "memorable intern", I feel like all of these tips should already be done for professionalism. Every talk I have gone too, I always bring a notebook. Not because it's a guideline but because I am interested in actually retaining the information presented by the doctors. They have spent their careers devoted to their talk which definitely brings rise to new findings. You can never know enough! My shifts are from 8:00 to 3:00 but 90% of people don't start until after 9:00. So if I started at 8:50, no one would probably notice. However, I made a commitment with my mentor and will not break it. Plus, I enjoy coming in early because the sound of utter silence is pretty peaceful. It makes me feel incredibly productive! I usually get to the research center 20 minutes early which gives me time to set up my area and figure out what I will be doing for the day. I've always enjoyed dressing up when working in a new area because the way you dress definitely contributes to a first impression no matter what they say! Oh and one more thing, I met a new intern! She didn't seem familiar so I introduced myself and found out that she is a senior at UCSD! It's pretty crazy to think that as a high school junior, I am being offered the same exposure as what someone would receive in their last years of college! For my main internship project, I will be publishing a guide that will be included in the package that is delivered to mothers who participate in our research program. As mentioned before, the research program is intended to find any contributing agents to minor or major malformations that might have occurred during pregnancy. This guide is to be both informative yet interactive. Since there are a few interviews throughout the research study, having a place to jot everything down as they occur will help the participant in better recalling what prescriptions, medications, and substances they took decreasing unknown variables. This guide will outline the growth of the fetus starting from conception all the way to labor. Pregnancy is divided into three trimesters. The first trimester will be broken down by weeks since it is the most critical time frame when it comes to the development of the embryo. The second and third trimesters will be broken down by months since the baby by then has formed all of its basic structures and will just continue to grow. Each page is specific to the week/month. Included will be the new features the baby is forming, images that compare the size of the fetus with everyday objects (ex: Week 7 is the size of a dime), an image that shows what the fetus looks like, and either symptoms the mother may start to experience or any tests that should be conducted by their doctor. In addition, each page has a section on the bottom in which they can write down their notes including prescriptions, alcohol and caffeine intake, mood, any test results, and questions. Below is a preview of what a page will look like. (There will definitely be more edits coming in!) In addition, there are three other side projects I will be doing. Two of them will be infographics. The first one will be on the benefits of breastfeeding. The second one will be on pumping for mothers who want to continue breastfeeding while going to work. My third project will be another guide on the milestones babies should be reaching at specific time frames such as when their first tooth comes out, crawling, and taking their first steps. This guide will also have a diary component for mothers to be able to write down these specific instances so they can recall them for the interviews.
All of the information that will be included is the information I have been researching when working independently. There is a lot of pressure in making sure the information I put is accurate since so many people will read it! Google scholar and textbooks that my mentor arranged for me in my cubicle have been my right hand in conducting the research. Everything I read is always pretty complicated so I have to do more research before I fully understand it. And since my project is a guide, it is recommended to use vocabulary that an 8th grader would understand. So fully grasping the topic is a key element in being able to explain it in an easy, comprehensible way, while of course keeping it professional and informative. Hopefully the organization doesn't get sued for having wrong content in the guide... My mentor is Kerri Bertrand who is the research coordinator for MotherToBaby CA. MotherToBaby CA is an organization that provides evidence-based information to mothers, healthcare providers, or anyone in the public on medications, products, and exposure received during pregnancy or while breastfeeding. In addition, MotherToBaby CA conducts a research program in which they interview pregnant women throughout their pregnancy and after they give birth for around ten years. These interviews provide information on possible teratogens (an agent that causes a malformation to the fetus) by analyzing what the mother took and how that potentially affected the baby.
My mentor does a lot of the data management and makes sure the enrollment and recruitment of participants for the research program runs smoothly in order to keep the retention rate up. Interestingly, Kerri started off as premed wanting to become a doctor but after she took the MCAT and started conducting interviews for medical school, she realized that that path wasn’t for her. Instead, she went to SDSU’s graduate school and got her masters in Public Health and Epidemiology. She initially started as an intern in child health to input data but kept on moving from there and applied as a research coordinator for this organization. There were multiple skills she needed such as being detail oriented, understanding data analysis, and having a strong background behind statistics and epidemiology. Now, she loves her career here especially when she gets to meet and check in on the children from the research study. It is incredible how much information I have been exposed to! The hours stuck in traffic driving to La Jolla, is well worth it. My mentor is a busy woman and spends a lot of time in conferences, following up with participants, and checking in on babies. Most of the time I am working independently which allows me to go at my own pace and dive into new interesting areas I stumble upon such as embryology and teratology. I have been working dedicatedly on my project which I will explain later on the next post! As I stepped into the office, I was greeted by friendly faces and warm welcomes. I had already been introduced to most of the staff during career day but I met new members working around me. My mentor helped me settle down in my cubicle featured below which is where I will spend most of my time conducting research in preparation to publish the guide/book I will be working on for my project. She helped me set up and showed me all of the resources available to use!
My mentor had clinical rotations she had to attend to. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to tag along yet since I hadn't gotten the training needed. I had to stay back and do 6 hours of online training to better prepare myself in conducting appropriate and confidential research. Once I finished that, I spent the rest of my time writing notes and reading through textbooks, brochures, and guides to start familiarizing myself more with the pregnancy journey. Reading over all the information made me realize that I definitely have a long road ahead of me! Learning about pregnancy and the development of the fetus is a lot broader than I had imagined. For example, there is a whole other (and quite extensive) area that falls under pregnancy called teratology which is the study of malformations that occur during pregnancy. But I am excited to start diving in these next couple of days into a field that I've been wishing to pursue as a career! For our 11th grade internship, I have an extraordinary opportunity to intern at a research facility at UCSD that works along with Rady's Children and SHARP. MotherToBaby CA is the nation's leading non-profit organization in providing information to mothers and healthcare professionals about the effects of prescriptions, supplements, chemicals, diseases or any other exposures that can occur throughout their pregnancy and while they breastfeed. In addition, they invite pregnant women to participate in a research program that lasts up to 16 years in which they collect data through phone interviews to analyze their outcomes based on their journey throughout their pregnancy.
My main mentor is Kerri Bertrand who is the research coordinator for MotherToBaby CA. She is in charge of managing the research program with the pregnant women. Her responsibilities include following up with them, collecting data from exams, and reviewing medical records. As her mentee, I will also be conducting research. I will be working on a book/diary that shows the growth of the fetus throughout the pregnancy and comparing its size with everyday objects. In addition, there will be space on the diary's margins for the reader to have an opportunity to write down their feelings, what they have been taking, and any other notes they want to keep which could potentially be used as a reference for when they are conducting the phone interviews. I am so excited to start! Ever since I witnessed a c-section during a summer internship, I have been intrigued in working in the neonatal field. Being able to start learning about this now and having professional resources is something I feel so privileged to have! Plus, being able to work on a project that will be given to every one of our guests is thrilling! I do feel some pressure though since this project will be given to so many people but that just makes me want to work harder and give it the best effort I can! |
Shany Cardenas
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