It has been awhile since my last update, and I have been quite busy in the past weeks. As mentioned in my last post, I am analyzing biomechanical data on people who have undergone a rotationplasty procedure. I have recently finished looking at how this population picks up an object and am in the middle of analyzing how they sit and stand. I am happy to say I am finally comfortable using the software Visual3D. I have also gotten the opportunity to work on Jamovi, which is a statistics software and MATLAB, which is a programming language. A lot of people have told me that this internship is a little like an engineering internship. I think that it is awesome that I am getting the opportunity to see this side of clinical research, and I am gaining even more respect for those who engage in this type of research.
As well as looking at biomechanical data, my principal investigator has me working on a few other projects. I have had the opportunity to begin designing a REDCap. REDCap is a secure website for data collection. I do not think this project will go any further this summer, but I am excited to have learned about project design. My other project is a scoping review. A scoping review is a way to find what research exists in a specific area of research. I am starting this project next week.
Other than that, I have been working on the two abstracts I will finish by the end of this summer. I hope to submit these to the D'Ambrosia Conference that takes place at Children’s Hospital Colorado. The conference is in October, and I might have the ability to present at it. I am loving my time working in this challenging but supportive academic environment.
Josalin and I explored the library one day. The Strauss Health Sciences Library has so much to offer. Along with these skeletons, we also got to see an iron lung!
I have been doing a lot of job shadowing these past weeks. I have shadowed a hand surgeon and an orthopedic trauma surgeon. I really enjoyed my time in the clinic with these doctors. I learned a lot about how pediatric physicians interact with both children and their parents. I was able to ask a ton of questions about the career and why they love it. I have also got to spend two days in the OR. Both times I was watching Dr. Sibbel, the hand surgeon. I have never been able to observe a surgery before, and it was truly a life-changing experience. I never realized how much surgery, specifically hand surgery, is an art. It is so intricate and so impressive to watch. I think this may have been my most impactful experience so far.
Here is me in scrubs ready to shadow Dr. Sibbel in the OR. I also had a jacket that I could wear because it gets really cold in the OR.
These past couple of weeks, I have spent my time outside of the hospital exploring all Colorado has to offer. This has mostly been through walks and hikes. I have been able to hike with fellow Cornellians, Josalin Mckeever ‘25, and Cameron Reimers ‘26. We hiked St. Mary’s Glacier trail, and it was beautiful. My boyfriend also came up for a weekend, and we hiked Herman Gulch trail. After work, I usually try to walk at one of the many parks Aurora has to offer.
I have also spent some time at Farmers Markets, cool shops, and new restaurants. My roommate Josalin and I also went to a Morgan Wallen concert at Empower Field at Mile High. I have been having so much fun learning more about this beautiful state.
This is my boyfriend, Jakob, and I at the top of Herman Gulch trail. It was a pretty hard hike, but it was worth it for this view.
This internship has taught me a lot about how I am able to perform at my best. The research group gives us interns a lot of freedom, so it has been interesting to see how I motivate myself. I have found that goal setting is the easiest way for me to accomplish tasks I need to get done. I want to continue this habit of making lists of things I want to achieve by the end of the week because it helps me stay on task.
I have also been able to learn about living on my own. I am living with Josalin, but we still are not together all of the time. I have had a really fun time learning new recipes. I find that some of my favorite daily activities are going on walks and cooking. I am so grateful to learn about who I am on my own and what my future may look like.