Week 9:
Children’s Hospital Colorado

August 7, 2014

Although, it is my last week, I been having trouble logging into EPIC and with my badge access. There was a misunderstanding and I was terminated earlier than I was supposed to, thus had to deal with this situation to continue my data collecting. However, this gave me time to work on my PowerPoint presentation, which I received help with. Originally, when I thought that I would not have any results to present, I was going to spend time giving a background on the different surgical treatments that we focused on. Stating the advantages and disadvantages of each treatment, and explain some past studies. However, Erin thought that people will be more interested in learning my study instead of others, and thought that I would spend a lot of time introducing these treatments instead of the literature of my study. Thus, it was a very last minute decision, but I asked Patrick to do a preliminary result summary on the demographics of my study and associated complications. He was not able to do a full statistical analysis, but I was able to learn about the need for physical therapy by groups (SMP, TENs, and IM Nail), the need for re-operation by group, have a mean table for the average age and weight for each group, and surgical rate by group for fracture stability. However, I was still able to include the advantages and disadvantages of each surgical treatment, but I chose to put these slides in the discussion section to tie it back to our overall findings. My discussion was SMP is an effective treatment for unstable femur fractures.

This summer I learned how to accept good criticism. When I did a practice presentation with Patrick and Erin, they helped me re-design my PowerPoint and gave me tips to help my presentation flow better and prepare me for questions that I may be asked. One skill that I learned was how to report results. Originally, I had my tables and graphs by counts, but since we were comparing among groups, I had to change these numbers into percentage, since there was not a same amount of observations for each group. In addition, they helped me with my transitions. For instance I did a short introduction explaining what each surgical treatment was. Patrick recommended that I state (during my presentation) that I will refer back to these treatments in my discussion section and relate it back to my findings. Since I only explained SMP, TENs, rigid intramedullary nailing, and Trochanteric Entry Nailing and not the others, it might be confusing to the audience. They also helped me re-define and re-word my research question and hypothesis. During my presentation, I was quite nervous, but I was proud of myself, I was able to say what I wanted to say and explain these topics effectively. Patrick was impressed that I was also able to answer the follow-up questions, and told me it showed that I was very knowledgeable about my topic and prepared for my presentation.

This internship was an amazing experience. I think that over the course of this summer, I was able to gain more confidence in myself. I was the youngest intern at the CHCO, and it was quite overwhelming sometimes since the rest of the interns were graduated and were in the process of applying to medical school. However, I felt that I handled the situation well. There were times I doubted myself and the reasons I was there. Hence, why I was quiet and reserved the first couple of weeks. But, I think once I got to know my colleagues I learned that I shouldn’t be afraid of them, and that I should look up to them for inspiration and advice for my future.  They were a wonderful group to work with and I have learned a lot from each one of them.

It was a great  summer, being able to work in Colorado and build lasting friendships; especially with other Cornell students, this is something that I will treasure forever. Thank you RJ and the Cornell Fellows program  for this wonderful opportunity.