Original Inquiry:
I have been interning 6 hours a week in the Emergency Department at Nationwide Children’s Hospital ever since August 2015. This experience has provided me a very unique opportunity to develop my patient interaction skills and be a part of clinical research. Basically, my job as an undergraduate research assistant is to screen for patients that are eligible for our 8-10 studies going on. This requires paying attention to what their coming in for, along with their demographics. If I find an eligible patient, I approach them and their parents, introduce the study, and try to obtain consent. One of our ongoing studies is a somewhat touchy subject and can be very uncomfortable if explained to the family in the wrong way. Being forced to approach strangers for this study has helped me learn not to take things personally when patients lash out at you, which is something I will definitely need to remember as a future dentist.