Health Field Profesional Interview

Kaity Stinson is a registered nurse in the neurological intensive care unit at ProMedica Toledo Hospital. Kaity worked as a state tested nursing assistant for 4 years before she completed her RN program at Owens Community College in 2017. Before beginning to work in neurological intensive care unit she worked in the hospitals emergency room, which is a level one trama center. The hospitals Neuro ICU is also a comprehensive stroke center, which they can provided the highest level of care for stroke patients. The unit not only has stroke patients but patients who have had serious neurological and head trama and patients recovering from brain and spinal surgeries.

As a Neuro ICU nurse Kaity is responsible for caring for two patients. Her duties include managing vital signs, administering medications, notify physicians of abnormal findings, and all other aspects of patient care. She also has to work with a team of fellow nurses and physicians to ensure that patients are receiving the right and best care for them. One of the hardest part about working as a nurse for kaity is that some patients and or their family members believe the nurses are there to do everything for them and get them whatever they would like but in reality they are their to make sure their patient receives the best care for them. Kaity says that because so many people have this belief that hospital services have become more about customer satisfaction than quality of patient care. She also said it can sometime be difficult working with some of the patients and their families and that for her the best way to deal with difficult patients and family is having patience and putting yourself in a mind set as if the patient was one of your own family members. She also suggest if your struggling with a difficult patient or family as co workers or your supervisor for assistance. Although their are hard parts to her job she says that best part is seeing her patients improve and eventually move out of the ICU and into a step down unit.

Kaity believe that it can be difficult to study medicine but if you are truly passionate about medicine and patient care that is completely worth it. She suggests finding study methods that work best for you, taking breaks to avoid burning out, and focusing on the quality of your studying not the quantity of your study time. One thing that many people in the health field or people studying medicine can struggle with is a work and life balance. Kaity suggest to take time off when you really need it and to take make the most of your days off. Overall she says her best advice for someone going into the medical field is study hard and that it may be hard but if you are studying medicine for the right reasons it will be worth it in the end.

Wildlife Docs

On October 18th I was able to attend live stream Q & A session put on by The STEM Exploration and Engagement scholars program. The person we got to take to is Dr. Dominique Keller. Dr. Keller is a veterinarian at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and is on the show film there called Wildlife Docs. This session was a great opportunity to learn more about her life as a veterinarian and her journey of obtaining a DVM and PHD. We got to learn about what Dr.Keller does on a day to day bases as a zoo veterinarian and what to expect if we choose to become a zoo Veterinarian. We also got talk about how to make yourself a competitive applicant and if you do not get accepted to a school after your first application to not give up and try again. We also talked about challenges of veterinary school and the financial challenges of life after Veterinary school. As a student that is considering Veterinary school it was great to advice from someone how has already gone these challenges as I may face them in my own future career.

STEM Exploration and Engagement Scholars Interview Project

As a Research I institution The Ohio State University has the resources to recruit many talented students, researchers, and professors. OSU gives students like myself the opportunity to work with world class researchers, professors, and resources. This project allowed me to meet an  upperclassmen, a graduate student, and a professor who gave me advice on how to be involved in scientific research, succeed in my classes, available resources, and more. Some of my classmates struggled to find people to interview, but fortunately I had already started networking within some STEM clubs before the project was assigned. The upperclassmen I interviewed was Ryan Gott, who is my assigned STEM EE Scholars mentor. The graduate student that I interviewed was Heather Glon, who is the co-advisor of the Current marine biology club which I am a member of. Finally, members of the Zoology club recommended some professors to interview, one of them being Dr. Peter Curtis, the Zoology Club advisor.

All three of my interviewees were chosen for specific reasons.  I choose to interview my mentor, Ryan, for several reasons, including that he is a biology major like me. Therefore, he can provide me with advice to succeed in my classes. Additionally, Ryan is considering a career in medicine, which I am hoping to pursue as well, and can give me advice on what elective classes and extracurriculars to particpate in. Next, I chose to interview Heather for several reasons. One reason I interviewed Heather is that she is pursuing a Ph.D. in biology, which is another career path that I am considering. Also, Heather works in a lab with a professor whose research I am interested in. Finally, Dr. Curtis I chose to interview because he works in ecology, a subject that I am very enthusiastic about. He runs his own lab, so he could advise me on how to get involved in research. All three of my interviewees can help me to network with more people within my area of study.

When I interviewed Ryan, he provided me with a great deal of advice. He encouraged me to take advantage of the university’s many tutoring centers, advised to join campus science clubs, volunteer organizations, and volunteer at the Wexner Medical Center. He also suggested some study tips for the chemistry class I am taking next semester. This includes going to office hours, taking detailed notes, studying alone, and doing the practice exams. Ryan also suggested using research opportunities, not only to gain skills, but to also network with other professors and other students.

Heather had a great deal of suggestions for me as an undergraduate student. She suggested that when I am trying to network with professors, that I go to their office hours, look to see if they have open lab assistant positions, and have a genuine interest in their research. She also suggested that I take research work that I am not only interested in, but will also provide me with valuable skills that will help me to secure future lab positions. When I asked her when the best time is to start researching, she suggested that it’s never too soon to start. The sooner you do it, the more skills you can build and the more people you can network with. She also stressed the importance of not only having good grades when applying to graduate school, but also research experience and extracurricular activities. In addition, she suggested that I try many different areas of biology, so I can learn what I like and do not like, before applying to graduate programs.

Before meeting Dr. Curtis, I read two of his scholarly articles. The first one was “Harvest impacts on soil carbon storage in temperate forests” and the second was “Controls on Annual Forest Carbon Storage: Lessons from the Past and Predictions for the Future”. These articles talk about carbon storage in soil which is an important component of the carbon cycle. The first article addresses the effects of logging on forest carbon storage. The second article talks about the past trend in carbon storage and predicts future trends. I have had some experience reading scholarly articles, so reading these articles was not too difficult. One of the things I did struggle with was not knowing some of the concepts and jargon for the specific biology field that was used in these articles.

When I finally met Dr. Curtis, he had a lot of great advice for how to get involved in research and how to be professional. He suggested several ways for me to find research opportunities like applying to the National Science Foundation’s Research Experience for Undergraduates programs, applying for individual research grants, interning with the National Ecological Observatory Network, and networking with professors. He also recommended that I join OSU’s Ecologic Restoration and Education Club since I am interested in ecology. Dr. Curtis also gave me some tips on how to be more professional. He told me there are some key things to being professional like being organized, having a well written resume, and be respectful of your peers and professors. He also gave me a few tips on how to succeed in class, Including: taking paper notes because computers can be a distraction, sit in the front rows, and email the professor if you are going to miss a class so you can make sure to catch up on missed information.

At the beginning of this project, I didn’t understand why we were doing this, but now that I have completed the assignment, the purpose is much clearer. This project allowed me to network with people I may not have spoken to before, and educated me on the resources and places to look for research experience. I feel like completing this has been very beneficial and will help me in my time here at The Ohio State University.

 

Year in Review

[ “Year in Review”  is where you should reflect on the past year and show how you have evolved as a person and as a student.  You may want to focus on your growth in a particular area (as a leader, scholar, researcher, etc.) or you may want to talk about your overall experience over the past year.  For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

G.O.A.L.S.

G.O.A.L.S. are very important to the Honors & Scholars program. G.O.A.L.S. stands for Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, and Service Engagement. The two that fit in to my current and future plans are original inquiry and service engagement. Original inquiry is individualized projects and research through academic and non-academic facilities. Service Engagement is a student’s commitment to servicing their community

Some of my current and future plans also fit in to the S of G.O.A.L.S. which is service engagement. Currently I am volunteering at COSI through my STEM EE scholars program. At COSI I get to do experiments with kids and their parents. Next semester I also have some more service engagement plans. I plan to start volunteering at the Columbus Learning Cooperative. The Columbus Learning Cooperative is an alternative in Columbus for kids who learn better in non-traditional settings or parents who prefer their kids learn in a nontraditional setting. At CLC students get to have unique education plans tailored to their interests or needs. I will be volunteering at CLC through a club called Current, which is for students interested in marine biology, and we will be going to CLC to give a group of student’s weekly lessons on different marine biology topics. Next semester I also hope to get involved in another volunteer program through another club I’m a part of. The club I’m going to be volunteering through is the Zoology club and service we are doing is volunteering at the Butternut Farm Wildcat Sanctuary in Johnstown, Ohio. BFWS is a nonprofit sanctuary home to 13 species of exotic animals including cougars, fox’s, bobcats and many more animals that were all rescued from private owners who could no longer provide for them. BFWS is dedicated to educating the public about the 36 species of wildcats in the world and the issues that are threatening the survival. All the animals at the sanctuary are cared for by one caretaker named Rick and he depends on weekend volunteers to help maintain the sanctuary. I believe that Honors & Scholars G.O.A.L.S. will continue to be a part of my academic and professional career.

 

Career

[“Career” is where you can collect information about your experiences and skills that will apply to your future career.  Like your resume, this is information that will evolve over time and should be continually updated.   For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

OWL 2017

OWL or Ohio Welcome Leader is a program that allows students living in residence halls to move in early, prepare their residence halls and build community. As a participant of this program i was able to move in two days early and then spend the next next two days getting to know my floormates. On the first night we were split by floor in to OWL Flocks. Over the next few days my Flock got to know each other, the campus, and Columbus better. We played cards against humanity together, ate together, went to a improve show, and the Columbus food truck festival. Being an OWL is one experience I definitely do not regret. Being an OWL allowed me to build a community with the people on my floor, helped me build a strong supportive group of friends, and allowed me to settle in to campus living before classes started.

Photo: This photo was taken at the OWL carnival on the second night of OWL training. The other person in the photo is Mallory, a member of my OWL Flock, who I now consider one of my closet friends.

 

About Me

Hannah Stinson is a second year student from Swanton, Ohio. Here at OSU she is participating in College of Arts and Science’s Biology program and OSU’s Stem Exploration and Engagement scholars program. She also serves as the Director of Programming for the Barret-Nosker Governing Organization, which puts on events for the about 800 residents that live in the Barrett and Nosker residence halls. Hannah also volunteers as a welcome ambassador at OSU Carepoint East and participates in Ohio State’s Second Year Transformational Program. There are still many opportunities here at OSU and in Columbus that she hopes to take advantage of during the rest of her time here including participating in medical research and volunteering at Nationwide Children’s hospital. After graduation Hannah intends to purse a medical degree. She is considering the possibility of attending a medical scientist training program, in which she would complete a medical degree and a Ph.D. in genetics, anatomy and physiology, pathobiology, or cancer biology, after which she would purse a career as a physician scientist.

Outside of school activities Hannah also enjoys reading, listening to music, and spending time with her friends, family, and pets. She was also a eight year member of Hoppin “N” Trottin 4H club in which she raised and show multiple types of livestock, participated in competitive shooting sports, and volunteered as a certified archery instructor. Hannah was also president of her 4H club for three year and held officer position for six of her eight years in 4H. Now that Hannah is no longer eligible to participate in the program as a 4Her, due to turning 18, she plans to return to the program in the Fall of 2019 to volunteer as a 4H advisor and archery instructor. Although Hannah has never had the chance to travel outside the country she has a great desire to travel and hope to get the chance to travel to places all over the world, especially places like Bhutan, Tanzania, Palau, Iceland, and Antarctica.   In the future she hopes to travel around the world especially to places like Bhutan,  South Africa, and Palau. Hannah loves to learn new things and have new experiences so she can not wait to see what else The Ohio State University has in store for her.