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.

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.