Current Tufts student Elisa Cink shared the following about being a Summer Intern at Brigham and Women’s Hospital …
What did you do as an intern at this organization?
I assisted a neonatologist with his research project. Specifically I collected patient data and neonatal brain scans (aEEGs) of neonates with mild encephalopathy who underwent therapeutic hypothermia. I met with various medical professionals to classify the aEEGs and summarize the research findings into an abstract. I was also fortunate to be able to shadow the neonatologist I was working for in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) a few times.
How did you find this internship?
I found this internship on the Brigham and Women’s Pediatric Newborn Department website after researching various internships online.
What did you enjoy most about your internship?
I enjoyed being exposed to different careers in the NICU to determine if this was a career path I wanted to pursue. I also really enjoyed participating in neonatal research since it is a relatively new field so the research we were doing had never been done before. In addition, I was able to present my research findings to the department at the end of the summer which was very rewarding.
What did you find challenging?
I found it very difficult to analyze neonatal neurology data because I had no experience in the field. This meant I had to teach myself a lot of information on how to read aEEGs and how therapeutic hypothermia works
What advice would you offer to someone who wants to make the most of an internship like yours?
I would say to make the most of every connection and experience. Also don’t hesitate to reach out for a mentors help because if your internship is a new field they do not expect you to know everything immediately.
About the Organization
The Pediatric Newborn Medicine Summer Student Research Program provides undergraduate college students with eight weeks of intensive and fulfilling research experience.
