My practicum site was the clinical center at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland. I shadowed nurses on the hematology/oncology ward of the hospital in the clinical center. Through the NIH website, I found out about volunteering and applied in the spring. In the late spring, I found out that I would be answering phones and filing papers on the unit. I talked to my site supervisor and she allowed me to shadow nurses once a week. I volunteered on the unit twice a week and shadowed once a week, therefore I was able to observe and completely immerse myself into the daily life of the unit. Shadowing the nurses let me observe the patient-nurse interactions and I would not have been able to do this without the flexibility of my site supervisor. Taking an initiative and asking for course credit was the way that I got my practicum because if I had not asked for the opportunity then it would never have happened.
My primary task for my practicum was observing what the nurses do on a daily basis. I observed the following; spinal tap procedures, taking vitals, patient admissions and taking history, giving chemotherapy, giving HIV medication and other medication, drawing blood, changing dressings and IV tubing. At each step, the nurses would explain what they were doing and why they were doing it. They were very flexible and let me fully integrate myself into the life on the unit. I learned how science directly effects people because the clinical center is a hospital where clinical trials are taking place and breakthroughs are being made. Seeing how these new drugs directly effect patients is very powerful, sometimes they work and sometimes they do not. Either way science is impacting people directly though the discovery of new medication.
Through the completion of my practicum I decided to choose a career in the health field, however, I changed my major to public and community health because I want to focus on preventing disease rather than curing it. I was considering changing my focus of study entirely, however, this practicum helped me decide to stay in the health field because it is something that I am interested in. A hospital setting was crucial in my decision, I learned that I did not want to be in one every day but that I still want to help people that are put in those situations. Scientific breakthroughs in the labs at the clinical center led to direct effects on the patients and the clinical center. The science going on at one place makes the science more personable and applicable to real life and real people.
The site was the most important part of my practicum was the fact that it was at the NIH. I would like to eventually work at NIH and doing this practicum helped me get an internship there this summer. I have learned to evaluate all opportunities and that networking is very important. Even though I originally did not do something that I intended to, this practicum led me to a future internship. Without the ELT practicum I do not know if I would have had the incentive to do volunteering that would lead to shadowing that would eventually lead to a practicum. Overall, the practicum was much more important then I thought it would be. Taking this project seriously is very important because it helped me in ways that I never thought it could. Making a poster about the practicum was also helpful because I improved my computer skills and learned skills that I will use in my professional career. Overall ELT was a great program and the practicum was a good way to cumulate my scholars experience.