by Amanda Dennis | Nov 1, 2019 | fellowships, General |
Fellowships 101 By Jason Chan Do you sometimes wish you could spend all your time exploring and learning about a topic or issue that you’re passionate about? Are there questions you have about the world that you wish you had the opportunity to answer? Do you feel you have the potential to make an impact in society? If you answered “yes” (or even “maybe”) to these questions, you might be a good candidate for a fellowship! Read more to learn about what fellowships are and how you can begin exploring possible opportunities. What is a fellowship? Although fellowships encompass an array of opportunities, in general, they are short-term funded experiences that allow you to do a deep dive into a particular area of interest. Spending a year or two gaining expert knowledge about a subject you’re passionate about, developing new skills while cultivating ones you already have, and gaining exposure to new perspectives and new communities – these are hallmarks of many fellowship opportunities. What would I be doing in a fellowship? Fellowships come in a variety of types. Some, like the Fulbright, involve conducting research, while others, like the Rhodes or the Soros, are intended for graduate study in a range of disciplines. Some, like the Fulbright-ETA, are oriented around teaching, while others like the Luce place fellows in service agencies or nonprofit organizations. And while some, like the Gaither, are based in the U.S., others take place overseas or – in the case of the Watson – across multiple countries around the world. Chances are there’s a fellowship opportunity out there that’s relevant to your...
by Amanda Dennis | Oct 17, 2019 | Career Exploration, General, Internships, Student Perspective |
Good morning! My name is Sarah Curtis (’20, she/her/hers) and I am a rising senior and biology major. This summer I am sponsored by the Jaharis Fellowship to work in primary care at Tufts Medical Center (Boston, MA). I’m going to take you through an average day of work today, so sit down and strap in! 11:30 am: Arrive at Downtown Crossing Train Station. I clip on my Tufts Employee badge and make my way through bustling downtown Boston, to Tufts Medical Center main hospital. On my way I pass through Chinatown to pick up bubble tea. Outside the tea shop, I run into one of the Mandarin-speaking patients that I see in the primary care office. We do not speak the same language, but we smile at each other in recognition. Tufts serves the diverse immigrant communities in Boston, and through my time at the hospital I have learned a great deal about the demographics of my home city. 12:00 pm: I make my way over to the Outpatient Services building. Sipping on my bubble tea, I climb three flights of stairs and make my way across the indoor “bridge” that separates inpatient and outpatient services. With my badge on, nurses and physicians smile and me, and I feel inducted into the special world of the who have studied the mysteries of the human body. I also make sure to greet every patient I see. I do not know why they wander through the hospital today- maybe to get routine blood work, or have come in for a dose of chemotherapy- but I do know that a smile can really...
by Amanda Dennis | Oct 4, 2019 | Career Exploration, General, Internships, Student Perspective |
By Arielle Schultz As a premed Biology major, my Haverford courses have given me ample exposure to the cellular processes at the root of human health. To learn more about the practice of medicine, I knew I wanted to spend this summer engaged in a patient-care centered environment. Thanks to funding from the Jaharis Primary Care Pre-Medical Internship, I spent my summer as an intern with a family medicine physician at the OptumCare clinic in Cypress, CA. Family Medicine providers see patients of all ages, which lends to an interesting variety of cases. From children who had incurred sports injuries to senior citizens developing dementia, I observed the full breadth of health care management that falls under the umbrella of Family Medicine. Some patients come in once a year for an annual physical, while others with chronic conditions may need to schedule appointments every 3-4 months. Health care providers have to be able to both manage chronic conditions over several years and quickly diagnose and assess acute illnesses and injuries. The physician I shadowed often said to patients, “Sometimes it’s my job to push you into the medical vortex, and sometimes it’s my job to pull you out.” An advantage of healthcare today is patients’ access to subspecialists who can provide expert care and innovative treatment. But diagnostics can be invasive, treatments have risks, and certain medications have negative interactions. Thus, it is part of the Primary Care provider’s job to distinguish red flags from common symptoms or signs of aging, and to advise the patient and their family on whether to consult further medical care or wait-and-see. I...
by Amanda Dennis | Sep 26, 2019 | Career Exploration, General, Internships, Student Perspective |
By Nicole Litvitskiy The Child Mind Institute I have spent my summer as a Clinical Summer Intern at the Child Mind Institute in New York City. The Child Mind Institute is a nonprofit organization that provides psychological assessment and treatment for children, adolescents, and young adults. As an intern, I had the opportunity to be involved in various aspects of the organization. As a group of seven interns, we are exposed to several treatments for a variety of psychological disorders, including receiving training on specific treatment techniques. Throughout our 11 weeks here, we all have the opportunity to observe neuropsychological testing, in which children are assessed on their IQ and several additional measures in a holistic process. Additionally, Child Mind uses Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) to treat children who present disruptive and oppositional behavior. I had the opportunity to set up these sessions, provide childcare according to PCIT guidelines, and observe these sessions. One of the biggest portions of the clinical summer internship at Child Mind is our involvement in the treatment of Selective Mutism, both in the office and off-site for a program called Brave Buddies. Selective Mutism is an anxiety disorder in which children are typically talkative at home, but experience a significant amount of anxiety outside the home that leads to an inability to speak. This makes it difficult for children with Selective Mutism to succeed in school and other social situations. The Child Mind Institute uses a behavioral approach based on PCIT to treat Selective Mutism. As part of my internship I received training on how this treatment is provided. Throughout the summer, we conducted weekly...
by Amanda Dennis | Sep 12, 2019 | Career Exploration, General, Internships, Liberal Arts, Student Perspective |
By Charlie Russ Hello! My name is Charlie Russ and I am a rising senior, political science major, and Men’s lacrosse player. This summer I had the wonderful opportunity to intern at DLL. I was placed into the project management department with Matt Jennings, where I would be helping DLL roll-out their new operations system called MOSAIC. Going into it, I was nervous because I knew I would be working closely with computer developers, something I knew absolutely nothing about! However, these concerns were swiftly quelled by my supportive coworkers who were always eager to help me. Right off the bat, I was tasked with solving a critical problem in their line of communication between developers and business support. I had complete freedom to create my own solution. This was very empowering for me as an intern because not only did my supervisors entrust me with a significant problem, they also let me be creative and independent in my approach. In a nutshell, I built a new system for reporting upcoming functionality in MOSAIC to business support. This report allowed our development team to more efficiently solve production problems for business support as well as inform business support and clients of upcoming functionality being delivered. This enabled DLL to deliver more functionality faster to our customers. During this project, I built upon the communication and writing skills I have been honing at Haverford. Additionally, this project greatly enhanced my Excel skills, and I also learned how to use SalesForce. These hard technical skills are things that will definitely be useful to me in the future, and I’m elated to...
