This year has been filled with wonderful experiences, researching in a nephrology and hypertension lab, travelling to Mexico for a semester, engaging in my own self-designed, proposed and IRB approved research in healthcare and the criminal justice system. It has been a life changing and molding experience.
Nephrology & Hypertension Lab
I have been so incredibly fortunate to research an entire year in the Nephrology & Hypertension lab of Dr. Soleimani at the University of Cincinnati's Medical school. I learned what it truly meant to perform ground breaking research as the roles of a researcher; and no it isn't as easy as it looks! (And it doesn't even look easy!) Let's just say that my coffee addiction began here. We worked to uncover the mechanism of Cis-platin, a cancer-drug that leads to kidney disease! I learned all sorts of techniques and contributed to something very dear and near to me.
Provider-Patient Relationships & Uncovering Injustices in the Justice system
This experience has helped prepare me for my own research that has fortunately been grant funded and now IRB approved. Not many undergraduates are fortunate to have the opportunity to gain IRB approval, nor are they fortunate enough to be the Principal Investigator of their own research project(s); I have done both and all with the help of the university and honors program. The University of Cincinnati and UHP program have been so kind as to fund my research through the Taft Undergraduate Enrichment Award, the Presidential Leadership Award, the Taft Research Award and through several UHP grants. With these grants, I have two research projects, one titled 'The Cross-Sectional Analysis of the Provider-Patient relationship of Hispanics in the United States, Mexico & Puerto Rico' and the other titled 'Criminal Justice within the Hispanic Community.' With these research projects, I have been able to immerse myself in a whole new culture and see the perspectives of Hispanics from all walks of life, investigate the medical system of several facilities in Mexico, the US and soon to be Puerto Rico, and learn the personal story of several Hispanics in both healthcare and the criminal justice system.
Research, Research and more Research
During my research experience in Mexico, I was also attending Tecnologico de Monterrey, Campus Queretaro full time. As one of the best colleges in Mexico, I was able to take high level Spanish courses in Spanish Communication III, Mexican Culture, Genetic Engineering + Lab, and Tissue Culture + Lab. Outside of school I was so eager and driven, that I found myself engaging with my professors' research. I had the pleasure and honor to work under Dr. Rodriguez to investigate Hyptis suaveolans through genetic engineering techniques and monitoring of its genome. I also worked with Dr. Ashutosh Sharma to grow Galphimia glauca, a medicinal plant used to decrease anxiety and depression, as well as develop a database of plants that contained medicinal properties to fight Helicobactor pylori. I learned several new laboratory projects and really learned to manage my time efficiently, all while maintaining a healthy social life and relationship. I even managed my time to learn how to dance the Salsa, Bachatta, and a few other traditional Spanish dances, all while managing and organizing the service organization Circle K International from afar.
Circle K International & Bali, Indonesia
This alone was only the summer/fall semester of the fall year. During winter break I traveled to Bali, Indonesia to learn about the culture and gain an insight on the Balinese way of living. In the spring semester I took on my role as president of Circle K International full swing and was able to grow the organization substantially and produce some really great volunteer events while making life long friends and developing myself as a leader. I became an active member of the national SNMA where I am on the National Health Policy and Legislative Affairs Committee and the AMEC and RMEC Planning subcommittee as well as the Advocacy Blog subcommittee. I became an active member of the American Society of Nephrology, The American Society of Administrative Professionals, and the National Organization for Women all while staying active in the National Kidney Foundation, University Honors Association, Persian Student Association and Table Tennis Club.
Now what:
Do I overindulge myself and get involved to much sometimes? Never, you make time for the things you love. Everything that I do, I do because I am passionate about them, I live my life to never regret a single day. At the beginning of the summer I went to the Patient-Empathy + Innovation Summit at the Cleveland Clinic where I was inspired by the care and compassion of all the physicians, CEOs/medical directors and nurses to advocate and promote patient-centered care. I attended several great seminars and met several great individuals whom I had in-depth conversations about medicine and patient-care. I gained experiences and knowledge that will help me as a physician and hospital director in the future. Before this experience I was strenuously and stressfully applying to internships and programs and waiting for replies. I finally heard back from a few programs ensuring my acceptance. Now I can say that this summer I have been blessed to have been accepted into the Pathways Medical & Health Summer Internship at the Fayetteville VA Medical Center, NC, where I work under the executive leadership board- learning all the roles of the director and staff, attending all meetings and working toward two projects to complete during my program which involve analyzing provider productivity, patient access and developing a dashboard for the pharmacy department. Alone in the first three weeks of the program, I have learned and developed my knowledge of the healthcare system extensively and made great headway with my projects, all while applying skills and knowledge that I learned from the Patient Empathy conference to make the VHA medical center a better place. Fun fact, Fayetteville, NC is number 15 in the nation for opioid abuse, Wilmington, NC is number 1 in the nation. I have the honor to be on the Governor's task-force where I help manage the Treatment Resource Committee to eliminate opioid abuse within North Carolina.
So who am I? That is a question that not even myself knows, but I look forward to finding out and changing as life throws different opportunities and paths my way. Like I said, my year has been interesting, phenomenal and incapable of describing in one page, if at all. I look forward to the following year, I know it will be full of adventures, life-altering events, agonizing MCAT studying and med-school applications, and a lot of great times. I hope to gain as much next year as I did the past year.