During the summer of 2017, I was lucky enough to be a student researcher in the Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy (OTPT) Division of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC) as a part of the Student Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program. I worked full time for 10 weeks under the guidance of my two mentors Amy Bailes and Karen Harpster.
My work varied day to day, but involved helping Amy and Karen with their respective research projects. I also had opportunities to shadow Amy and Karen when they worked with patients. Through researching and shadowing, I’ve gained a plethora of skills and knowledge. What I’ve learned includes, but is not limited to . . . how to do literature reviews; analyze data with Excel; professionally recruit and interact with subjects; communicate with doctors, nurses, and therapists; set up and edit research studies in Epic and ePas; therapy techniques and theories; common diseases and disorders that pediatric physical therapists work with; and successfully interacting with patients and their families.
As a result of my experience this summer, I am more open to the idea of earning my DPT/PhD. I’m still not sure if I want to commit my entire career to research, but I really enjoyed my experience with OTPT research and working with DPT/PhD professionals. I want to explore research further and love my job, so I will continue to work part time during my upcoming school year. Since both studies are ongoing and involve protected participant information, I’m unable to share specific results or data. Instead, I shared my experience further via a short video. Please enjoy!