Phoenix, Arizona, United States
I am currently pursuing a Bachelors of Science at ASU. My career goal is to become an optometrist, and I plan to attend Midwestern University after my undergrad in 2025. I hope to use my career to make an impact in my community and give back to medicine, specifically in improving vision for low-income populations. So far, I have experience in working with patients as an ED scribe, vision-therapy assistant at Accent Eye Care, and a volunteer at John C Lincoln. I also have research experience by working with Dr. Hannah Giasson in a Views of Aging Lab and as a research intern at Voyage Medical. Furthermore, I have teaching experience by working as a tutor at the ASU downtown campus and also working as a TA for a biostatistics class at ASU. I hope to use my leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills to advance in my career and to continue to build strong connections within the medical field.
I assisted in pre-testing with other coworkers by conducting pretests using the autorefractor, tonometer, OCT machine, Optos machine, visual field machines, and topography. Afterwards, I uploaded their prescriptions and charts in Maxim Eyes and Sequel. At the start of the day, I helped make encounters for all the patients that day and helped confirm patients for the next day. Occasionally, I would also send recalls to patients through net2phone to remind them to schedule for their annual appointment. I also helped find contact lens and order any that were not present through ABB Optical Group. Throughout the day, I also helped upload any Optomap pictures to each patient's chart.
I interviewed around 50 people in Maricopa County with Salmonella or Valley Fever for a total of 135 hours asking detailed questions such as food intake, symptoms, and contacts, while providing them with advice and education to prevent a future risk of these communicable diseases. I recorded their information and updated their profile on MEDSIS indicating any call attempts or completed interviews. At the end of each investigation, I wrote a detailed note highlighting any risk-factors and important parts in the patient's story. Outside of the investigations, I also helped manage and organize the case-load to ensure everyone was called in a timely manner. Furthermore, every Friday, I collaborated with Dr. Megan Jehn and other students in the journal club meetings regarding relevant issues in the medical field and provided insight on how we can address those issues, such as how covid-19 impacted the healthcare field.
I managed office hours every week and monitored the discussion boards to help students in understanding the concepts in a more concise way while preparing them for the exams. I consulted and discussed with Dr. Biviji every two weeks regarding updates on the class. I also evaluated the students’ understanding of the content by grading their assignments and provided constructive feedback to help them learn the concept at a deeper level.
I helped revise and review the online surveys, and the visits 1 & 2 protocol and telephone scripts. I also helped test the First beat Device and identified issues with the Metric wire application. Furthermore, I collaborated in journal club discussions regarding the Socioemotional Selectivity Theory and the Age Stereotype Embodiment theory, while also challenging views on age stereotypes. Furthermore, I worked with RedCap and the SPSS Statistical software to manage patient data in the study.
I learned and utilized good clinical practice while working with patients in clinical trials. I obtained certifications in research such as the certification for good clinical practice. I helped manage patients in a RSV study by recruiting, consenting, and testing for RSV, flu, and Covid. I worked with a diverse group of patients including homeless and special-needs especially in the consenting process by reading and explaining the consent form and also testing for RSV by utilizing the correct medical procedures. During the internship, I also participated in weekly research meetings held by Dr. Imran and other clinical researchers to help maintain the flow of the clinic by creating and following through on deadlines for each of the studies. Furthermore, I participated and asked questions during the site-initiation visits where sites presented their studies to the clinic in hopes of having their study run at Voyage Medical, such as a study for effectively testing for Alzheimer's at an early stage. Throughout the internship, I also created and presented a study to my manager and coworkers for treating glaucoma through stem-cell treatment while analyzing the funding, inclusion and exclusion criteria, and the site and patient recruitment.
I worked with patients of various ages and backgrounds in vision therapy by conducting eye exams using up-to date eye technologies such as the ReadAlyzer and RightEye. Based on the age and the condition, I would provide accommodation to the exams, such as for children under 8, I would have them use a highlighter instead of a pencil and have them draw different pictures. With each patient I tried to establish a connection by talking about their hobbies and interests. I also updated patient records after the eye exams in EHR and in their respective binders. I was responsible for updating folders for patients a day earlier than their visit, while also conducting eye exams for current patients that day. In addition, I consulted with Dr. Gong and the other vision therapists on the patients’ progress after the exams, especially details that were not normal for the patient. I also assisted vision therapists by creating patient bags with different exercises to do at home by including foam balls, laminated papers, and folders. Occasionally, I would also help scan patient papers online into the EHR, and create folders and binders for new patients. At the end of each day, I would help the other coworkers turn off all the machines and put away all the materials.