Reflection
I've always had an interest in research; however, as a freshman majoring in nursing, I thought I would never get the chance to do research within the field of nursing due to the limited opportunities for nursing majors. Once I stumbled upon the WISE program, I felt my luck change for the better. WISE stands for Women in Science and Engineering. It is a summer enrichment program that pairs around 20 undergraduate students with faculty mentors, for a full 10 weeks of research experience in numerous fields, and provides students with a $4,500 stipend. When I saw that they offered research in nursing, I knew I had to apply for the 2013 session. Information about the types of projects offered, deadlines, forms and contact information can be found on the website: http://www.wise.uc.edu/wise/rewu/rewu.php3.
I applied for two nursing projects and one psychology project and in March was accepted to work with my current mentor, Professor Carolyn Smith from the College of Nursing, on her research project regarding workplace violence. My specific project, which I have chosen to continue with even after the end of the WISE program, is titled: Validation of Workplace Violence Instruments among Adolescent Employees. Because the whole study required more time to complete than just the 10 weeks I was given, to comply with WISE requirements, the project was adapted and I presented a: Recruitment Strategy for an Adolescent Workplace Violence Study. The objective of the later project was to create a strategy that would allow us to recruit 25 participants by maximizing exposure of the larger adolescent workplace violence study, to validate instruments, in the form of surveys, for future use in a larger adolescent workplace violence study of 180 participants. I learned to conduct community assessments and use Esri Community Analyst GIS software to map areas for recruitment efforts, I also spoke with many community members, and collated data. The recruitment strategy was successful and although recruitment isn't over yet, we are almost halfway there.
Including myself, there were a total of 22 participants that not only got to work with amazing mentors, but also had the guidance of the wonderful Dr. Ghia, her assistant Seezan Prajapati, and all the guest speakers that came to give a different presentation every Monday afternoon at the ERC. Although our main task was to conduct research and learn more about the studies, the weekly sessions not only focused on empowering each of us as women scholars in the fields of science, they taught us about the skills assistant researchers need to have and providing us with the necessary tools to succeed in the WISE program and beyond, to help guide us through the weeks of preparation for the final presentations on August 1st and the Research Report due August 2nd.
Participating in the WISE program for the summer was so much more rewarding than I had expected, that if I could, I would do it again. Since that is not possible, I am content with encouraging other students to consider the WISE program as a valuable experience. I now have experience with research, am currently involved in a year long research project with the same mentor I was paired with, and feel more confident with potentially pursuing a PhD in Nursing. The project I worked on was on topics far from my prior understanding as a freshman, however the skills I learned have allowed me to see what I will be doing in the future as I work towards a BSN degree. I may not have entered the program with any experience in community nursing or research, but I now have widened my scope of knowledge and interests that I could use to my advantage for any future endeavors in my career. I intend to do co-op work in the summer of my junior year and my participation in the WISE program could be a great addition to my resume.
Artifacts:
I applied for two nursing projects and one psychology project and in March was accepted to work with my current mentor, Professor Carolyn Smith from the College of Nursing, on her research project regarding workplace violence. My specific project, which I have chosen to continue with even after the end of the WISE program, is titled: Validation of Workplace Violence Instruments among Adolescent Employees. Because the whole study required more time to complete than just the 10 weeks I was given, to comply with WISE requirements, the project was adapted and I presented a: Recruitment Strategy for an Adolescent Workplace Violence Study. The objective of the later project was to create a strategy that would allow us to recruit 25 participants by maximizing exposure of the larger adolescent workplace violence study, to validate instruments, in the form of surveys, for future use in a larger adolescent workplace violence study of 180 participants. I learned to conduct community assessments and use Esri Community Analyst GIS software to map areas for recruitment efforts, I also spoke with many community members, and collated data. The recruitment strategy was successful and although recruitment isn't over yet, we are almost halfway there.
Including myself, there were a total of 22 participants that not only got to work with amazing mentors, but also had the guidance of the wonderful Dr. Ghia, her assistant Seezan Prajapati, and all the guest speakers that came to give a different presentation every Monday afternoon at the ERC. Although our main task was to conduct research and learn more about the studies, the weekly sessions not only focused on empowering each of us as women scholars in the fields of science, they taught us about the skills assistant researchers need to have and providing us with the necessary tools to succeed in the WISE program and beyond, to help guide us through the weeks of preparation for the final presentations on August 1st and the Research Report due August 2nd.
Participating in the WISE program for the summer was so much more rewarding than I had expected, that if I could, I would do it again. Since that is not possible, I am content with encouraging other students to consider the WISE program as a valuable experience. I now have experience with research, am currently involved in a year long research project with the same mentor I was paired with, and feel more confident with potentially pursuing a PhD in Nursing. The project I worked on was on topics far from my prior understanding as a freshman, however the skills I learned have allowed me to see what I will be doing in the future as I work towards a BSN degree. I may not have entered the program with any experience in community nursing or research, but I now have widened my scope of knowledge and interests that I could use to my advantage for any future endeavors in my career. I intend to do co-op work in the summer of my junior year and my participation in the WISE program could be a great addition to my resume.
Artifacts:
- I chose to include a group picture from the start and end of the program to show all the wonderful faces of my fellow 2013 WISE companions (one girl is missing in the first picture because she was doing her research in Switzerland), as well as one of Dr. Ghia and my mentor Professor Carolyn Smith. The people I met this summer are all great intellectual individuals that I was able to form connections with which is an excellent example of networking.
- The second item is the Prezi I used for the Final WISE presentation on August 1st in room 247 of the ERC. I presented to an auditorium full of faculty, staff, department heads, chair-members, company representatives and deans; even President Ono was to make an appearance, but he was unfortunately unable to attend. The presentation was 8 minutes long and was followed by questions from the audience. It explains all aspects of my project including the results, conclusions, future steps and the impact of the WISE program on my professional development and professional plans.
- To complete the experience, I submitted a research report of the project. It explains in detail every aspect of the adapted version of the project as well as certain aspects of the full project will will be completed in the coming months. An updated report of the full project will be submitted to Dr. Ghia detailing the entirety of the study.