Theresa Morley-McLaughlin ’21

Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA

Thanks to the support of the Alumni Sponsored Internship Program, I was able to spend the summer interning at Boston Children’s Hospital. My internship consisted of three primary subdivisions: (1) shadowing and patient-interaction, (2) clinical research, and (3) medical education.

In line with the first focus, I spent many hours shadowing a wide range of hospital professionals including interpreters, social workers, nurse practitioners, second and third year residents, fellows, cardiology and toxicology attendings, anesthesiologists, and surgeons. Each shadowing experience taught me a different lesson or illuminated something new. For instance, when I spent a day in the in-patient hospital clinic with a cardiology attending, I was impressed by how much time Dr. X spent with each patient. He also knew a lot about each person (ex: where they were going to school, what sports they liked, and important vacations their family had been on), which was really impressive because he sees most of them only once a year. It was encouraging to watch a physician be so personal with and devoted to his patients.

Additionally, during one of my afternoons shadowing, I got a chance to speak with both a clinical assistant who is currently in physician assistant (PA) school, and a nurse practitioner (NP). Both of these women were adamant in their belief that there are many pathways other than med school that can be equally (if not more they said!) appealing and fulfilling. They explained that although both PAs and NPs may have less autonomy than MDs, and although their titles may receive less respect from the average person, both of these professionals have the ability to see patients on their own. They also argued that PAs and NPs are able to have “more of a life outside of work” than an MD can. This was really interesting for me to hear because I’ve always been drawn to the medical world, but I’ve never been completely sold on the idea of med school because it appears that extremely intense demands—with regards to time, work, and emotional energy—are placed on physicians. I intend to be fully committed to any career I pursue, but I also want to be realistic about if and how my career could make it difficult for me to find an appropriate balance between work and the rest of my life.

Working on my research project: I used the left screen to compile and organize the data I collected while reading the echocardiograms on the right screen.

I also spent a few afternoons shadowing at the Martha Elliot Clinic, which is a satellite location of Boston Children’s Hospital. I found my time at this clinic to be quite interesting because it clearly drew its patients from a different population than the main hospital did. Most patients and their families were from a lower socioeconomic class and that many of them spoke Spanish primarily or exclusively. In fact, during one of the appointments I went to, the resident I was with spoke solely in Spanish in order to accommodate the young girl and her father. In addition, the attendings and residents at this clinic bring a book into every appointment and subsequently give the book to the patient as a gift that is designed to promote reading (because this isn’t always prioritized in these families). It was wonderful to see the hospital reach out to, accommodate, and support a community that might not be as affluent as its typical patients.

Moving on to the second focus of my internship, I devoted the majority of my time to a clinical research project that I conducted with the help of a cardiology attending. Because the research project has not yet been published, I cannot divulge specific details, but the overarching goal was to determine if a certain type of kidney disease also causes significant cardiac implications that should be recognized and considered during the treatment of these patients.

My specific role in the research project was to read the echocardiograms that had been taken for patients with the specific kidney disease under examination and to record measurements for and notes about various parts of their hearts. These measurements and notes will then be compiled and analyzed in order to determine if any statistically significant patterns exist. Prior to this summer, I had never before even seen an echocardiogram, so I really enjoyed that this research allowed me to learn an entirely new skill. In addition, it was extremely rewarding to know that I was contributing to a project that has the potential to alter the care of patients in a positive way. With all of that said however, the time I spent conducting research made it clear to me that person-to-person interactions, such as those between a physician and a patient in clinic, are extremely important to me and will have to be present in whatever future career I choose.

Scrubbing in to observe a cardiology surgery.

Finally, the third segment of my internship focused on medical education and took the shape of a daily lunch lecture that was designed for and presented to the hospital’s residents. The lectures as a whole were quite interesting because they discussed an incredibly wide range of topics, including Lyme disease, accidental poisonings, infant immunizations and eczema. One of the lunch lectures that I found most interesting and thought-provoking was about how to differentiate between accidentally caused injuries and injuries that occur as a result of abuse. The specific research that was presented was quite interesting and the topic as a whole is so important. Hearing stories about and seeing photos of tiny children who were abused really made me want to do something to help them. The lecture made me wonder if this might be the type of work that I would enjoy doing and would find rewarding and fulfilling.

Although I have primarily reflected upon a few of the many personally thought-provoking moments and experiences I had throughout the summer, I want to express my deepest and most sincere gratitude for the generosity of the Class of 1972 who made this summer internship and learning experience possible for me. Although my future plans are still not crystal clear, this summer left me with a much better sense not only of the wide range of jobs that exist in the medical field, but also of specific aspects of a career that I find personally important and intend to pursue in my future. So thank you again. I sincerely appreciate this opportunity and all that I’ve gained from it.