I am so grateful to have completed the Practice Fellowship at Children’s National Developing Brain Institute. It was an incredible experience and I am so appreciative of the opportunity to gain hands-on skills and experience with such a fantastic team. This experience has allowed me to learn about a new side of public health and dive more into research. Throughout my time working with the team at the Developing Brain Institute, I was blown away by the incredible work they are doing and was so honored and thankful to be able to be a part of their team for the semester. Their dedication to the work, creative problem solving, and overall welcoming attitude were inspiring and allowed me to realize the kind of team member I hope to be as I enter my career in Public Health.
My tasks ranged from data cleaning and organization to survey creation to background research and gathering of community resources. An important takeaway from this experience was the importance of having the community members centered in the work that we were doing. Having this as the central focus and starting point ensured that all projects were completed with this foundation in place, strengthening each project and improving how they were serving the community. I am grateful for the chance to become more involved in the D.C. community through this experience and have the opportunity to better understand my community and work to reach them where they are.
Another important takeaway from this experience was the creative and collaborative approach that I was able to be a part of. It was amazing to see how the team tackled challenges and how they helped me brainstorm solutions and approaches to issues. I learned so much from them and know that these problem-solving skills and critical thinking will be incredibly valuable going forward!
I really loved how this Fellowship experience was the perfect blend of clinical work and public health research, as it allowed me to continue to tap into my love for caring for perinatal patients and their families that began as a Registered Nurse. I am so grateful to the Center of Excellence for providing this opportunity for me to gain such important skills, make wonderful connections, and get involved in the D.C. community. I am also immensely grateful for the team at Children’s National and all the support and guidance I received from them!