LIMA, OH (WLIO) - Mercy Health St. Rita's welcomes in undergraduate students during the summer to take part in their annual student research experience.
Undergraduate students are able to shadow doctors of different specialties through their time with St. Rita's.
Kiley Tennant was one of those undergrads this year - she is a senior at the Ohio State University in pre-med, and was able to shadow doctors of different specialties through her time with St. Rita's.
"It's great to be able to see all of the diverse patient encounters, ranging from family medicine to emergency medicine, and also to see how all of those specialties work together, and are able to give the best patient care," said Tennant.
Mercy Health St. Rita's welcomes in undergraduate students during the summer to take part in their annual student research experience.
Tennant says that she and the other undergraduates in the program also conducted research with emergency room doctors, learned more about working together as a medical team, and she was able to practice her speaking skills through this program. That's been a big boost for her confidence as she continues her education.
"We also have done various workshops, including mock interviews and journal clubs, and with that, I've been able to improve my speaking skills, becoming more confident in speaking as well as just being able to organize a presentation, and being able to organize my thoughts and being able to present to a group and engage the audience," said Tennant.
Undergraduates in the program also conducted research with emergency room doctors and learned more about working together as a medical team.
Tennant adds that pre-med or healthcare students that may be unsure of what path they would like to take in their studies or who would like to get a more well rounded look at different possible careers down the line, should consider joining in on the yearly research experience.
"You learn so much - not just in a pre-PA (pre-physician's assistant) standpoint, or a pre-med standpoint, but just healthcare as a whole, how does everyone work together," Tennant said. "We met with several panels with different members of the staff, including nurses, administrators, physicians, med students, and it was really cool to see as a whole how healthcare all ties together. It's an invaluable experience for anyone that wants to do it."
