Clinical Observation 

I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to conduct clinical observation and shadowing in the Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. Additionally, I’ve had the chance to assist these doctors on their research.

In 2017, I shadowed and assisted Dr. Vicky Parikh in his Pathways to Diabetes project within the organization TelCare Coaching. 143 patients deemed at risk for diabetes and diabetic complications were enrolled into a program in which they corresponded with a doctor electronically to receive healthcare. I assisted Dr. Parikh in collating and analyzing data from the patients. Preliminary data from the project revealed that patients who communicated with physicians via TelCare Coaching devices--essentially a mobile phone specially designed for people with diabetes/pre-diabetes--had better healthcare outcomes. Working with Dr. Parikh, as well as a family history of the disease, has inspired me to pursue research in the field of diabetes.

In summer-fall 2017, I shadowed Gastroenterologist Dr. Nimesh Khatri at the MedStar Shah Medical Group. I worked with him closely on the case of one particular patient, whose rare diagnosis he presented at the American College of Gastroenterology and was subsequently published in the organization’s journal. I assisted Dr. Khatri in his presentation at the ACG conference, for which I was responsible for conducting literature research on the patient’s diagnosis (including references to previous cases), creating the poster, obtaining the slides from the pathologist, and writing up the abstract. When the resulting paper was published in the American College of Gastroenterology Journal, I was credited as an author. I further assisted Dr. Khatri with another patient and presentation regarding a different rare diagnosis.

During the following summer of 2018, I shadowed and assisted Interventional Radiologist Dr. Sandeep Bagla on a research project concerning osteoarthritis of the knee. Dr. Bagla is investigating using non-invasive procedures to reduce the need for surgery in patients experiencing arthritis. My role was to help gather data from the subjects in Dr. Bagla’s study, conduct a literature review, and help collate a national embolization registry. Dr. Bagla will be publishing his findings in 2020.

That same summer, I also spent time with Dr. Bagla and Dr. Shah seeing patients undergoing Interventional Radiology procedures. The benefit of pedal artery access for vascular interventional procedures to reduce complications. My role was to review the finding in patients charts and analyze the data regarding the outcome. I was able to visit with these patients during their procedures and follow-ups and clinically follow their course.

Most recently, I was given the opportunity to shadow Dr. Hema Dave at Children's National Medical Center, Department of Pediatric Oncology both in outpatient clinic and inpatient service. I accompanied Dr. Dave on hospital rounds and was able to see the inpatient side of pediatric oncology. Dr. Dave is pioneering a new initiative at Children’s National Medical that allows patients to track medications and be able to report certain data points to their physician remotely via a mobile application on their handheld device.  I was able to join Dr. Dave as she asked patients for permission to enroll them in this new program. I was particularly excited about this opportunity as it correlated with my previous work with Patient Generated Health Data. I am excited to see how cancer patients are affected by this new initiative.

Finally, through my internship with the Children's Health Advocacy Institute, I was able to shadow Dr. Ankoor Shah, a pediatrician who works in an underserved area of Washington, D.C. He has undertaken a special initiative to create a law for the District of Columbia to supply undesignated albuterol in the public school system. Through his research and public health data, asthma-related issues are the primary cause of children missing school and hindering their education. With this new policy, children will be able to receive better treatment and, as a result, miss less school. I was able to shadow Dr. Shah on few days throughout the summer and observe how asthma truly affects children in wards seven and eight of Washington, D.C.