Honors Mentorship allowed me to gain experience and first hand knowledge of what it is like being in the medical field. As this is what i still intend to pursue in my future, it was very helpful to be able to have this experience and see what my future would look like. By working at Northside I was able to see not only how what my future goal of being a physician does but how all the other roles and jobs affect each other and how they create an interconnected system all in the name of patient care. By being able to experience this it only further solidified that I do want to pursue a degree in medicine, though I was not able to experience pediatrics which is what I have always wanted to go into, being able to work with patients I discovered that is the path I wish to take in life.
Fortunately in my experience I did not change my future goals. Though for others it was different but all in all anyone who has done HMP will tell you. That being able to have this experience and be able to first hand work in your intended future career helps to either solidify or allow you to realize it is not what you wish to do. My internship also helped me decide where i wanted to go to college, when I decided for definite I am going to go into medicine I began looking at colleges not just known for my major (Biomedical Engineering) but also pre-med programs and medical school.
One thing I would be certain to tell future HMP students is to take full advantage of everything your mentor gives you. They want to teach you, so don't be afraid to ask questions stay late, do extra hours than are required. One time when I was in the lab, one of the pathologists asked if I wanted to see something cool. I spent the whole time with him and he explained all the different things he did as a pathologist as well as the current specimens he was looking at, then he looked at me and asked when I normally left. I told him I normally left at 4:30, then he looked at me and told me it was 6:30, I was so engrossed in learning I didn't realize how late I was there. So next year take advantage of every opportunity possible to get the most out of your HMP experience and allow yourself to learn the most possible.
