Through this internship I hope to gain several different skills and experiences. I very much look forward to learning more about the research processes and how things work in a clinical setting. I also am excited to see how I work in a professional setting. I hope to get better at working and communicating in a professional medical office and to improve my skills with patients of a different age than I am used to working with. I also very much am looking forward to learning all about the workings in this adolescent medicine project. 

The research being performed with this study are used to determine whether or not adolescent women are able to make decisions about birth control based on health history. Since oral contraceptives are so widely used in the age range 14-21, and teen pregnancy is such a large problem, it is possible that oral contraceptives will go over the counter in all states at some point, but in order to make these available to adolescents, it is important to know that they have the capacity to determine whether or not these medications are safe. 

The research is done in the form of a survey in a teen clinic. After obtaining consent from the adolescent, she is asked to fill out a demographic form giving us information on her academic standing, sexual history, and health history. After that, the participant is asked to read seven words aloud to test for health literacy, (Words include: menopause, antibiotics, exercise,  jaundice, rectal, anemia, and behavior). This provides information on how much medical knowledge each participant has. After that, the recruiter asks each participant a series of questions about her personal use of birth control, ("Have you ever used birth control?" "What kinds of birth control have you used?", etc...) The final question asked is, "If given the opportunity to do so legally, would the participant purchase OCPs without a prescription or visit to the doctor?" This question allows us to know if the participant was able to identify contraindications without the help of her doctor, which is the overall goal of the study. 

Throughout this internship I gained experience working among many other medical professionals. I was put into a clinic and had to work independently, without anyone telling me what I needed to do at any given time. I built my experience i a clinical setting including some patient interactions that aren't always easy. My favorite part of this internship was definitely learning all about the uses of birth control and all the thought processes that adolescent women go through to decide whether or not they should take oral contraceptives. I found that I am good at dealing with the pressure of giving my speech as soon as I walk into the examination room. 

The most challenging part of the internship was dealing with some unconformatable familial situations. However, these provided me with the opportunity to problem solve and simply get used to dealing with inevitable difficult situations that you encounter in the medical field. 

•Oral Contraceptive Pills (OCPs) are over-the-counter in two states and will likely go nationwide sometime in the near future.