After completing my internship, I have gained a lot more information which career path I think is best for me. Working in Dr. Organ's lab has allowed me to experience first hand what a career in research might be like. It has also allowed me to observe medical doctors and students of medicine. I have been able to speak to people of many different backgrounds and careers, which has been invaluable in aiding my decision making process. 

Before my internship, I was most interested in a career in scientific research. I was less interested in medicine or industry. After my internship, I have become more interested in a career in medicine. While I still enjoy scientific research, speaking with current medical students has caused me to consider a career in medicine more seriously. I think this is largely due to the difficulty of obtaining a steady job in academia, while it is much easier to find a steady job in medicine. After completing my schooling I would like to get begin my career as quickly as possible. A career in academia often includes years of work as a post-doc or untenured professor with the hope of obtaining an eventual tenure. There is a large amount of competition for relatively few positions and this uncertainty is not something I am interested in. 

Despite of this, I am still interested in staying involved with research if at all possible. Therefore the M.D./Ph.D. program available is something that is very interesting to me. After speaking with a coworker who is a part of the program, it seems like a very interesting path to consider. I would be able to partake in research as well as practice medicine. I will also receive a stipend for my research, which will help with the hefty cost of both professional and graduate school.

With these plans in mind, I will begin preparing immediately. I plan to stay involved with research this summer and hopefully into my junior year. In this time I hope to be included on a lab publication, something that will greatly help my chances in entering medical or graduate school. I will continue taking courses in science and engineering and I will hopefully find time to take medical or graduate classes during my undergraduate time. I also plan to begin taking the necessary tests (MCAT, GRE) the summer before my senior year. Along with all of these things, I also plan to find an industry internship for the summer before my senior year. While I do not plan to go into industry at this point, I would still like to experience in order to see if it is really for me. 

Overall my LHSI internship was extremely helpful in choosing a future career path. I was able to directly experience many aspects of a career in research, and I was also able to speak with a lot of people who work in medicine. I think gaining these perspectives was one of the best parts of my internship.