It is with great pleasure that I announce the major stress that has been lifted off of my shoulders this week. As mentioned in last week’s weekly report, I had been growing more concerned about finishing my abstract by the May 1st deadline. However, Dr. Meintjes and I were able to complete our statistical analysis in one mentor visit, which made way for the start of the writing process. This week I was able to write the first draft of my abstract and begin on the second as well, which places me right on track with my original final product calendar.
The week truly began when I met with Dr. Meintjes for the first time in two weeks, for he had been away on a business trip. We quickly began work on the statistical analysis, which is territory that I am quite unfamiliar with. Fortunately, Dr. Meintjes did a fantastic job at explaining every step to me. We began using a two-tailed chi squared analysis to find the level of marginal significance, also known as the p-value. When comparing estradiol levels and international units of HMG, we knew that a p-value of under 0.05 would indicate a significant difference amongst the data. We used this method, along with a t-test, to compare all of the data we had spent so many weeks looking for in patient records. Through a determination to complete my abstract by the due date, I was able to complete all of this analysis in one sitting. Now, I have started the most important part of my final product, which is my abstract. Just two weeks ago the idea of starting my abstract sounded crazy, for I did not believe that I had the knowledge to write about my research yet. Nevertheless, through the guidance of my mentor, I have finished one draft and started on another, and I continue to gain more of an understanding every single day. Getting back on track with my final product calendar is a phenomenal feeling, for now I know Dr. Meintjes and I will have time in the future to watch different procedures in the office and in the lab. Since so much of my time has been focused on final product, I am excited to finally finish and learn more about the reproductive sciences in general. The Frisco Institute of Reproductive Medicine provides me with the opportunity to not only observe reproductive endocrinologists, but also to witness the work of scientific directors, embryologists, and specialists in egg/sperm donations. Since I am fortunate enough to have access to a facility with a large andrology lab, it would be a waste for me not to experience the different work that goes on in there. I am excited to finish up these next couple of weeks leading up to May, for I am just going to continue to write many more drafts of my abstract. I can already see that I am beginning to gain so much knowledge with each draft I write. For now, my focus is solely on writing, but once I have completed my final copy, then I will turn to other assignments that need to be done. However, I am currently living in the moment and enjoying it very much.
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This past week in ISM mainly consisted of preparations for final presentation night. With my mentor away on a business trip, I spent even more time in the classroom as I designed my invitations and found a classroom to use on May 29th. However, the ISM time I am not putting towards my final product is starting to instill some stress and worry in me.
Invitations and classroom assignments are the more fun and light-hearted aspects of preparing for final presentation night. Seeing everything come together is incredibly exciting and quite motivating in terms of my final product. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to go through all of this last year, so the stress of the unknown has been largely eliminated. I have realized what I need to have done in advance and what I must prepare that day. Last year I made the mistake of not coming to school with my hair and makeup done. In the end, it was a rush to do my hair, put on makeup, get dressed, and set up my room. I underestimated the time I had available and spent a little too much time eating the pizza Mr. Speice had gotten for us. Conversely, this year I am going to come to school looking a little more presentable and also bring a lighter meal with me. As for my final product, my mentor, Dr. Meintjes, will return this upcoming week from his business trip. From there we will finish up analysis on our data and begin writing our abstract. I began looking at abstract examples this week to familiarize myself with what I will be writing soon. Abstracts are much shorter than I initially anticipated. Although this makes the writing process seem much less stressful, I find that this word limit only makes it more difficult to include all of the necessary information. My schedule next week will be filled to the brim. From an all day field trip on Monday, multiple mentor visits, and the Shattered Dreams presentation on Thursday and Friday, I do not think that I will receive much class time in ISM. Working with my mentor on my final product has been extremely fun, but I am quite excited to finish everything up for final presentation night and for summer break. As of late, my weekly recounts of ISM are becoming more and more similar, for my weeks have constantly consisted of final product work. However, this week was the first in a while where panic has truly hit me from all angles. From time restraints to class assessments, the stress this week has multiplied greatly.
The end of the year and graduation is drawing near, which means I am beginning to feel a sense of urgency to finish my schoolwork and go into the summer/pre-college zone. Fortunately, I have found that working on my final product does not necessarily feel like a chore, but balancing my final product with my other schoolwork sure is challenging. The challenge with my final product, as I have stated numerous times before, is that the confidential nature of the data I have been working with makes it difficult for me to work on anything at home. This became even more of a problem this week when ISM students had a product progress assessment due. I initially made the mistake of not looking at the assessment instructions earlier on in the week, which meant I did not have any of my excel sheets that I have been working on for months. On top of this, my mentor visit on Thursday had to be canceled, which meant that I did not even get the last minute opportunity to adjust my excel sheets and print off some of them. I decided to just write my assessment and attach my log and previous assessments detailing my weekly actions at my mentor’s office. Additionally, I am beginning to feel slight panic seep into my thoughts. Due to a last minute emergency, I was not able to attend my mentor visit last Thursday. Also, my mentor will be out of the country until the beginning of April. With our abstract due on May 1st, I am hoping that everything will be finished on time. If I want to guarantee a finished abstract, my mentor visits will have to increase drastically for the month of April. Ruan, the individual I schedule my visits with, and I are attempting to find some new times that will work in the mornings for Dr. Meintjes and I to meet and finish up our research. Up to this point we have only been meeting up to two days a week on A-days, but if we want to finish on time, adding some B-day mornings will provide us with even more time. Fortunately, once we begin abstract work, my drafts may be completed at home and emailed over to my mentor. In this case, a lot more time will be freed up for me to work on everything I must finish by May 1st. Of course I expected stress towards the end of the year in regards to ISM. However, I am hoping to limit this stress as soon as possible through action. I realize that it is now my responsibility to push through the laziness I am feeling all too often and finish my final product. This is especially true because my product will not only have my name attached to it, but also my mentor’s. While much of my final product time is restricted to my mentor’s office, I know that there are steps I should be taking on my own time every day. This past week was not so much ISM-centered. Although I did have one mentor visit that allowed for Dr. Meintjes and I to move onto the next step of my final product, I took spring break as the opportunity to re-energize and unwind before exam season. It was the first week in a while that I did not experience any last minute panic from school work or tests.
As mentioned before, I am still on track with my final product calendar in that I am continuously scheduling mentor visits for every week. Up to this point, my mentor visits largely consisted of me finding and transferring bits and pieces of information from a wide array of patient records. I continued this task this past week as well, but finished up the last of it during this mentor visit. The exciting aspect of my final product is finally near, for this next week marks the beginning of the actual abstract writing and data analyzing process. The work I have been doing up to this point was quite time consuming, but also quite simple to grasp. The remaining work, which is the most important, requires for Dr. Meintjes and I to come together in order for him to teach me about scientific data analysis and abstracts in general. Due to my inexperience, Dr. Meintjes encouraged me to read examples of abstracts on the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) website. I have already begun to do so because this part of my final product is the part I have been especially nervous for. This part is my opportunity to show not only the ASRM about everything I have learned and comprehended throughout these last few months, but to also show my mentor, Dr. Meintjes. With all this said, I decided to embrace the calm before the storm this week and focus on myself. From spending time with family to going to the gym, my spring break has allowed me to, for the most part, forget about ISM final products, chemistry acids and bases, the assets and liabilities of the bank, and much more. I find that in times of great stress, it is quite hard for me to focus in-depth on any one thing. My focus generally goes to simply getting everything done and off of my mind. When I am more clear headed, I am able to put more thought into everything I do both in and out of school. I am now looking forward to finishing up my final product this next month. I always try to improve on doing things in the long-term, such as long-term studying that does not take place the night before. With my final product, the month of April will consist of long-term writing that must be consistently sent to my mentor for review and revisions. This is just another example of ISM helping me with my long-term picture, as in my future. I would characterize last week in ISM as another typical week. As of late, my main priority in my independent research has been my research, which is being conducted with the help of my mentor, Dr. Meintjes. Therefore, this “typical” week consisted of even more work at my mentor’s office and, also, a conference with Mr. Speice. This conference was simply to catch Mr. Speice up on my progress and the direction I am heading for the rest of ISM 2.
My work with Dr. Meintjes is just continuing to progress and flourish. At my last visit I continued my work on the computer and ran into a few issues with the data. Fortunately, my mentor is always available to guide me through difficulties. I am also quite excited about the different factors Dr. Meintjes and I are looking at, for I am learning about different influences in creating a successful pregnancy. My current concern is how i’m slightly falling behind on my final product calendar. However, the spring break will offer me more opportunities to work on my final product and catch up on everything I need before starting my abstract. My conference with Mr. Speice was something else I was nervous for last week. I am extremely excited about everything I am doing, but I was just hoping Mr. Speice would see it as living up to ISM 2 standards. Fortunately, Mr. Speice is on board with my current tasks, which gives me even more motivation to finish out the year strong. The end of the semester is looming, which makes motivation harder to hang on to. Even though I am passionate about my work in ISM, my approaching graduation is often on my mind. However, knowing the fantastic opportunities that could arise from this experience, I am continuously putting ISM as a top priority. |
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