Name: Paola Salas

Year: 2019

Major: Undeclared

What’s happening? We’d love to hear how your internship is going!

I have been a part of the team at Boston Children’s that is working on HelpSteps, an online referral tool that aims to help people all over Massachusetts gain access to the health and social services that they need. The hospital is collaborating with the Boston Public Health Commission on this project to help this tool flourish over the summer and appeal to under-served people. This summer I am getting in contact with hospitals, clinics, WIC programs, child care centers, early intervention organizations, etc. in order to update HelpSteps to give the public the most helpful information. I meet with other interns, engineers, and physicians to brainstorm how to best design this tool. I was also brought onto another project, TriVox health, which serves as a disease management platform currently monitoring thousands of patients at Boston Children’s Hospital and several private practices. I am in charge of making this platform accessible to the Spanish-speaking population by editing translated medical documents and surveys. Lastly, I am also able to shadow Dr. Eric Fleegler at Boston Children’s Emergency Clinic to get a better sense of what it’s like to be a doctor. With all of these tasks, I am able to learn about the variety of opportunities that exist in healthcare and the diverse ways that you can help people.

How I heard about my internship:

I participated in the spring STEM intensive where I learned more about public health. Through that program I got in contact with many Bryn Mawr alum who were eager to help me gain experience in medicine/health. One alum discussed my interests with me and forwarded my CV to several of her peers that are current doctors in Boston. After talking to several doctors, I interviewed and chose this position at BCH.

Why I applied for my internship:

After two semesters at Bryn Mawr I wanted to give myself the chance to experience new fields over the summer. The STEM intensive opened my eyes to public health and I began to look forward to gaining insight on medicine/health/public health. This position at BCH was perfect for me because it combined my interest in health with my interest in social justice issues by helping under-served people get the services that they need.