{"id":11547,"date":"2024-10-30T09:12:20","date_gmt":"2024-10-30T14:12:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/?post_type=campus_story&p=11547"},"modified":"2024-10-30T09:12:20","modified_gmt":"2024-10-30T14:12:20","slug":"prioritizing-patients-uwl-students-drive-innovation-in-healthcare-with-gundersen-summer-research-fellowship","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/prioritizing-patients-uwl-students-drive-innovation-in-healthcare-with-gundersen-summer-research-fellowship\/","title":{"rendered":"Prioritizing patients: UWL students drive innovation in healthcare with Gundersen Summer Research Fellowship"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Gundersen Summer Research Fellowship help UWL students gain invaluable hands-on experience in medical research and clinical care.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Behind the scenes at Gundersen Health System, two UWL students are contributing to research that will benefit the future of patient experiences.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Anna Meilahn and MacKenzie Caya recently completed the Gundersen Summer Research Fellowship, gaining invaluable hands-on experience in medical research and clinical care. The fellowship, established in 1985, has fostered the research skills of aspiring healthcare professionals, allowing them to contribute to groundbreaking studies under the mentorship of Gundersen\u2019s experienced medical staff.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Beyond research and physician shadowing, the collaborative atmosphere of the fellowship was an essential aspect of the experience.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Both students learned about the fellowship through UWL extracurricular activities: Meilahn from\u00a0UWL\u2019s Pre-Health Resource Center<\/a>\u00a0and Caya from\u00a0Pre-Medicine Club<\/a>. Recent graduate\u00a0<\/span>Abigale Hartwig also participated in the fellowship program.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis fellowship allowed me to develop leadership skills and independence as I tackled challenges and created dissemination materials,\u201d says Meilahn, a junior studying\u00a0biochemistry.<\/a>\u00a0\u201cAdditionally, participating in a weekly journal club enhanced my ability to critically evaluate medical research and apply evidence-based reasoning to complex clinical scenarios.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Meilahn and Caya each made significant contributions to a research project that addressed a real-world medical challenge, working closely with Gundersen\u2019s research mentor, biostatistician and the Research Navigation team.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI participated in clinical research titled, \u2018Robotic Inguinal Hernia Repair Reduces the Need for Subsequent Contralateral Inguinal Hernia Surgery,\u2019\u201d says Caya, a senior majoring in\u00a0biology<\/a>. Working alongside three general surgeons and the Gundersen research team, Caya examined the impact of robotic surgery on reducing the need for follow-up surgeries for inguinal hernias.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI gained a deep understanding of the clinical research process and learned how to collaborate effectively with professionals who were all incredibly busy with varying schedules and means of communication,\u201d Caya says.<\/span><\/p>\n

Meilahn contributed to the project titled, \u201cPatient Perceptions of the Virtual Nurse Role on Inpatient Units: Semi-Structured Interviews.” With virtual nurses now playing a key role in Gundersen\u2019s response to the state-wide nursing shortage, the study aimed to assess patient perceptions and ensure the quality of care.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Meilahn (pictured) contributed to the project titled, \u201cPatient Perceptions of the Virtual Nurse Role on Inpatient Units: Semi-Structured Interviews.”<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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\u201cOne of my favorite aspects of the fellowship was shadowing physicians across diverse specialties, including the clinic, emergency department and operating room,\u201d Meilahn shares. \u201cA particularly memorable experience was observing Street Medicine at Gundersen, where medical professionals provide care to underserved communities. This experience was instrumental in shaping my future goals and defining the type of practitioner I aspire to be.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Caya also found inspiration in shadowing medical professionals, reigniting her passion for healthcare.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWitnessing their empathy and dedication to patients was inspiring and something I\u2019m incredibly grateful to have experienced,\u201d Caya says.<\/span><\/p>\n

Beyond research and physician shadowing, the collaborative atmosphere of the fellowship was an essential aspect of the experience, Caya says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Caya (pictured far left) contributed to the study titled, “Robotic Inguinal Hernia Repair Reduces the Need for Subsequent Contralateral Inguinal Hernia Surgery.”<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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\u201cThe experience would not have been what it was without everyone I worked with,\u201d Caya explains. \u201cWe all came from different backgrounds, college majors and experiences, but all had a passion and joy for research that brought us together, allowed us to learn from one another have an incredibly memorable summer.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Gundersen Summer Research Fellowship was established in 1985 by Dr. Martin Smith, the health system\u2019s first director of medical research. It was later renamed the A.C.V. Elston III, MD Summer Research Fellowship in honor of Dr. Elston\u2019s dedication to medical research and support for the program. Today, the fellowship continues to foster the growth of future healthcare leaders by encouraging hands-on research and clinical exploration.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Written by UW-La Crosse<\/p>\n

Link to original story: https:\/\/www.uwlax.edu\/news\/posts\/prioritizing-patients\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Behind the scenes at Gundersen Health System, two UWL students are contributing to research that will benefit the future of patient experiences.\u00a0 Anna Meilahn and MacKenzie Caya recently completed the Gundersen Summer Research Fellowship, gaining invaluable hands-on experience in medical research and clinical care. The fellowship, established in 1985, has fostered the research skills of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":11548,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[104],"story_category":[],"class_list":["post-11547","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-la-crosse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/11547","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11547"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=11547"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=11547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}