Sriya Ramisetty was part of the inaugural class of interns at the Health Humanities Hub (H3), in affiliation with the College of Humanities and the Andrew Weil Center of Integrative Medicine.
How did you get your internship?
The Health Humanities Hub (H3) is a very new entity on campus in affiliation with the College of Humanities and the Andrew Weil Center of Integrative Medicine. I was really excited about the development of this Hub when I first learned about it in my freshman year because it sat at the perfect intersection of my two degrees: Applied Humanities and Physiology. Once I saw that they were seeking interns, I updated my resume and wrote a cover letter that reflected my interdisciplinary background. I then applied both through Handshake and by directly sending my information to the program director. I then participated in an interview that was an hour-long one-on-one call with the program director; I was asked about my background and experiences as stated on my submitted materials as well as my thoughts on health humanities and medical ethics. After that, I learned that I had been selected for the role!
What kind of work did you do throughout your internship experience?
One of the biggest things that I worked on this semester was a literature review on the effectiveness of social prescribing programs as an alternative/complementary form of wellness practice. These programs help individuals navigate specific health conditions by connecting them to community engagement programs including, but not limited to, therapeutic art, movement, volunteering, and more. This research was originally part of a grant proposal, but the nature of the grant changed. Nonetheless, the other intern and I still put together a poster for the Honors Pinnacle Showcase about the research we had done!
Another thing that I worked on was developing a programming for more students to get involved with the Health Humanities Hub in the future. This included the development of a student club as well as proposals for future events, like a student interdisciplinary project symposium and a medical ethics conversation series.
The final thing that I worked on towards the end of my internship was a community art project. We had people write down their experiences and backgrounds that contributed to their identity, and I am in the process of making artwork to commemorate what everyone wrote about.
What is unique about your situation that influenced your internship experience?
I was one of the inaugural interns for the Health Humanities Hub. It was a really unique position because the expectations for the internship were not yet fully defined. This gave me a lot of opportunity to exercise creative liberties and thinking, as I was regularly able to offer ideas and input about where I wanted my internship experience to lead me in my growth. I appreciated the opportunity to learn so much in this way, and I am simultaneously thankful that as I continue the internship, there is a little bit more structure as to what I will be doing going forward.
How did your Applied Humanities major coursework help prepare you for the internship experience?
In the space of health humanities, one of the most critical things to consider is every individual's rights and beliefs in their understanding of health. For one, the Intercultural Competence core curriculum class, PAH 372, contributed to my understanding of cultural differences and acceptance within the healthcare field. Additionally, much of the research I did in PAH 201: Applied Humanities Practice helped me understand ethical practice in research and publicly sourced information. This contributed to the literature review and community art piece I did, which were both products of my work this semester.
What did you find most challenging about your internship?
One of the things I struggled with the most was meeting my weekly hours requirement for this internship. I am a full-time student and am also balancing other volunteer experiences and extracurriculars. I also know that for specific kinds of tasks, I'm a very efficient worker. As such, I would finish larger-scale assignments more quickly than expected while simultaneously struggling with my time management earlier in the semester. I learned to navigate this by communicating with the internship team as well as my site supervisor, and we talked about changes I could make in my work style to better meet my weekly hours. As such, I was able to make up for it down the line, and I did not feel as stressed with my internship as a result.
How has your internship experience influenced your plans for your future?
This internship experience has reaffirmed that I want to be in a space that allows me to do interdisciplinary work. I knew before going into this internship that I wanted to practice medicine, but as a result of this internship and other experiences that I had this semester, I am really hoping to pursue academic medicine specifically. This means that I would be working at a medical teaching institution, allowing me to provide mentorship to medical students as well as contribute to other work that the university hospital is doing. A lot of the academic medical doctors that I met this semester have the opportunity to do public health work, research, and teaching, which is a perfect synthesis of so many of the things I want out of my future career.