Well, I’m halfway through the summer and still very much enjoying my time at Bioceptive. I’ve already completed two of my learning objectives, which were to learn about the process of medical device approval in the US as well as in Europe and to learn about IUDs and Bioceptive’s new IUD insertion system. I’m still making progress on the other three, which include learning how to conduct a project from the beginning (which I am currently working on), learning how to think about various technical and business aspects of a new product/offering, and learning how a small medical device start-up operates as well as navigates various issues and challenges.
I am leaning a ton as well as undergoing some personal growth. Since I’ve started working on my own project things have been less structured and more open ended. I’ve become pretty self-sufficient and have gotten a lot better at working autonomously. My interactions with my bosses have transitioned from me asking them questions to discussions of interesting things I’ve come across and different ideas I’ve had, and I am pretty proud of this fact.
I’ve learned a lot of new skills since starting this internship. One of my favorite experiences so far was naming one of the devices. It’s a lot harder than you would think and there is definitely an art to it, but it was really fun and very rewarding to finally settle on a name that everyone liked. I’ve also become an expert at performing literature searches, since research is always the first step in any new project. Through all of this research I am also gaining a wealth of knowledge on several other fields that will definitely help me in my future career. I am currently working on ways to help couples that have a hard time conceiving and have thus learned everything there is to know about the reproductive cycle, which I feel will be beneficial to me both in my future career and as a woman. I’ve still got a lot left to learn, but I’m eager to find out where this project leads me. To give you a taste of what I’ve been learning, here’s a graph of the different changes that your hormone levels and body undergo throughout the menstrual cycle.
