Day 3

Today, I was with the Mechanical Engineers. While I wish I could tell you everything I did today, I can’t there isn’t enough space. Daniel explained many aspects of mechanical engineering. We spoke a lot about injection molding and how plastics act during the process. I have included a picture below of a model that he showed me of the machine that actually does the injection molding. The machine is made up of several components the cavity, the mold, the ejector pins, and the gate. The gate releases the liquid plastic into the cavity which the mold is compressed into. During this process the plastic is under a lot of pressure from the cavity and the mold and is at a very high temperature. The ejector pins are used to remove the plastic part once it has been made. You can often times identify parts that have been made by injection molding because they have small circles that are different in texture from where they have been pushed out of the mold. Additionally, we talked about living hinges which are hinges that are made during ejection molding and they will never break due to the material in which they are made out of. The neat thing about the picture below of the living hinges is that the interior triangles shows the different finishes that injection molded pieces come in because they show machining marks when made. I did know that injection molding was very expensive due to the molds; however, I didn’t know how few times the molds could be used only a few hundred times. He also showed my their all the different machines they have from cutting solid metal, taping, sheet metal, wood, and paint or sanding. They really have endless possibilities. After discussing my project with him, I decided on a design for my project. My project is an automatic plant watering system. I decided on a design that would sit below the potted plant. I spent the rest of my day doing drawings and math to make sure that it would work out. Then I CADed my design. I also added my pictures from yesterday below. Enjoy!

Work Experience Day 3- Receipts and Scans and Copies (Oh My!)

Day 3 was another great day at the Polanco law firm. I am having a great time really getting to know all of the individuals that work here and the cases that they handle. During the morning, I was running all around the office looking for files. We had a stack of receipts, probably the size of a text book, that had to be put in the files corresponding with the name on the receipt. We started with the file cabinet, but soon learned that most of the files we were looking for were floating randomly around the office with little order. We spent all morning looking, and still didn’t find them all! But during this time, I had a great conversation with the other intern (who happened to have just started out with the firm) about her college major and aspirations. While we were often unsuccessful at finding files and it could at times be frustrating, I realized that it is extremely important. Lawyers need to be able to focus on their cases, so I was happy to make sure that they were able to do just that instead of them having to run around and look for files themselves.

The rest of the day I preformed a myriad of smaller tasks. I made copies, entered data, bought USPS labels and scanned items. One of the most interesting times of my day came when I was scanning papers in. A lawyer and an intern acting as a translator put a client on speaker phone and gave me the chance to listen to her story. She was someone who came to the United States because she and her brother feared for their lives in their violent home country. It was fascinating to hear her journey and also to listen to the types of questions that were asked by the lawyer. I learned a lot about how people immigrate to the US to find freedom and began to feel very grateful that I was born in such a peaceful country. It was also extremely interesting to see the American legal system at work and learn about what type of information is used to help undocumented immigrants stay in the United States. After another successful day at the Polanco law firm I cannot wait to spend more time learning from them.

Day 3 – Lots and Lots of Programming

Today, my day did not start until 9. I was very grateful for this because it gave me a chance to sleep in a little. After my leisurely commute, since I missed the traffic, I arrived at Bavarian Nordic and found Erika and Kaitlin in the conference room. To my sheer sadness, Erika told us we would be learning to program in SAS today. Programming was definitely not one of my best subjects last year so the thought of spending all of today learning to do it in a new language was terrifying. I thought I had escaped it, but I was wrong.

Erika set us up with our laptops and an extra one with the correct software (since we were having technical difficulties). She also explained to us that we would be using SAS to manipulate data. Erika does this very often for her job. She compiles reports and displays tons of tons of data in an easily understandable way. This skill is very important in the field of clinical trials and statistics in general. As Kaitlin and I made our way through lesson after lesson online, we quickly realized that sharing a computer to program wouldn’t work. Therefore, Erika tried to set up our personal computers so we could do the SAS online training there.

Our technical difficulties continued as I could not get the software to completely boot up and Kaitlin could not get it to download. While we waited for our computers to cooperate, Kaitlin and I had lunch with some of our co-workers. I had a very in-depth conversation about spaghetti squash (which was my lunch today), college, and traveling in New England. Once my relaxing break was over, I went back to my computer to try to troubleshoot the issue. After watching many YouTube videos and reading loads of articles, I was able to reconfigure my settings to support the software. By 2, I began to continue my online lessons. There are 11 total lessons that I need to complete before I can receive my certificate. However, each lesson takes so long to complete.

Kaitlin was not able to get her computer working, so Erika sent her to NC State to ask the IT department. I stayed for an extra couple hours chipping away at the lessons. I only got to lesson 7 so I will need to finish the rest tomorrow. It is important that I finish the SAS online training because I will be using what I learn now to manipulate data from the Brachyury trial next week. After hours and hours of programming, my brain was fried. I would like to say that I learned to love programming today, but I did not. However, I did learn that programming is not something I would like to pursue as a career!

Day 3: Meeting a Patent Examiner and Learning about the USPTO

Today was another interesting and important day learning even more about patent and IP law. I met with Mr. Rajiv Raj at “A Place at the Table” in Raleigh. Mr. Raj is a licensed and registered patent examiner for the USPTO. We met and discussed what he does as an examiner and what the USPTO does in general. It was very interesting to hear about what an examiner in his career does. Essentially, he helps approve patents that his clients send him and helps determine whether or not they (the patents) are viable and/or feasible. He explained to me the process he took to get to where he is. He told me about his background in medicine that allowed him to pursue his law degree in patent examination. Overall, the day was very informative and has given me even more perspective on what the industry really is.

http://www.itbinsider.com/development-beat-a-place-at-the-table/

Day 3 – WakeMed Hospital

First, I saw a procedure done by two surgeons. They placed a micra pacemaker and then performed an ablation. Next we saw a link procedure. In this a small device records the heart rhythms for up to three years. This was done because the patient had a stroke and they didn’t know why. After this, we saw a pace maker replacement. The battery had died after 10 years, so they left the leads in and changed the device. Then we saw a procedure where the doctor wanted to put the leads in the atrium and the his bundle; however, he could not, so the leads were placed in the normal position. Lastly, we saw a procedure to determine if a patient needed bypass or a stent. The patient had a clogged artery that could not be safely solved with a stent and will need bypass surgery.

No pictures could be obtained for today due to privacy violations; therefore, above is a picture of fluoro with contrast to show a blocked artery.

Day 3

Day 3 was a lot more relaxed as our division completed the preparation for the bids. We began the day by inputting the final tweaks and changes into ProContractor to alert the small companies of our need for materials such as concrete, plywood, mortar, etc.

Once we completed this task, we reviewed the contract company to get a sense of what kind of work the organization does. This helps Crowder complete their final report and establish that the project at hand was either a civil or environmental task rather than a commercial one. Overall, the job only took up the first few hours of the day so the other half after lunch was a fun little project.

After the lunch break, Ripkin and I worked on a task given to us by his mentor, Kevin. We had to calculate the cost of a shed to put in someone’s back yard. Once we completed this with a breeze, we ended off the day a bit early. All in all, our efficiency paid off.

Meetings, Developments, and More!

Today made yesterday seem like a piece of cake! We got to KW at 9:30 this morning (the normal time) and worked on our independent projects for about 15 minutes before we met with the team leader (CEO equivalent) Sarah for about 2 hours. Sarah covered EVERY base possible in terms of real estate and becoming an agent. She gave me much deeper insights into development and what it takes to be a developer (the path I hope to pursue) as well as much more. She gave us a great lesson in the necessity of hard work, telling us that if we put our all into it we could be easily making upwards of $500,000 at age 25 (not too shabby!). Sarah then told us about her story and how she began as a development team member and has risen through the ranks, running both a successful team in Charlotte and Durham as of now. Right after we finished with Sarah, we met Kandyce, the coach of the office. While she too gave us insights into real estate, she spent much more of her time explaining the principle of loans and equity, as well as interest. Interestingly enough, she said that we could easily get our licenses at age 18 and start then! Imagine that! She gave us tons of tips to survive HS and College, as well as then giving us tips on how to be successful in life. She said to always have a source of money, which shouldn’t be an issue for her as she currently runs 6 successful businesses! While Kristin wasn’t in the office today, she sent us to go check out some new developments and while today we were not able to tour them, we got to know the area and we are expecting to tour some tomorrow and next week. Tomorrow, we are meeting with the head of development as well as touring a home, so it seems like we will stay busy!!

Day 3 – A Slow Start, but a Strong Finish

Day 3 was off to a slow start but picked up after my lunch break. Upon my arrival, Mrs. Bridges and I examined the patient schedule to plan which visits I could sit-in on. She pointed out various “difficult” patients and explained that many of the patients today were rather complicated. For me, that meant that I would only be able to sit-in on a few office visits. Below were the two patients that I encountered in the morning…

9:45am patient (40 year old female): This patient came to the office for an urgent visit, regarding a potential stress fracture of her foot. Mrs. Bridges assessed her pain while showing her to the exam room. The patient explained how she had a running injury, which started hurting about a week ago. She has pain along the top of her foot, especially when she bends her big toe. The pain doesn’t radiate up her leg, but rather stays within her foot. When she sits and rests, the pain wanes; however, it progresses again during exercise. Mrs. Bridges then sent her to receive an x-ray, where three scans were taken from various standing positions. When Dr. Bloom entered the exam room, he asked various questions regarding her injury. The patient explained how she has been running for the past 2 months, but eased into her exercise by walking first. She runs 4 times a week for 2 miles and considers herself to be a “hard-runner,” in the sense that she pounds the pavement. Dr. Bloom then felt around her foot, pressing in various areas and bending her toes. She was in pain whenever he pressed on her tarsals and metatarsals. He then detailed how her x-rays looked normal and recommended a recovery plan. He suggested that she goes back to walking for the next 10 days. After those 10 days, she should only run 2 times a week for the first week. For the second week, she can increase her running to 3 times a week (every other day). Dr. Bloom also recommended that she checks her shoes to see if she needs more supportive ones.
11:00am patient (22 year old male): This patient was here for his physical. I witnessed Mrs. Bridges administer a tetanus shot in his right deltoid. Upon receiving the correct vial with the solution, she placed the needle into the tube and shook the vial. She cleaned the patient’s right arm with a small alcohol pad, squeezed the skin around his arm, and quickly injected the needle. Mrs. Bridges then covered the point of injection with a small band aid.

After taking my lunch break from 12:00pm to 1:15pm, the afternoon schedule was much busier and I was able to visit with more patients…

1:15pm patient (61 year old male): This patient came to the office for an urgent visit, regarding a knee injury. He injured his right knee 10-12 days ago when he was walking up a long flight of stairs. He explained to Dr. Bloom that he has pain in the back of his knee and towards the sides, as well as some pain down his calf. After assessing his condition, Dr. Bloom pressed various areas around the patient’s knee; the patient was sensitive along the knee cap. When the patient lied down, Dr. Bloom tested his resistance and movement, to which the patient was pain-free. Dr. Bloom ordered for him to get an x-ray so he could examine the joint space. The patient was asked to change into special shorts for the x-ray by the x-ray technician. His first 2 scans were done standing up, while the next two were done lying down and sitting down respectively. Upon reviewing his x-ray, Dr. Bloom explained that the x-rays look good. There is some slight “wear-and-tear,” which is normal for someone of the patient’s age. Dr. Bloom also stated that the source of the patient’s inflammation is some irritation between the knee cap and femur. He recommended that the patient only does light-impact activity for the next 10 days. He should ice for 20 minutes, 3-4 times a day, with a 30 minute break between each icing session. He also suggested taking an anti-inflammatory (800mg of Ibuprofen) twice a day. Dr. Bloom stated that if the patient is still in pain within the next few weeks, he should come back and Dr. Bloom will administer a cortisone shot into the knee.
2:30pm patient (16 year old male): This patient came to the office for an urgent visit, regarding ankle pain. He injured his foot/ankle about 3 weeks ago while he was playing basketball; he jumped in the air and when he landed, he rolled his ankle. His current pain level was at a 6 or 7 out of 10. The patient also explained that most of his pain comes from lateral movements, rather than sprinting in a straight line. Upon Dr. Bloom’s entry, he felt around the patient’s foot. He then asked the patient to squat in various positions, including single-legged, on his toes, and then single-legged on his toes. The patient only felt slight pain in the last squat. Dr. Bloom declared that the patient has sinus tarsi, which is nothing too serious and often occurs after an ankle sprain. He recommended that the patient take 800mg of Ibuprofen twice a day for the next 10 days, a break from playing basketball, ice 3 times a day for 20 minutes, and do physical therapy exercises for the next 3 weeks. During workouts and practices, the patient can also wear a lace-up brace if needed. The patient’s mom was concerned about the popping that occurs while the patient walks; however, Dr. Bloom reassured her that it is normal. If he is still in pain within a month, Dr. Bloom will administer a cortisone shot.
4:15pm patient (14 year old female): This patient was here for a follow-up on her concussion. May 5th was the day when she was hit in the head while playing lacrosse; however, she was not taken to the doctor’s until 10 days later. Mrs. Bridges explained to me that previously she had been taking a lot of Advil and Aleve which Dr. Bloom had limited, and she was not performing her vestibular exercises, hence her failure to improve. The patient arrived 30 minutes early to take the ImPACT test and to perform the other vision tests. Today she felt about 70% normal; she said should would feel 100% normal if it weren’t for her headaches. She has been participating in physical activity (bike rides, walking, running, etc.), performs her vestibular exercises twice a day, and sleeps 7-9 hours a night. She is mostly caught up with her school work and has been taking EOGs the past week; her concussion has not impaired her thinking abilities. Mrs. Bridges then listed off a bunch of symptoms, asking for a severity ranking from 0 to 6. The only symptoms the patient felt were headache (2), fatigue (1), sensitivity to light (2), sensitivity to noise (2), and neck pain (1). Other symptoms that Mrs. Bridges asked about included nausea, vomiting, balance problems, dizziness, drowsiness, anxiousness, and irritability, but the patient experienced none of these. She then proceeded to take the 20 minute ImPACT test. After completing the test, Mrs. Bridges went through a series of vision tests with the patient, measuring when objects became blurry, when the patient became cross-eyed, etc.

Despite today starting out slowly, I ended up encountering various patients with unique conditions. Hopefully day 4 will be just as insightful, with even more patients!

Day 3

Milen and I had our third day at Field2Base today. As per usual, we began our day by attending the development team’s daily stand-up meeting. Then, we listened in on a ‘grooming’ meeting the development team had. In this meeting they went over various stories that were to be worked on in the coming weeks and revised their plans as well as decided how much time and energy they were willing to devote to that feature or fix. Then, we talked to Mike, the iOS developer for Field2Base’s Mobile Forms application. Mike talked to us about how development for the iOS platform works and the tools and programs he uses to code for iPhones and iPads. He told us about how he got the position he is now and why he thinks the software industry is flourishing as much as it has been. Then we had lunch. There was a food truck in the parking lot serving employees of the various companies in the building, so we ate food from there. After lunch, Mary, a member of the professional services team, talked to us about what she does at Field2Base. She showed us how if companies would rather have the mobile forms designed for them instead of designing them themselves, they can pay her hourly to create those forms. Rachel then had us practice some scripting examples of what this work would consist of and after some brief Q&A we were once again done for the day.

Day 3!

Day 3 was a lot like the other days, research and more research. We arrived back at the office around 9:30 this morning and began completing more research about car dealerships! I now know more about car dealerships than I ever have before! While completing all this research I learned that much of the work that is done in the marketing world is about research and finding the data to enhance the product to make it sell better. We were talked through how this data that we are collecting now is going to later help sell the product, CarTrax. By collecting data about all the car dealerships in North Carolina, they can then break it down to determine the best and easiest way to go about selling the product to all the different car dealerships in Raleigh and in North Carolina. We are just completing one step to the equation in the larger scale of marketing in a whole. Tomorrow is our last day at the Entigral office and we will be breaking down our week here with Mr Self.