Every year, CHILD-BRIGHT is proud to help train a new cohort of students in patient-oriented research (POR) by supporting our project and program teams as they hire students for the summer. In 2021, we welcomed 14 students to the 2021 CHILD-BRIGHT Summer Studentship Program.
Below, our summer students reflect on their experiences working with many of our research project teams, learning about the principal tenets of patient-oriented research through our summer studentship training program, and trying their hand at “translating” research articles into lay-friendly summaries, which will be made available in our upcoming KT Library.
Here’s what they had to say:
PARENT-EPIQ
“Being a CHILD-BRIGHT summer student totally changed my understanding of research!”
“I am coming out of this experience inspired by the incredible work being done and all the possibilities open to me to make an impact.”
“As a librarian, I found it useful to gain firsthand knowledge of patient-oriented research and the research process. I see these experiences being tremendously helpful in the future as I continue to work with, and provide support to, researchers.”
“Thank you to the CHILD-BRIGHT Network and PIUO team for teaching me the importance and application of patient-oriented research.”
“Through engaging webinars, group activities, and discussion posts, I learned the benefits and importance of involving patients as partners in research studies.”
“Even though this was my second time participating in the CHILD-BRIGHT summer studentship program, I learned many new things about patient-oriented research!”
“Seeing the material I was learning about in [the summer studentship training modules] being applied in real time made the experience all the more valuable and memorable.”
“This experience has helped me become acquainted with the research community and lab culture, something that I had very little knowledge of previously. I hope to continue trying to bring awareness to accessibility for all abilities in all areas of life, whether it be in future research, work, or everyday life.”
“My summer studentship experience of working on a CHILD-BRIGHT research project was nothing short of extraordinary!”
“I learned a lot about how critical it is to communicate complex and challenging scientific findings in lay terms to attract public attention.”
“I became more familiar with the tenets of patient-oriented research and the benefits that such research can have on patient outcomes and experiences.”
“Not only did this experience firmly reinforce my passion for patient- and family-centered research, but it also taught me how to engage and collaborate with patients at all points of the research process.”
“This summer, I learned that to have “good” patient engagement in research, it is vital to keep open lines of communication between the research team and the patients, families, and caregivers involved.”
This summer, CHILD-BRIGHT also welcomed student Chloe Janse van Rensburg. Chloe participated in the studentship training sessions while working with CHILD-BRIGHT Parent Peer Mentor Carrie Costello and PIUO Family Liaison Laesa Kim on their project, which was funded by a CHILD-BRIGHT Collaborative Mentorship Grant. Their project examines the benefits and drawbacks of asking parents to use their personal networks (such as social media, email, and other connections) to recruit for research.