John Bridges: An Exciting Time for Geriatrics Research BACK

Published by Gwen Cullen

John Bridges
University of Mississippi Medical Center School of Medicine

This week marks the completion of my first month of summer research with the MSTAR program.  I am impressed by the amount that I have learned in the past month, but even more impressive is the amount I have left to learn about how to conduct sound research.  Research is difficult, and it requires concentration and dedication. I have found it interesting how much is yet to be explored in the field of geriatrics. It is an exciting time to be researching in this field, and I have found my work to be intellectually rewarding thus far. 

I spend most of my time coding programming for data analysis as I am working with pre-existing datasets instead of conducting original research.  It seems as though I better understand my research question and the data I am working with more and more every day. Another thing that has surprised me is the amount of interaction and support I receive from the other researchers in my department. I had imagined research would very much be an individual enterprise, but I am coming to understand how much researchers depend on one another to help each other out along the way as they find solutions to complex problems in understanding and analyzing data in the pursuit of understandable and applicable results.

I’ve also had the opportunity to interact with many clinical geriatricians and see how they use research-based methods and practices in their everyday interactions with patients. This has helped to drive home the importance of my work, to be able to see that research has a definite impact in the lives of geriatric patients.

I’m excited about the opportunities that this research is presenting to me. The topics that I am studying are quite interesting, and I’m hoping that I will be able to continue this research through end of the summer and beyond into the remainder of my medical school career.  I’m hoping to be able to keep up with my research throughout the second year and use some of the elective time available during my third and fourth year to continue with the projects on which I am currently working. 
 

"Diary of an MSTAR Student" follows scholars in the 2012 Medical Student Training in Aging Research (MSTAR) Program, highlighting their summer experiences. As they continue their path of research, training and clinical practice, read their daily thoughts at www.afar.org/mstarblog. New diary entries are posted every day, so check back soon.