University of New Hampshire Athletics
Wildcat Summer – Shannon Murdock
8/20/2018 6:46:00 AM | Women's Cross Country, Women's Track & Field, Academics
Hello Wildcats! My name is Shannon Murdock and I am a senior nursing major as well as an athlete on the cross country and track and field teams from Exeter, N.H.
It is common for nursing students to do a clinical 'externship' the summer before senior year, an immersion on a hospital unit that results in lots of clinical exposure and experience. Since I have had a lot of clinical exposure through my courses at UNH, I was interested in learning about other opportunities in nursing, so I applied for and was accepted to a nursing research fellowship at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in Lebanon, N.H.
Read on below to hear about my Wildcat Summer!
NH-INBRE ISURF
The program has a long acronym, which stands for IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship. The program is funded by the National Institute of Health, with the objective of creating opportunities for undergraduate students to acquire research skills and to work on meaningful biomedical research projects. The NH program is broken up into two experiences: Basic Science Research and Nursing Research. This year there were 15 NH-INBRE fellows, 11 basic sciences and 4 nursing (including me).
Aside from our individual research projects, we prepared for and took the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), held a weekly journal club and used bioinformatics (with the help of UNH's Hubbard Center for Genome Studies) to publish a genome to the NCBI database.
FOOD AND SHELTER
The Dartmouth dorms weren't ready during the first week, so all 15 of us were dropped off (reality-TV-style) in one big house in Quechee, Vt. This turned out to be a great way to break the ice and get to know each other! We had fun volunteering at the Quechee Balloon Festival and exploring the surrounding area.
After that first week, we spent the rest of the summer housed in the Dartmouth College dorms. It was hot (no AC), but a great central location on campus. The dining hall where we ate most of our meals was a stone's throw from our dorm. We could see the campus green from our windows, which hosted a weekly farmer's market, afternoon concerts and evening film showings. The Connecticut River was only a short walk, proving to be a favorite spot for evening swims to cool off before bed.
PARTICIPATING IN RESEARCH
Each of the nursing students was paired with a nursing mentor whom we assisted on their research project. I was lucky enough to be mentored by Dr. Bridget Logan, a nurse practitioner in pediatric urology at D-H. Our project focused on the use of clean intermittent catheterization in urologic management in patients with spina bifida.
Although I was only there for 10 weeks – which is a short amount of time to conduct an entire research project – I was able to witness and participate in the research process from start to finish: IRB approval, conducting a literature review, collecting data, statistical analysis and presenting the findings. The culmination of our project was an oral presentation at the hospital and a poster conference at the Omni Mt. Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods, N.H.
DARTMOUTH-HITCHCOCK MEDICAL CENTER
Aside from the research, we were able to take advantage of several, varied experiences at DHMC. I shadowed clinically in the Emergency Department and the Hematology/Oncology Unit. The other nursing fellows and I attended a clinical ethics committee meeting, attended a CPHS (Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects) meeting, shadowed nurses in quality assurance and patient safety, and attended a weekly nursing research roundtable where we heard nursing leaders present on different topics.
Through all of these experiences we were able to distinguish the differences between bedside nursing, quality improvement nursing and nursing research. I now have a much broader view of the different roles a nurse can take in his or her career in health care.
TRIP TO WOODS HOLE
Midway through the summer we took a long weekend trip to Woods Hole on Cape Cod. We attended a scientific lecture on brain imaging, received an extensive tour of the Marine Biology Lab, and even went out on the collection boat that harvests animal specimens for the lab. A quick ferry ride to the Vineyard rounded out a great trip!
RUNNING AND TRAINING IN HANOVER
Hanover, it turns out, is a hidden haven for trail running. I was able to connect with some runners on the Dartmouth cross country team who showed me some great loops and kept me company on some early morning runs. A 10-minute drive away in Lebanon, the local rail trail became my favorite spot for long runs. I had to adjust to training around a 9-5 schedule, often waking up at 5:15 a.m. to squeeze in miles before a long day and some days finishing my runs at 8 or 9 p.m.
I was lucky to be well-supported by my nursing mentor who respected the fact that I'm an athlete and always made sure I had time to train. For strength training I was able to use the Dartmouth gym as well as the employee gym at the hospital, but I have definitely missed having trainers and a well-equipped training room as a resource! Recovering properly from high mileage was something I struggled with a bit over the summer and I will be glad to get back into my proper routine on the UNH campus.
I don't have any pictures of me running because it was usually a solo endeavor, but here's a picture of me looking as happy as I felt running on the seemingly endless trails of Hanover.
NEW FRIENDS & NEW OUTLOOKS
This summer has absolutely been one of my best yet. I learned a lot from my nursing mentor and the project we worked on together, which has solidified my aspirations to eventually pursue a professional degree in nursing. I also realized that I really enjoy participating in research, and plan to continue working with the data I collected throughout this year for my honors-in-major project.
Aside from the educational exposure, I forged some incredible friendships that made the long hours entirely worth it and overall an unforgettable summer! I highly recommend this program to anyone who is interested in nursing or biomedical research opportunities.
That said, I am ready to be back on campus with my Ladycatpack preparing for the upcoming season. I missed Durham and my team, and I am excited to see what's in store this fall!
Keep checking back to UNHWildcats.com for more of the "Wildcat Summer" series.
Previous Wildcat Summer Stories:
Erin Cullather, Swimming and Diving
Caitlyn Keenan, Women's Soccer
Ava Watkins, Gymnastics
Sarah Nadeau, Women's Skiing
Jack Doherty, Men's Soccer
It is common for nursing students to do a clinical 'externship' the summer before senior year, an immersion on a hospital unit that results in lots of clinical exposure and experience. Since I have had a lot of clinical exposure through my courses at UNH, I was interested in learning about other opportunities in nursing, so I applied for and was accepted to a nursing research fellowship at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in Lebanon, N.H.
Read on below to hear about my Wildcat Summer!
NH-INBRE ISURF
The program has a long acronym, which stands for IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship. The program is funded by the National Institute of Health, with the objective of creating opportunities for undergraduate students to acquire research skills and to work on meaningful biomedical research projects. The NH program is broken up into two experiences: Basic Science Research and Nursing Research. This year there were 15 NH-INBRE fellows, 11 basic sciences and 4 nursing (including me).
Aside from our individual research projects, we prepared for and took the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), held a weekly journal club and used bioinformatics (with the help of UNH's Hubbard Center for Genome Studies) to publish a genome to the NCBI database.
FOOD AND SHELTER
The Dartmouth dorms weren't ready during the first week, so all 15 of us were dropped off (reality-TV-style) in one big house in Quechee, Vt. This turned out to be a great way to break the ice and get to know each other! We had fun volunteering at the Quechee Balloon Festival and exploring the surrounding area.
After that first week, we spent the rest of the summer housed in the Dartmouth College dorms. It was hot (no AC), but a great central location on campus. The dining hall where we ate most of our meals was a stone's throw from our dorm. We could see the campus green from our windows, which hosted a weekly farmer's market, afternoon concerts and evening film showings. The Connecticut River was only a short walk, proving to be a favorite spot for evening swims to cool off before bed.
PARTICIPATING IN RESEARCH
Each of the nursing students was paired with a nursing mentor whom we assisted on their research project. I was lucky enough to be mentored by Dr. Bridget Logan, a nurse practitioner in pediatric urology at D-H. Our project focused on the use of clean intermittent catheterization in urologic management in patients with spina bifida.
Although I was only there for 10 weeks – which is a short amount of time to conduct an entire research project – I was able to witness and participate in the research process from start to finish: IRB approval, conducting a literature review, collecting data, statistical analysis and presenting the findings. The culmination of our project was an oral presentation at the hospital and a poster conference at the Omni Mt. Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods, N.H.
DARTMOUTH-HITCHCOCK MEDICAL CENTER
Aside from the research, we were able to take advantage of several, varied experiences at DHMC. I shadowed clinically in the Emergency Department and the Hematology/Oncology Unit. The other nursing fellows and I attended a clinical ethics committee meeting, attended a CPHS (Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects) meeting, shadowed nurses in quality assurance and patient safety, and attended a weekly nursing research roundtable where we heard nursing leaders present on different topics.
Through all of these experiences we were able to distinguish the differences between bedside nursing, quality improvement nursing and nursing research. I now have a much broader view of the different roles a nurse can take in his or her career in health care.
TRIP TO WOODS HOLE
Midway through the summer we took a long weekend trip to Woods Hole on Cape Cod. We attended a scientific lecture on brain imaging, received an extensive tour of the Marine Biology Lab, and even went out on the collection boat that harvests animal specimens for the lab. A quick ferry ride to the Vineyard rounded out a great trip!
RUNNING AND TRAINING IN HANOVER
Hanover, it turns out, is a hidden haven for trail running. I was able to connect with some runners on the Dartmouth cross country team who showed me some great loops and kept me company on some early morning runs. A 10-minute drive away in Lebanon, the local rail trail became my favorite spot for long runs. I had to adjust to training around a 9-5 schedule, often waking up at 5:15 a.m. to squeeze in miles before a long day and some days finishing my runs at 8 or 9 p.m.
I was lucky to be well-supported by my nursing mentor who respected the fact that I'm an athlete and always made sure I had time to train. For strength training I was able to use the Dartmouth gym as well as the employee gym at the hospital, but I have definitely missed having trainers and a well-equipped training room as a resource! Recovering properly from high mileage was something I struggled with a bit over the summer and I will be glad to get back into my proper routine on the UNH campus.
I don't have any pictures of me running because it was usually a solo endeavor, but here's a picture of me looking as happy as I felt running on the seemingly endless trails of Hanover.
NEW FRIENDS & NEW OUTLOOKS
This summer has absolutely been one of my best yet. I learned a lot from my nursing mentor and the project we worked on together, which has solidified my aspirations to eventually pursue a professional degree in nursing. I also realized that I really enjoy participating in research, and plan to continue working with the data I collected throughout this year for my honors-in-major project.
Aside from the educational exposure, I forged some incredible friendships that made the long hours entirely worth it and overall an unforgettable summer! I highly recommend this program to anyone who is interested in nursing or biomedical research opportunities.
That said, I am ready to be back on campus with my Ladycatpack preparing for the upcoming season. I missed Durham and my team, and I am excited to see what's in store this fall!
Keep checking back to UNHWildcats.com for more of the "Wildcat Summer" series.
Previous Wildcat Summer Stories:
Erin Cullather, Swimming and Diving
Caitlyn Keenan, Women's Soccer
Ava Watkins, Gymnastics
Sarah Nadeau, Women's Skiing
Jack Doherty, Men's Soccer
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