And just like that, it’s the end of the 3rd week! It was another jam-packed week as we all started our internships on Monday. I (along with Sarah) am working at Boston Scientific in Heredia. I am in the sustaining R&D department for interventional cardiology/peripheral interventions. For those of you who don’t know what sustaining R&D is (like me until a couple days ago), they work to redesign products that are already on the market. The need to redesign can come from supplier or process changes, minor design variations, or the desire to “inch up” – or slightly improve – the product.
Due to varying timelines between the Coyol and Heredia locations, Sarah and I got a bit slower start to our internships so we don’t know our main projects for the summer yet. However, this slower start allowed time for Sarah and Dr. Clifton to give me a crash course in the anatomy and physiology of the heart and the basics of IC devices. Because I come from an MSE background, rather than BME, I feel behind in the biological aspects of engineering. One of the main things I am excited about for this summer and the rest of GMI is the chance to learn how to better apply my MSE knowledge to medical technology.
I am also extremely excited to witness the different types of engineering roles active in a large MedTech company and learn what their day-to-day jobs look like. Sustaining R&D works very closely with Design Assurance, Process Development, and Packaging Engineering, so I hope to have a clearer idea of what type of career I’d like to pursue by the end of the summer. I have already had the opportunity to learn about different projects going on in R&D and DA and am looking forward to seeing even more.
There are 3 main things that stuck out during my 1st week of work:
- Reading – Because the MedTech industry is so heavily regulated, my first week was mostly filled with reading to catch up on all the rules and procedures the company must comply with. I have to catch up on these standards before I can work on a real project. I also learned a lot about the company’s philosophy and strategy – both of which are very influential in what products are developed.
- Acronyms – All of the reading was packed with acronyms – more acronyms than I thought could ever exist. I filled pages of my notebook with their meanings and spent a lot of time trying to memorize the difference between DCAF and PCAF, TDP and PDP, and so many more.
- Coffee – Delicious coffee helped me get through reading all of the SOPs. Boston Scientific has a really cool environmental initiative to decrease paper waste. If you bring your own mug, you get free coffee. If you don’t bring your own mug, you have to pay for a paper cup.
Reading, acronyms, & coffee
Next week, I will learn more about exactly what I will be doing for the summer. I am also looking forward to working in a Costa Rican office as the World Cup action picks up. It’s very strange to be in a country where basically everyone has the same favorite sport to watch (and where said sporting events are happening in the middle of the work day).
We have taken advantage of our weekends here in Costa Rica and this one was no different. We all headed up to Irazu Volcano early Saturday morning. We were accompanied by two Ticos this weekend – Sarkis (a colleague from Boston Scientific Coyol) and Camillo (a fellow student from our short course)! We were up so high that the entire area was blanketed in a thick cloud of fog when we got there. We could barely see ten feet in front of us. However, when it cleared, there was a stunning view of the crater in the volcano!
Can’t wait to see what next week brings!