NIH summer internship program

[hopefulmd11]

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Hi everyone,

So I am doing a summer internship at the NIH in Bethesda, MD this summer and am curious if any past interns have any advice/comments on their experiences. Also I would greatly appreciate it if any past interns have advice on housing accommodations around there? Thanks for the help!

 

[Ismet]

Idk if I can give specific advice, because every lab will be very different, but just be really engaged and get to know the people in your lab! Take any opportunity to learn something. That sounds cliche, but I learned so so so much in 10 weeks. If you have to wait an hour for something to run, don't go play games on the computer, go ask another person in the lab if you can observe or help with something. I felt like my lab treated me more like an equal than I had expected, so even though I had a mentor helping me with stuff, they still expected me to produce something at the weekly lab meetings and read articles, etc.

Also get to know your fellow interns! I was really young when I did the program (19) and most of the people were over 21, and I also commuted an hour to and from home, so I didn't get to interact much with them outside of the building. 🙁

IDK if they still have this, but there was a huge med school fair near the end of the program. Definitely go!!!

 

[hopefulmd11]

Thanks for the reply. I'm definitely there to learn, not for a vacation so I will be sure to do that. I'm a PhD student finishing my second year, so I'm hoping they'll expect me to produce. I will be sure to look into the med school fair, thanks for that!

 

[Ismet]

Thanks for the reply. I'm definitely there to learn, not for a vacation so I will be sure to do that. I'm a PhD student finishing my second year, so I'm hoping they'll expect me to produce. I will be sure to look into the med school fair, thanks for that!

You'll be perfectly fine then. Most of the interns my year were college juniors or seniors and a few didn't take it seriously, unfortunately. I was just assuming you were still undergrad!