Hi everyone! My name is Aditi Desai and I am a rising sophomore hoping to pursue English with certificates in Global Health & Health Policy and Cognitive Science. On campus, I’m a part of Naacho, a south Asian dance group, The Daily Prince, and the Menstrual Products Task Force.
This summer, I’ve had the incredible opportunity to work with Dr. Daniel Correa in the Montefiore Medical Center’s Neurology Department (located in The Bronx, New York). In this internship, my position is primarily focused on health advocacy and writing articles to raise awareness about disparities in access to neurological care. Alongside writing articles, I’ve been able to observe various types of doctors interact with patients at their bedsides and perform operative procedures. One of the most memorable procedures that I’ve watched thus far is a craniotomy (surgical removal of part of the bone from the skull) conducted by the neurosurgery team at Montefiore.
On a day-to-day basis, my mornings are filled with observing different medical procedures and shadowing Dr. Correa as he conducts clinical rounds with patients on the Neurology floor. Next, the afternoons are occupied with looking at data sets regarding epilepsy treatments, coding, and writing for upcoming articles. One thing I quickly learned about advocacy writing is that it involves many moving parts—from interviews with patients and social workers to data analysis. Being able to delve into all of these sectors and develop diverse skills has enabled me to immensely value health advocacy work and writing!
