Summer internship

Posted by jchoules

11 September 2017

Over the months of June-August, I had the privilege to do a summer internship with the Health Services and Policy Research group during which I worked on one of their projects regarding Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs). Joining Professor Valderas and his team was a great experience and I learnt a lot whilst being in a friendly and stimulating environment. My main responsibility was extracting data from clinical trials for a Cochrane systematic review that the team is currently working on. The review investigates the usefulness of providing regular PROMs feedback to healthcare professionals and how that could improve patient care. Although at times challenging, this task equipped me with valuable skills which will undoubtedly help me throughout the rest of my degree and further in my career. Another reason why the placement was so valuable is that I got a taste of what research is being done across the Exeter Collaboration for Primary Care (APEx) and how people with various areas of expertise work towards bettering care for patients together. Working with me also was Joe Coombes who looked at chronobiology and PROMs.

I would like to thank the Health Services and Policy Research group for being very welcoming and always offering to help! I hope to be back in the future either as a student or a researcher!

Stanimir Stoilov, BSc Medical Sciences student
September 2017