Internship

Internship at Stetson Powell Orthopedics

The Stetson Powell Internship Program is designed to provide practical experience to college graduates bound for medical school. The program is one year long and is a paid position. Interns work directly with the physicians, learning on a state of the art electronic medical record system how to take a medical, social and family history, a history of present illness and how to record a physical examination. Interns review X-rays and MRIs from the in-office extremity MRI, and learn to synthesize information into a list of possible diagnoses. In addition, interns have the opportunity to see both arthroscopic and open surgery of the shoulder, knee, elbow, hip and ankle. They engage in ongoing research projects with the goal of publishing their projects in peer-reviewed journals. Finally, interns have the opportunity to learn the business of medicine by sitting in on in business and financial meetings of the group. Our program started in 2005 and we are proud that all of our interns have been accepted into medical school.

Here is what some of our interns have said about the program:

Ariana Eginli – Current Intern

My name is Ariana Eginli and I graduated from USC in May 2010 with a degree in Neuroscience and a minor in Bioethics.  I decided to take two years off before attending medical school.  Last year, I traveled to Armenia where I shadowed a pediatric orthopedic surgeon.   After seeing how this doctor changed the lives of children who were suffering from congenital deformities, I became passionate about orthopedics.   I am ecstatic about developing my interest in orthopedics and medicine through the Stetson Powell Orthopedics internship position.

As an intern, I am responsible for interviewing patients, presenting their cases to the doctors, and entering their information in electronic medical records.   Through this internship, I am gaining valuable insight into the rigorous training I will receive as a medical student.   I am lucky to be learning from the best, and I regularly find meaning, fulfillment, and enjoyment in the work I do.  I look forward to meeting all of Stetson Powell Orthopedics’ wonderful patients and providing them with the high-quality personalized care that Stetson Powell Orthopedics embodies.

While I work here, I am busy applying to medical schools and was recently admitted to USC’s Keck School of Medicine.  I also have upcoming interviews at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

Nuriel Moghavem – Current Intern

I graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Neuroscience in May 2011 and knew I wanted to spend a year working full-time in a clinical setting before beginning medical school. I wanted to better understand the daily work that goes into busy medical practice and gain valuable experience in patient care in order to be a better doctor. I applied to the premedical internship at Stetson Powell after finding it on Columbia’s jobs board and, after taking a trip here to Burbank for an interview, accepted the position. I started two weeks after graduation and could not have asked for a more exciting and relevant introduction to full-time medicine.

The internship guarantees that I will be one of the best-prepared first-year students in medical school:  I am mastering the arts of history-taking, electronic record-keeping and communication between medical professionals. I have a birds-eye view on the timeline of patient care:  I interact with patients on their first visit, see them though conservative management, observe them in surgery, and monitor them during recovery. Interviewing up to 25 patients in a given day with completely different stories, conditions and backgrounds also gives me a fantastic opportunity to meet new people and develop the kinds of patient/provider relationships that are so crucial to establish as a doctor. Under world-class surgeons who invest themselves personally in my growth, I am learning to think and act like a physician.

Robert Whitehill – University of North Carolina Medical School

The Stetson-Powell Internship Program was nothing short of a life-changing experience. When I began working at Stetson-Powell, I was thrilled by the opportunity to have daily exposure to medicine and the requirements of operating an orthopedic office. The internship provided me with the chance to not only glimpse first hand the life of a physician but also gave me an early education in clinical skills that is not available elsewhere. Whether learning to interview patients, reviewing imaging studies or discussing diagnoses and treatment options with the physicians, the medical education offered was an invaluable springboard to my future career. While working at Stetson-Powell I also had the chance to follow patients from their first visit to the office through the entire course of their treatment, an experience I found both rewarding and satisfying. In light of all of the attractive features of the internship, perhaps what I value most from my time at Stetson-Powell was the chance to learn from the renowned physicians who quickly became lifelong mentors. The physicians personally invested themselves in my medical career and I still count them among my most valued teachers and counselors. I strive to one day emulate them in my future career and am grateful for the opportunity they gave me to join the Stetson-Powell team.

Anna Kukhta 

I graduated from UCLA with a B.A in psychology and a strong passion to become a doctor. After graduation, I decided to take a year off to work and take a break from studying. With graduation looming on the horizon, I began looking for full-time employment. Initially, I was not certain as to what I wanted to do during my year off and was open to all possibilities. I found the Stetson Powell Orthopedics internship on UCLA’s employment website. I was very excited for the opportunity to work with such respected physicians; however, I was unsure as to what the job would entail.

This position provides me with the opportunity to have a birds-eye-view into the life of a physician. I do not just see glamorous and exciting aspects of being a doctor, but also the many difficulties that come with living a life of a physician. This internship has allowed me to learn the art of history taking and patient communication. As pre-medical interns, we are treated like medical students and are taught to think, feel and act as physicians. This is a great opportunity which has allowed me to shadow and work with world-class surgeons, who have taught me the necessary skills to succeed in medical school.

Shalen Kouk – Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine

While attending CornellUniversity, I decided that I wanted to take some time off after graduation and work prior to attending medical school. The pre-med intern position at Stetson Powell Orthopedics and Sports Medicine was the perfect opportunity during that period of time. Not only did I learn the basis of interviewing patients, but I was also able to observe surgeries, work on research projects and even travel toCubafor a medical mission. The internship greatly strengthened my medical school application and I am now a student at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. It also helped to prepare me for school and I feel that the internship has put me ahead of my peers.