I assisted the research coordinator with running 3 different cardiovascular and autonomic nervous system protocols. I was able to observe the informed consent process with each one of these protocols. Each protocol looked at the autonomic integrity of patients with spinal cord injuries. The goal was to characterize the level of completeness of the injury and how it relates to the autonomic impairment and develop non-invasive test that doctors and specialists can use to determine autonomic nervous system impairment in persons with spinal cord injuries. In addition to helping with running the protocols I was also able to collect, chunk, process and summarize research data. I was also able to go through the process of corresponding with the IRB including adverse events, preparation of IRB applications and annual renewals.

I was able to assist the exercise physiologists in writing exercise protocols for patients in phase 2 of cardiac rehabilitation. I took both resting and exercise blood pressures along with monitoring the patient’s EKG. I discussed the anatomy of the heart with patients that were new to the program and briefly explained the procedure they just had done and some of the activities they could and could not do.