This year Goodman Campbell Brain and Spine started a unique gap year program for individuals preparing for medical school. Our gap year students, Nicholas Tippins and Annie Foreit, gave us a look into their work and the reasons why they selected this experience.
What are your current interests?
Nicholas has been interested in medicine since high school. During college, life events reinforced his commitment to the field. Annie has also been interested as long as she can remember and has always had a passion to care for people in need.
When asked what areas excite them most in medicine, Nicholas shared, “I would like to explore different areas of medicine during medical school before committing to a specialty. I can see myself working in neurosurgery, psychiatry, neurology, internal medicine, anesthesiology, and many other fields and enjoying my career.” While Annie stated, “My interests are largely focused on trauma surgery or emergency medicine. As an extremely hands-on person I have always been drawn to surgery, but I also thrive in fast-paced, high-pressure environments and want to pursue a specialty in which my day-to-day work is constantly changing.”
Why did you choose this program?
Nicholas: The GCBS gap year fellowship felt like a perfect fit for me, as I already lived in Carmel, I knew I wanted to do a gap year, I was interested in spine research, and I felt like my background in computer science and multiple previous research internships would allow me to make valuable contributions to the program.
Annie: What really drew me to GCBS was the company’s widespread devotion to their patients. Not only was I drawn to the innovative and cutting edge work being done by the team, I was also intrigued by the company’s commitment to quality and personable patient care.
During their time here, Nicholas and Annie focused on a vast array of projects throughout the year, with the majority of them centered around patient outcomes. They explored factors that impact treatment satisfaction with the goal of enhancing Goodman Campbell’s standard of care.
Below is a high level look at their accomplishments over the last year:
- Submitted 14 journal articles for scientific publications
- Authored 25 abstracts accepted for presentation at various neurosurgical conferences, which included 5 oral presentations and 19 e-posters
- Spent numerous hours shadowing Goodman Campbell physicians in the operating room and clinic
What is your favorite memory?
Nicholas: I would say going to Spine Summit has been one of my favorite experiences so far. I had a lot of fun hearing other people’s research projects, exploring booths advertising different medical devices, and networking with other medical students and physicians.
Annie: My favorite memory at GCBS was definitely the parking lot party last summer. Not only was it a great introduction to the remarkable team and staff at GCBS, but it was an awesome opportunity to enjoy some time with the summer interns and celebrate our work before they returned to school.
What are your future plans?
Both Nicholas and Annie will be starting medical school at Indiana University this fall! Annie plans to spend some time traveling through Europe first, while Nicholas will stay on with Goodman Campbell for a bit to help onboard the new gap year class.
What do you do in your free time?
Nicholas enjoys working out, learning languages and coding. He has been writing music and playing cello. His band has published two albums and a single.
Annie spends her free time walking dogs at a local animal shelter and running. She also started a K-9 run club initiative with Indy Humane, which combines dogs and solo-female runners in an effort to provide safety and dog socialization.
Final thoughts?
The gap year students shared that the program has been an amazing experience. They would without a doubt recommend the GCBS Gap Year Internship to future students stating they’ve gained a level of exposure into the field of neurosurgery and built a strong foundation of research skills under the mentorship of the GCBS team. This experience provided them with a glimpse into their futures in healthcare, and equipped them with both clinical and research skills that will help them better prepare for their journeys into medicine.
Thank you Nicholas and Annie for all of your hard work. We look forward to seeing what your futures hold!
