Volunteer Research Opportunity

Volunteer Research Opportunity

Position Title: Intern
Location: New York City, NY
Employer: VA Medical Center via American Heart Association 
Department: N/A
Website: N/A
Time Commitment: 10 hours/week during business hours (8am - 5pm Tuesday - Thursday), from mid-September through December (applicants who can stay the full year are preferred)
Salary: unpaid
Qualifications:   The applicant must be a rising sophomore, junior, or senior undergraduate or post-bac student, and should be pursuing a psychology major, nutrition major, pre-medical concentration, or something similar in nature. Research experience, experience with patients, and completion of a Research Methods or Statistics course are preferred, but not necessary.
Position Description:   Our externally funded multidisciplinary research team has positions available for Fall interns. We are looking for highly responsible, organized psychology major or pre-medical students who are  interested in pursuing careers in medicine, psychology, clinical research, and related fields. This is an  opportunity to be involved with several of our ongoing studies. The American Heart Association study (PREVENTS) is in its fourth year and the federally-funded study VALOR in Heart Failure is in its second year. In addition, a new federally-funded study, VIP Treatment in Heart Failure, and a quality improvement project, VICTORY in Heart Failure began recently.
The individual would be responsible for assisting in recruitment and data management in ongoing research studies evaluating different behavioral approaches to improve treatment management for patients with heart failure, diabetes, hypertension, and stroke. The intern would also participate in organization of study materials, administrative duties, and literature searches. The individual will have opportunities to aid in patient recruitment and screening, to observe patient intake and study interviews, and to participate in research team meetings. Responsibilities may include listening to, transcribing, and coding interviews to improve patient care/interventions. As part of the position, interns will be involved in academic deliberations involving a multidisciplinary group that includes individuals with expertise in medicine, psychology, epidemiology, statistics, health education, economics, etc. The interns are able to join in conducting the research, and in preparing for presentation and publication. As such, interns who make substantial contributions to any material can expect to be named as co-authors. For example, at the NYU Medicine Research Day, two of our interns presented abstracts. In the past, they have also been co-authors of abstracts at large national meetings.
The applicant must be a rising sophomore, junior, or senior undergraduate or post-bac student, and should be pursuing a psychology major, nutrition major, pre-medical concentration, or something similar in nature. Research experience, experience with patients, and completion of a Research Methods or Statistics course are preferred, but not necessary. The position requires that the applicant be available for at least 10 hours a week during business hours (8 am to 5 pm Tuesday through Thursday during the Fall. The intern will be expected to devote some time to both the Brooklyn and Manhattan VA Medical Centers. The position is an unpaid position and would start as soon as possible and end no earlier than mid December. Applicants who plan to stay a year are preferred. This is an excellent research opportunity for students planning to apply to graduate programs in Clinical/Health Psychology or medical school.
How to Apply: To apply, please send a cover letter and resume including your current GPA before September 24 2012 to MariaAntonia.Rodriguez@va.gov(Maria Antonia Rodriguez, Ph.D.). Applicants will be invited for interviews as applications are received. Candidates will be notified of acceptances in mid September.