Deborah Ubele
Biological Research
After having difficulty finding a biological research position locally over the summer of 2004 (as I am a duel major with Biology and Women’s & Gender Studies), I sent out a series of e-mails to organizations affiliated with local hospital and fundraising systems. I focused my interest to groups associated with Arthritis support and research. My late grandmother had battled with rheumatoid arthritis for over ten years prior to her passing, and it has always been in my agenda to devote some time and energy to arthritic causes. I received responses from the Southern New Jersey Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation, as well as a response from Virtua Health’s Southern New Jersey Regional Arthritis Center. Being affiliated with a hospital system, Virtua’s Arthritis Center sparked my interest. After briefly interviewing with the director of the program, Wendy McBrair, I was offered a position as an intern on a volunteer basis.
My field study experience was quite unique in the fact that it encompassed being a volunteer, an intern, and lastly a paid employee. After completing hours through Virtua Health’s Volunteer Department, I began working two days a week as an unpaid intern for the program. The Southern New Jersey Regional Arthritis Center is a state funded program that provides education and programming to serve those afflicted with arthritis and other rheumatoid diseases. Programs sponsored by the Center include water exercise and therapy programs, support group sessions for those suffering from Fibromyalgia or Arthritis, and question and answer sessions with doctors, nurses, professionals, and patients regarding operative procedures, in particular the total joint replacement procedures. My position as an intern involved helping the very small staff to plan programming, schedule patients for classes and sessions, and perform other typically clerical functions.
Aside from the Program Director, Wendy, the Southern New Jersey Regional Arthritis Center employs one full time program coordinator and two part time program assistants. My work began in early June of 2004. As an intern, my duties primarily encompassed working alongside one of the programming assistants, Pat Spindler, whose main task was the handling of patients needs in terms of scheduling, programming, and billing. I would often fill in for Pat during her days off. I worked approximately fourteen hours a week at the Arthritis Center alongside my retail job of twenty hours a week. Due to some organizational shifting prior to my arrival, both Program Assistant Pat and Director Wendy opted for early retirement. During this hectic shift of power, I was very fortunate to be offered a paid position as a temporary part-time Program Assistant for the remainder of the summer. I then took over the duties that Pat had done in her two days of work per week, but finally with a salary!
One story that I would like to share about the importance of the programming that the Arthritis Center provides is about an elderly woman by the name of Vivian Cignilia. Vivian had been a participant in water therapy classes for her arthritic pain for two years. After some health troubles, she had been forced to drop out of the classes because she was unable to participate for weeks. Re-enrollment in these water therapy classes is quite difficult, particularly because state funding has been cut for programs like these in recent years and there are only a limited number of resources we have. The supply and demand is completely overwhelming. Because of this, Vivian found herself on a very long wait list. Having spoken to Vivian numerous times on the telephone and helping her find alternative resources (including joining an arthritis support group), I was finally able to fit Vivian into a class that suited her availability due to another participant’s dropout. Vivian was very gracious, calling my supervisor and telling her what a great help I had been and how the program has enhanced her quality of life- something that our program strives to assist. I was so happy just to have helped this one person get an opportunity to better herself.
My lasting piece of advice to students of Feminism in the Workplace in the years to come is to not be afraid to contact and approach organizations and companies that encompass your own interests. Just via a few e-mails and conversations, I was able to find a position that truly helped me in both of my academic fields. 75% of all people afflicted with arthritis are female, and the majority of the patients I, myself, got to work with were female. The opportunity to work for a hospital system alongside nurses and medical health professionals was incredibly rewarding, not only for my resume and contacts but also for my own experience in the field. It was an amazing experience to help patients obtain the best possible healthcare that suited their needs. Even better, I hope that this position will lead to my first post-college occupation as I apply to medical schools in the summer/fall after graduation. It has been an incredibly rewarding experience, and I am thrilled that I have been able to work in a field that advances care for a disease that my grandmother had battled for so long.