Interview with Olga Khazen

I chose to interview one of the clinical research coordinators in the Pilitsis lab: Olga Khazen. I interviewed her on how she got to her current position and the kind of work she does for Dr. Pilitsis. I gravitated towards interviewing Olga as she is closer to my age (compared to other people that I work under) and holds a very real perspective on pursuing a career in medicine. Her insight on career exploration is valuable to any high school student considering an undergraduate degree in the sciences.

Interest in Science

When asked when her interest in healthcare began, Olga told me that her interest could be traced all the way back to middle school, when she shadowed her pediatrician for a couple of weeks. Throughout her life, she has had a fascination with the brain that "kind of came from nowhere." In her sophomore year of high school, Olga participated in a summer program where she took an introductory neuroscience course at a college. She thoroughly enjoyed the material and is particularly fond of her experience being able to hold an actual human brain. Although she was only able to cater her high school classes to a certain extent, she knew that she wanted to pursue a degree in science. She took AP psychology in high school, which resulted her choosing a psychology-neuroscience track at Union College.

College

At Union, Olga tailored her college career to pre-med courses, internships, and other activities that would aid her application to medical school. Olga's parents and extended family are from Russia, resulting in their limited knowledge of the medical school application process. Therefore, Olga heard about good opportunities for pre-med students by word of mouth. Despite Olga beginning on the cognitive psychology-neuroscience track, she ended up switched to the biology-neuroscience track with a minor in classics. Although Union is a small liberal arts college that is not very STEM-oriented, Olga was able to work under one of her professors in his human research. In this professor's lab, Olga met a girl who was in the year above her and who did her internship with Dr. Pilitsis. The girl was also pre-med and acted as a kind of mentor for Olga. Through this connection, Olga was able to get an internship with Dr. Pilitsis over the summer between her junior and senior years of college. She kept in touch with Dr Pilitsis through her senior year of college and was able to fulfill the job of research coordinator in the Pilitsis lab following her graduation in 2019. Olga had been planning to take a two-year gap between college and medical school, as she did not want to apply her senior year of college. She knew that working under Dr. Pilitsis would aid her in her future medical school applications.

Working as a Research Coordinator

Olga's official title is clinical research coordinator. Olga oversees and conducts a lot of the studies done in the lab. Olga describes Dr. Pilitsis as "a very busy researcher as she has a lot of studies going on, both her own studies that she develops and some that she does for device companies, which we call sponsored studies." As a coordinator, Olga is responsible for makes sure they have all of the correct approvals from regulatory systems (for example, the Institutional Review Board). Olga is also responsible for recruiting patients. Olga says, "Based on the studies that we have going on, I see which patients fit into which category. I decide is they are better for this study or if they're better for another study, or if they are better for no studies. Based on that, I will bring a list of patients to Dr. Pilitsis and the studies I think they would be good candidates for (based on inclusion/exclusion criteria that are predetermined in the protocol and study design). Then, she'll give consent for particular studies." Olga is the primary contact for patients in studies. When patients come into the clinic, she talks to them, introduces them to the studies, send them home with paperwork, and they call her with any questions. Down the line, she is responsible for consenting the patient if they choose to go through with it and most of the follow-up visits unless a doctor/licensed professional has to perform a specific task. Olga also does surveying, data entry, sometimes data analysis, helps out with mentoring students, and writing papers. Olga describes her work as, "a little bit of everything to keep the study going."

Future Plans

On reflecting on her time as research coordinator, Olga mentions how the job "fell into her lap" and that she didn't even know it was a job when she got the position. Olga talks about the unfortunate reality of undergraduate degrees, especially in science, in that there are a limited amount of job opportunities straight out of college. Olga emphasizes, "This was discouraging because you put so much time into your undergraduate degree, and then you realize that you can't do anything without higher education." Being research coordinator made Olga realize how important of a stepping stone it is in developing any career in healthcare. As for future career options, Olga can go onto medical school, work at a device company, or go get her P.h.D. and start her own lab: she can branch out in so many different places. Olga believes that being research coordinator was really helpful in showing her all of the different aspects of a job in healthcare. Olga describes how she's "helped with administrative stuff, grants, etc. and that it's really cool to see these things as someone who is looking into a career in healthcare." When thinking about jobs in healthcare, it is easy to stop at doctors, PAs, and nurses. Olga believes that being research coordinator, "although at the bottom of the ladder," was a very necessary step to work her way up as she was exposed to so many different things. Olga plans on applying to medical school and becoming a board-certified doctor. When asked about her plans for the field of medicine she wants to work in, Olga is unsure about continuing research, possibly because she has been doing it for so long. Olga plans to continue working in research in medical school to aid her in getting residencies, but once she is done with school, she hopes to simply practice. In terms of specialties, Olga likes neurosurgery, neurology, obstetrics and gynecology, and trauma medicine. Olga works fairly closely with current medical students and she hears stories of the rotations they work on. Although she is currently unsure about the field of medicine she would like to practice, she is excited to be exposed to them in medical school.

Advice for High Schoolers

Talking to Olga made me reflect on my own career goals and how I can plan my future efficiently. Olga told me her biggest piece of advice she had for me, or high schoolers in general, is to explore. Olga recalls that she knows "so many people who said they would never want to be a doctor and then they had one experience that completely changed their mind." Olga mentioned that there are so many things you can do in college (clubs, classes, internships) and that it almost gets overwhelming because you don't know what you need. Going to medical school requires a lot of planning, and the later you decide you want to go, the more delayed the processes. There are so many different aspects of healthcare that you can go into (research, administration, etc.), so "testing things out while you have the time is ideal."

Thank you so much, Olga, for letting me interview you! It was incredible to get to hear an insider's perspective on research and jobs post-college.