INTERN
IN ACTION -- JANUARY 2002
MICHELANNE ROTHROCK
Welcome
to our new web feature "Intern in Action."
At Barnard, two-thirds of all students take
advantage of over 2,500 internship opportunities.
Each month we will feature a current Barnard
student and her internship to showcase the breadth
of experience available.
For
firefighters and others burned in the terror
attacks of Sept. 11, the resulting scars can
be psychological as well as physical. Working
with
researchers at a New York City hospital, a Barnard
student is helping to devise means to diagnose
these traumas - a vital step toward treatment.
The student, Michelanne Rothrock, a senior psychology
major from Fairbanks, Alaska, has been interning
since January 2001 under the supervision of
Dr. JoAnn Difede in the Accident and Injury
Recovery Program of the Department of Psychiatry
at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Medical
Burn Center.
The most severely burned World Trade Center
victims were sent to the burn unit on which
Michelanne works. Since September 11, she has
worked closely with several of these patients
– many still remain on the ward and continue
to be evaluated for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.
She has also begun helping organize art therapy
groups for children of firefighters who were
victims of September 11th.
"Illness and injury to the body may bring
about psychological symptoms which can be even
more crippling to the individual than the physical
injuries themselves. Psychological treatment
is, in this way, as important as physical treatment
to the burn victim," Rothrock said. "Since
September 11th, my internship has allowed me
to feel that I am doing something helpful for
those who survived. Although it has been sometimes
difficult to talk with these patients and see
their injuries, I am grateful that I have been
able to feel useful in some way. Working with
the children of firefighters who died on the
11th has also been deeply rewarding for me."
Her
internship includes administering questionnaires
to patients, usually within the first few weeks
of their hospitalization, which are used to
determine the patient’s psychological state.
She is also conducting research on burn victims
of accident, assault, and the World Trade Center
tragedy to determine which population is most
susceptible to dissociative symptoms within
the first month of hospitalization. The results
will be incorporated into her senior thesis.
Michelanne plans to pursue a career as a psychiatrist,
but will spend the year after graduation working
and volunteering for a public health organization
in Paris. Upon her return from Paris, she will
enroll in post-baccalaureate courses in preparation
for medical school.
Michelanne wishes to thank April Benson ’73
and the Tow Foundation for providing her with
generous grants which have enabled her to continue
working at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Weill
Medical Burn Center.
.jpg)
