Transforming Telehealth: An Intervention to Reduce Inequality
Are you ready to help redefine how healthcare works for your generation? We are tackling a massive gap in modern medicine: while virtual visits are convenient, they often feel cold or disconnected. This project isn't just about technology—it’s about human connection. We are building a first-of-its-kind training program to teach Nurse Practitioners (NPs) how to build deep trust, empathy, and connection through a screen.
- Create Professional Media: We are producing five high-quality clinical "vignettes" (mini-movies) that show NPs exactly how to lead with cultural humility and heart.
- Launch a National Pilot: We’re running a study with 40 NPs to see how this training changes the way they interact with patients in the real world.
- Change the Curriculum: Our ultimate goal is to get this training into every NP graduate program in the country, setting a new national standard for virtual care.
How We Do It
- The Power of Voice: You'll help us run focus groups where young adults share their lived experiences to make sure our training videos are authentic and "real".
- Cutting-Edge Production: We’ve partnered with Hey Awesome Girl, a professional media company, to turn our research into engaging, cinematic training tools.
- Mixed-Methods Science: We use a blend of surveys, qualitative coding, and "interrater observations" to measure exactly how much our training improves patient-provider relationships.
Your Role
We are looking for a motivated Undergraduate Research Assistant to be the engine of our day-to-day operations. This is a funded position ($25/hr). You won't just be watching from the sidelines; you will:
- Recruit & Connect: Lead the charge in finding and scheduling participants for our focus groups and pilot study.
- Master the Data: Gain elite skills in managing study documentation, managing transcripts, and learning the "art" of preliminary qualitative coding.
- Drive the Science: Support literature reviews and help draft the materials that will eventually become published scientific manuscripts.
- Join the Inner Circle: Participate in our research meetings where you’ll get a front-row seat to how health equity and digital health research are actually done.
Why You’ll Love This Opportunity
- Resume Gold: Get hands-on experience in a high-growth field (Digital Health) that grad schools and employers are obsessed with.
- Direct Mentorship: Work closely with Dr. Duffy and our Graduate Research Assistants to build your professional network.
- Real-World Impact: Your work will directly help reduce health disparities for young adults from marginalized backgrounds.
Joining this team means more than just adding a line to your resume; it is your chance to help reinvent how healthcare works for your own generation. As a student researcher, you will be at the heart of a project that blends cutting-edge digital technology with human-centered care to ensure no patient is left behind.
- Be a Digital Health Pioneer: You will work at the absolute forefront of virtual health innovation, helping to create and test the first-ever standardized training for building "Therapeutic Relational Connection" in digital spaces.
- Fight for Health Equity: You will directly contribute to reducing hospitalizations and improving the quality of life for Black, Hispanic, and low-income young adults who currently face significant disparities in chronic illness management.
- Build a High-Level Skill Set: Gain hands-on experience in "behind-the-scenes" research, including qualitative coding, data entry, and the preparation of peer-reviewed manuscripts for national dissemination.
- Professional Mentorship: Work under the direct guidance of Dr. Duffy, gaining the kind of insider knowledge and professional coaching that is essential for graduate school or a career in clinical research.
- Collaborate with Creative Pros: Go beyond the lab by working alongside a professional media production company (Hey Awesome Girl) to see how scientific research is transformed into high-quality, engaging video content.
- Get Paid for Your Impact: This is a funded role where you will earn $25/hr while gaining 18 weeks of intensive, real-world research experience.