Senior Spencer Davis spent her summer at The University of Pennsylvania working on research on adult congenital heart disease.

To get this once in a lifetime opportunity, Davis simply sent out her resume to several hospitals asking if there was anything that she could do to help them and she was offered a position.

Davis worked alongside Dr. Stephanie Fuller, who was her mentor although she mainly worked independently. “I learned an incredible amount, but I also got very little sleep but it was worth it for the experience. I got to watch a lot of pediatric open heart surgeries and a lung transplants which are hard for even Med students to get to see,” said Davis.

“Specifically what I did over the summer was analyze a year’s worth of data at the adult Congenital Heart Disease Clinic at the University of Pennsylvania’s hospital to see how often quality indicators were being completed in patients with left heart syndrome.” said Davis. A quality indicator is a measurement to see how good quality of care is being implemented.

Davis is currently working on publishing her research. “It’s a really rewarding process to see all your hard work come together into a final product.” said Davis.

Davis hopes to further her education and pursue a career as a cardiologist. “I have a heart condition myself, luckily though mine is treatable to the point where I hardly notice it now, but many other people aren’t as lucky.” said Davis.