EDINBURG, Texas - The Junior Clinical Research Internship is a summer immersion program for high school students and educators offered by the DHR Health Institute for Research and Development.

This year's program runs from June 5 to August 4.

JCRI is a partnership between DHR Health, Region One Education Service Center, GEAR UP College Ready, Career Set, GEAR UP College Now, Career Connected, the PATHS project, Upward Bound, and Benavides ISD.

The program has four objectives:

• To expose to and engage in the discipline of translational and clinical research
• To enhance the understanding of the importance of critical thinking and generation ion new knowledge
• To reinforce the importance of life-long learning
• To foster a better understanding of the various disciplines in medicine and allied health sciences

In a video interview with the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service, Dr. Monica Betancourt-Garcia, MD, says JCRI has grown over the years. Betancourt-Garcia is scientific director for the Center of Excellence for Trauma Research in the Border Region. She is also director of Junior Clinical Research Internship.

Betancourt-Garcia said that, initially, JCRI was for students in the Rio Grande Valley who were considering careers in healthcare. Now, she said, it attracts students from across Texas.

Video

More information on the Junior Clinical Research Internship

Healthcare Training Sessions:

• Basic Life Support
• Stop the Bleed
• Conflict of Interest
• Human Subjects Research: Biomedical Research

Immersion Experiences:

• DHR Health Pathology Lab
• DHR Health Radiology Department
• DHR Health Orthopedics Institute
• DHR Health Institute for Research & Development

Clinical Research Connections:

• Ethics and the Importance of Institutional Review Board Committees
• Informed Consent
• Development of Research Protocols
• Manuscript Writing

Practical Experiences:

• Blood Draw
• Medicine Preparation and Intramuscular Injection’Blood Typing, Rh Factor, and Blood Glucose Testing
• Suturing
• Use of Fibroscan to Diagnose Liver Disease
• Patient Vital
• Measurement of Lung Capacity
• Foley Catheter Insertion
• Intubation
• Urinalysis

Here is a video of Lyford High School student Mia Garcia practicing the drawing of blood:

Video

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