Grace Hildenbrand is a PhD student in the Brian Lamb School of Communication. Joining Purdue in 2017 after completing her Bachelor’s at Washburn University and her Master’s at Texas State University, Grace embodies the spirit of a Boilermaker: determined and hard-working. She is heavily involved in research on campus, balancing between 5-10 research projects at a time.
Her research interests include how medical students and physicians are trained to communicate with patients and how doctors can explain things in a way that all patients can understand.
Some of her current research projects include, among many others:
- Analyzing data from a training for first year medical students on how to communicate with people with low health literacy. After training, the students had an increased knowledge and confidence in their communication with patients.
- Surveying U.S. adults to see if they have felt dismissed by a healthcare provider or felt that their concerns were not taken seriously. These interactions will be analyzed to determine themes between the interactions and to help train healthcare providers on communicating with patients.
I had an opportunity to sit down with Grace to pick her brain and get her perspective on life as a PhD student in the Lamb School.
What was your experience like at the NCA conference?
We got so lucky. You submit stuff and never know if it’s going to get in [to the conference]. Even just the other day, we had something that got rejected from a conference. I think there were six things with my name on them, and all six got in. It was just a miracle.
Opportunities like presenting at NCA are among many for students in the Lamb School.
How has the Lamb School impacted you?
In general, I would say I have gotten really excellent training in research. That is kind of the point of a PhD is to learn how to do research. I already had experience with teaching, but I think the Lamb School has just given me much more confidence in being able to do research more independently.
I think there have been really good opportunities for me too, like opportunities to collaborate with research. One collaboration specifically that I have gotten to do is work with human resources at Purdue. We have a survey we send out to faculty and staff every year and it asks questions about the benefits enrollment process and benefits communication and how they feel about these things. I analyze the data and create a report for [HR]. This has also been able to give me a chance to ask other questions that my advisor and I have and maybe get our own publication out of that too.
Through the Lamb School I have been able to make connections or collaborate with people, and it has given me access to other people to study which has been really nice. I think it adds to the quality of what you are doing if you are working with not just communication or health people.
What advice do you have for Lamb School students?
Take advantage of unique opportunities even if you don’t think they fall within your particular area or track or your career path, if it makes sense. I’m not saying say yes to everything and overwhelm yourself, but don’t say no to something just because you don’t think it fits with your career path specifically. Be open and willing to try new things, because a lot of those opportunities you’ll only get at a university.
What about for students interested in graduate school?
Being able to prioritize and manage your time are really important, but also know that hard work will get you really far. Don’t think to yourself ‘Oh, I’m not smart enough or intelligent enough for grad school.’ I’m definitely one of those people who don’t think I’m really all that smart, but I work hard and it has allowed me to be really successful in graduate school. Don’t count yourself out. As long as you are doing the work and putting the time in, you can be successful in graduate school. And grad school’s awesome, so do it.
To learn more about graduate school or how to get involved in research as an undergrad, talk to your academic advisor or your professors.
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