Sonography Students Are Published in Medical Journal
Published: May 15, 2018
Erica Poole wrote the article, and Alicia Arellanes penned the diagrams about intussusception.
Two Johnston Community College sonography students are published in the Journal of Diagnostic Medical Sonography.
Erica Poole and Alicia Arellanes, second-year sonography students from Durham, worked together on the literature review about intussusception, a pediatric intestinal disorder. Poole researched and wrote the six-page article, and Arellanes sketched the medical diagrams illustrating intussusception and the cinnamon bun sign which the students learned about in Steven Penny’s class.
Poole said she started working on the research for the article last summer and spent
several months this fall writing the article. The article then went through a peer-review
process and was published in the May edition of the medical journal.
“I really enjoyed researching it, to me that was the most interesting part,” Poole said. “I spent a lot of time reading a lot of different journal articles. Intussusception is rare. I’ve never actually seen a positive case as a student in clinical. I feel like I learned a lot which will be helpful to me later working as a sonographer.”
Poole said the writing was tedious at times but she said the end result was well worth it.
“I learned a lot about perseverance and how to push through it,” she said. “The last thing students typically want to do is take on extra work, but I felt good about it after I was done. I’m definitely glad I did it.”
Arellanes said Penny suggested she create the diagrams because he had seen her art skills in other classwork she submitted.
“I researched online different images and found a few I felt like I could use as a good visual reference,” she explained. “Then I sketched out some ideas, sent them to Mr. Penny and Erica, got feedback and made changes.”
Arellanes said the hardest part was making sure the medical diagram was simplified and accurate.
“A lot of my artistic experience was more for just artistic expression purposes and not for a specific medical diagram so it was a bit of a challenge to make sure it looked clean and professional, but I enjoyed it a lot.”
“As an instructor, it is extremely encouraging to have students that are willing to go above and beyond typical academic obligations,” said Steven Penny, medical sonography instructor at JCC. “The combination of Erica’s research and writing ability, paired with Alicia’s artistry, made this publishing experience more enjoyable and exciting. I am delighted to have worked with both of them on this clinically important medical journal article, and know that they both have a bright future in the medical sonography profession.”
Cut line: Erica Poole, top photo, wrote the article, and Alicia Arellanes penned the diagrams about intussusception.