I arrived safely in California Sunday morning and was greeted by a slight chill and a great deal of fog. For those of you unfamiliar with Northern California weather, the fog is quite normal, and it tends to burn off in the afternoon, resulting in a beautiful, sunny California day. I took a shuttle from the airport to San Rafael, and while I enjoyed the ride, I was disappointed that I could hardly see the bay while crossing the Golden Gate Bridge (Fig. 1). Luckily, I have many more weeks to soak up the view, and the weather (aside from the fog) so far has been pretty nice.
I’ve been to San Francisco several times, but I’ve never been to San Rafael specifically. Let me tell you—it is as beautiful as you can imagine. I’m staying at Dominican University of California—a small, private school just a walk away from downtown. I had the opportunity to briefly explore the campus, as well as the city. Downtown San Rafael is comprised of about a million restaurants that I’d like to try—everything from crepes to Indian food to falafels and tacos. I’m surprised by the shear amount of green in this city. I’m originally from New Mexico, which tends to be a bit brown, so I’m almost overwhelmed by the trees, the bushes, and the flowers that are absolutely everywhere. When I say everything is beautiful, I mean everything. Even the local Target has a beautiful view, as it borders the bay (Fig. 3).
I am very thankful for my gracious hosts, who happen to double as my work colleagues. Even before I arrived, they were a huge help in sorting out housing and transportation. One of my new colleagues, Linda, met me at the shuttle stop and within an hour of arrival, she took Katharine and myself to Trader Joe’s—a major plus. Everyone has made sure that we interns (who are all living in the same dorm) have all the necessities. I’m proud to say we have a fully functioning kitchen, at least by college standards. Courtesy of our friends at 3SD, we have a fridge, a microwave, dishes, and (most excitingly) a toaster oven! Culinary masterpieces are sure to follow.
I’m so excited for promises of music, hiking, beach-going, and eating. One thing I’m really looking forward to is the San Rafael farmer’s market that takes place every Thursday in downtown San Rafael. Everyone I’ve talked to raves about the produce, and not a day has passed that the market hasn’t been mentioned. I sure hope I can believe the hype!
On to work! Monday marked my first day at 3SD. The day, as a whole, was great, and I hope for a summer filled with many more like it. To start, the office space is incredible. 3SD recently moved to this location, and it’s just a short drive from our living quarters. The office has a swanky warehouse/studio/think tank sort of feel. I know that sounds strange, but it’s the best way I can think to describe it (Fig. 4).
The front of the building holds everyone’s desks in a large room (including my very own). I immediately was struck by the openness of the space and how conducive it is to collaboration—a vital part of any design firm. I, along with my fellow interns, am integrated amongst the rest of the employees. Speaking of which, my colleagues are fantastic and welcoming. The group is almost entirely women, aside from our CEO, Robert, and several contractors. Between the BTB program, my lab position, and this internship, I’m finding that the global health field is comprised of a good number of women. I love it. I’m so happy to be surrounded and mentored by strong, intelligent women, who make great role models. Robert is also just great. He is very excited to have the interns there, and I think I am going to learn a lot from him in the coming weeks. I had the opportunity to meet with nearly everyone in the office and learn about the various projects underway, including the PlanetBox and its accessories, and, of course, the Pumani.
On my first day, I learned that I will primarily be working on the engineering side of 3SD, specifically on the Pumani bCPAP. There are a variety of side projects related to the device, from tweaking the user manual to troubleshooting some minor bugs and working on manufacturing more devices. I had the opportunity to watch all of the training videos for the device, as well as pick apart a device myself. The videos are very well made and easy to understand, which is important, given that the device is in the midst of a large scale-up, which requires a lot of training of nurses and other healthcare professionals.
On day 2, I spent much of the day assembling headsets for the Pumani devices. The headsets consist of medical tubing and several elbow connectors, and they are the portion of the device that connects to the prongs and the infant’s nose. As we are preparing for a new shipment, we had a lot of assembling to do. While the work was surprisingly difficult (that tubing is tough), it was made fun by conversations with Jocelyn Brown, one of the original designers of the Pumani. She worked for BTB for several years, served in Malawi, and is now product manager at 3SD. Though the process can be a bit tedious, it is nice to have tangible evidence of hard work. Staying motivated isn’t too difficult either, given the end product. It’s incredible knowing that each unit assembled has the potential to save many, many children’s lives.
Another project I’ve been working on is helping to revise the Pumani user manual for final print. The changes we’ve made are minor, but it’s neat that I’ve gotten to pull from my experiences at Rice with writing easy-to-understand manuals for medical devices. I think that user-friendliness is an incredibly important aspect to any medical device, and the Pumani team has done an excellent job, between their user videos, job aids (posters for the hospital), and thorough manual. I have heard that one of the most common issues with medical devices sent to developing countries is that the devices break and are not promptly fixed. Each Pumani arrives with common spare replacement parts included, as well as step-by-step instructions for repair. Both of which make the repair process more feasible and hopefully more common.
I’m looking forward to the rest of the week, as we continue headset production and manual revision. Later in the week, we even get to visit the company who is completing a large part of the Pumani manufacturing. So far, I am loving work. It’s a different environment than I have ever experienced, but I enjoy the tasks I’ve been given. Everyone at the company is so welcoming, and I truly feel as if we’re all rooting for one another’s success. I’m so thankful for the summer ahead of me!