UC student's patient-centered medical device designs decrease patient discomfort
Biomedical engineering co-op aligns with student's professional goals of improving healthcare outcomes
Dana Drage, a fifth-year biomedical engineering student with a business administration minor, is currently finishing up her final co-op rotation with Baxter Healthcare in Chicago, Illinois. “Baxter's mission is to ‘save and sustain lives’ and I believe that Baxter, as well as other companies, really does keep that mentality front-of-mind in their work,” said Drage.
As a long-term professional goal, Drage hope to work towards reducing the discomfort caused by many medical products. “Though they certainly aren't designed to inflict pain, many of the devices on the market do cause discomfort and pain in their operation while trying to decrease long-term pain,” Drage said. “There's more we can do in healthcare and device engineering to make treatments less invasive, speed healing, and reduce the risk of infection, and improve outcomes.”
Drage began her career at the University of Cincinnati in the Lindner College of Business with a pre-medicine concentration. She followed her passion for medicine to the College of Engineering and Applied Science (CEAS) biomedical engineering program after her freshman year, and retained a minor in business.
“My switch to biomedical engineering was the perfect move for me. I get to have an impact on the way healthcare operates and use the soft-skills I discovered through my enthusiasm for business,” Drage said. “The University of Cincinnati has helped me explore my passions for leading and for manufacturing.”
As an intern in the Operations Development Program, Drage explains that her current role was far outside her comfort zone of manufacturing and process engineering. “In this role, I work in manufacturing strategy, supporting Baxter's ‘next moves’ in terms of manufacturing facilities, products, and processes. It was challenging, rewarding, impactful to our patients, and grew me in ways that staying inside of my comfort zone wouldn't have,” said Drage.
The highlight of Drage’s co-op was her sneak peek into one of her career goals: For an entire half-day, she shadowed a plant manager at Baxter. “I got to observe the daily operations with one of our plant managers. In the (rare) downtime, we talked career and what it takes to succeed as a plant manager. It was incredible to preview this role and envision myself in it.”
The medical device field is never stagnant, which is so exciting to me for the future of our patients. We will always work to keep innovating and helping people.
Dana Drage biomedical engineering, 2019
She credits UC with giving her the platform to create her unique educational experience.
“I love UC because is uniquely your experience. It is truly whatever you want it to be. I believe in an education of the heart, of leadership, of responsibility, of politics, of academics, of relationships, and mostly...of passion.” Drage said.
Graduating May 2019, Drage has been accepted to the two-year rotational program at Baxter. Still exploring her career options, she also plans to earn her MBA about four to five years into her career. Drage hopes to work in a manufacturing/operations-focused role at a medical device company that allows her the opportunity to grow and have high impact as a young professional.
“The medical device field is never stagnant, which is so exciting to me for the future of our patients. We will always work to keep innovating and helping people,” Drage said.
For more CEAS co-op stories, please visit our co-op story page or submit your own.
Featured image at top: Dana Drage and colleagues participate in the Kidney Walk in downtown Chicago (Baxter is a premier sponsor). Photo/provided.
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