Even After All These Years
...I still get nervous before a music therapy intern starts his/her program with me.
In internship director supervision training, we talk all the time about how the new intern feels when he/she starts his/her internship, but we rarely acknowledge our own feelings about the process. Now, I know (because I can actually remember that far back) that interns are nervous, excited, and scared, exhilarated and energized, but I feel all of those things as well (probably on a lesser scale, but still valid feeling to me).
I will meet her at 7:30 at the front door and walk her into the cafeteria where we will have breakfast with the certified staff. She will get to sit through bunches of irrelevant meetings simply because I have to be there. Then, we'll head over to our office space in the other school setting and get to work. There will be orientation information, documents to sign and send off, the dismissal policy to read, and a journal to decorate. Then, I have to leave for a meeting while Intern#22 gives a tour of the facility and can talk to Intern #23 in privacy without my listening ears nearby.
My feelings of nervousness come from many of the same places that we think interns' nerves come from. Questions like, "Will he/she like me?" "Will I be a good supervisor?" "Will #23 like #22?" "Will he/she respond well to the clients?" All of these questions pop up and rattle around in my head with each new person who walks through the door.
In my 15 years of experience as an internship director, I have never had an experience that ended with the dismissal of an intern. I have had one relationship with an intern that was not positive, but that was a personality conflict rather than a bad clinical experience. I have learned to trust my instincts, be very careful about letting in just anyone, and to set up all of expectations up front and in writing. I have been lucky in being the person who gets to help music therapy students transition into music therapy interns and then, into music therapists. It is a job that I take extremely seriously, and I love the challenges, frustrations, and growth experiences that arise with each individual who choose to do training at my internship. I am looking forward to greeting Intern #23 today - the same way I anticipated Intern #22's arrival, Intern #21's, and on into the past years.
In internship director supervision training, we talk all the time about how the new intern feels when he/she starts his/her internship, but we rarely acknowledge our own feelings about the process. Now, I know (because I can actually remember that far back) that interns are nervous, excited, and scared, exhilarated and energized, but I feel all of those things as well (probably on a lesser scale, but still valid feeling to me).
Intern #23 starts today.
I will meet her at 7:30 at the front door and walk her into the cafeteria where we will have breakfast with the certified staff. She will get to sit through bunches of irrelevant meetings simply because I have to be there. Then, we'll head over to our office space in the other school setting and get to work. There will be orientation information, documents to sign and send off, the dismissal policy to read, and a journal to decorate. Then, I have to leave for a meeting while Intern#22 gives a tour of the facility and can talk to Intern #23 in privacy without my listening ears nearby.
I think I am ready for all of this.
My feelings of nervousness come from many of the same places that we think interns' nerves come from. Questions like, "Will he/she like me?" "Will I be a good supervisor?" "Will #23 like #22?" "Will he/she respond well to the clients?" All of these questions pop up and rattle around in my head with each new person who walks through the door.
In my 15 years of experience as an internship director, I have never had an experience that ended with the dismissal of an intern. I have had one relationship with an intern that was not positive, but that was a personality conflict rather than a bad clinical experience. I have learned to trust my instincts, be very careful about letting in just anyone, and to set up all of expectations up front and in writing. I have been lucky in being the person who gets to help music therapy students transition into music therapy interns and then, into music therapists. It is a job that I take extremely seriously, and I love the challenges, frustrations, and growth experiences that arise with each individual who choose to do training at my internship. I am looking forward to greeting Intern #23 today - the same way I anticipated Intern #22's arrival, Intern #21's, and on into the past years.
Now it's time to start thinking about Intern #24...
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