Being Internship Supervisor - Monday Morning Musings

Happy Monday morning, all. I am sitting in my darkened office space, thinking about what to write, and listening to the strange something that lives outside in my backyard and makes a strange sound. It is not the usual sound of a cricket or a cicada - I am very familiar with those sounds. It may be a toad, but I do not know what lives out there and makes this very interesting, very unusual sound pattern. It is just enough different that it commands my attention when I am trying to write in the morning.

My back is hurting again - but is not in spasm, so I know that I can do what I need to do during my job today, as long as I don't have to stand for very long. Today is the day that everything changes for my students and co-workers - the transition program starts today and that means smaller class sizes and different behavioral health technician assignments in classrooms. We still do not have two classroom teachers, so we are trying to figure out how to maintain a schedule that has placeholders just in case we happen to find some special educators who are willing to work with our clientele. We found one person to be a teacher here, but we have not found others yet...

My poor senior intern. #34 has to go through this transition with me, and I am feeling bad about not having answers to the questions that are being posed. When I arrive at work this morning, I will print out a copy of the current class list. I've resisted that particular request because things are changing so quickly that I do not want to have to reprint things over and over again.

We have four scheduled groups today, but only three classes are present, so we will have three groups today. Intern #34 will lead two of the groups, intern #35 will observe all groups, and I will lead the last group of the day. After that, I will hobble out to bus duty and prop myself where I can prop myself for that half hour. I have no idea what is going to happen during bus duty. We have two locations now for pick-up, and I am sure that bus drivers are going to be confused. On the other hand, we have less people to get in and out of the bus doors this afternoon. Let's get back to the topic at hand for today...

I accept interns on a staggering schedule. When my internship is full, I have an overlap for every intern - sometimes, I get enough interns that each intern works with two other interns. I make this decision for my benefit - it has nothing to do with intern development - I want to have some time being therapist, and I do not get that when my interns start at the same time. I need that client interaction to remain productive in my professional life. I get very scattered and depressed when I am not doing my job of being therapist. (Just so you know, I've accepted two interns at the same time before, so I know what I am like when that situation happens.) 

My current interns have spent the first two days of work time in their office while I have been moving out of that space into my own space again. They are starting to come up with inside jokes and interactions that I am not going to be part of. I am working on making my office a space for work and observation (I can finally see and not be seen!). I am looking forward to having my own space again - a place where I can work on projects and still be able to observe music therapy interactions without being front and center the entire time. Not being in the same room for office hours will give my current interns something that my recent interns did not have - a private place for talking to each other (and complaining about me, if needed!). The snacks will stay in their office - I'll visit when I need to get materials or snacks, but that is going to be their space more than it will be mine.

I am trying really hard to stay here until it is time to leave my house.this morning. I don't have much to do to get ready for today, but I also don't feel like making a donation of another couple of hours to my facility. My time is precious to me, so I want to start prioritizing my time for me over that of my facility. I already work an additional 5 hours a week because I have interns who I require to work 42.5 hours per week, and I need a small bit of time before they arrive to get myself organized for the day. I do not need to be very early, though. If you have been part of this blog over the years, then you know that I am early to just about anything that goes on in my life, so this is a continuing challenge for me. I experience heightened anxiety when time is tight, so I tend to leave earlier than I need to all the time for every situation possible! I do not need to be at work at 6am. I just do not. (I'm still trying to convince my anxiety that I don't need to leave now...)

I finished up the initial orientation paperwork with #35 on Friday. I need to make copies of things and send them to the academic director (as required by the American Music Therapy Association) so the Internship Agreement is complete. Intern #35 will be in training from Tuesday on this week, so #34 and I will get students ready to meet #35 while welcoming everyone back to our regular school routine. We are going to figure out what the changes will mean to us in music therapy. Smaller class sizes may be a good thing, but they will take some getting used to, especially with the longer session times for some of our classes. I am hoping to have my schedule completed by Friday, but I am not holding my breath. There are too many other people who have to make decisions before I can finish up what I need to do.

I have to change my laundry from the washer to the dryer - that will take some time. Thanks for reading. See you soon.