Being An Internship Supervisor: Contingency Plans

There are so many things that are part of running an internship program that you have to figure out as you are going along. More than anything else, the recent global pandemic showed us that we could adapt and figure out things that we thought were beyond our capabilities. Due to COVID, I have a bunch of assignments that go into effect if we have another situation that we have to adapt to. In the past nine years, I have had three personal surgeries that required long times at home for recuperation. Two of those three surgeries happened when I did not have interns. The other was an emergency, so I started my addition of projects that are competency-based as well as relevant to the clients and to the intern's growth back then. The ideas that I started out with for that emergency surgery recovery became essential in 2020 when my intern was not allowed to be on campus for a period of time.

The point is, you never know when you may have to be away from your internship for a period of time. There have to be contingency plans in place. What do those plans look like? Well, I have an entirely different list of assignments for pandemic or other emergency times than what I have when my interns are live and in person with clients. All of the assignments have clinical relevance and are competency-based as well. These assignments only kick in once we have no other choice. I want my interns to be working on things that have value for my clients as well as learning opportunities for them.

So, these contingency plans are in place. I did not start off my internship program with these ideas ready to go, but I have them now. I also have an inclement weather box for my interns to use on the off-chance that we have snow days. We have a You Tube channel for presenting songs and TMEs for our clients to access if we are not present at the facility.

The thing is that you cannot ever predict every situation you may find yourself in as an internship supervisor. You just can't. So, you adapt and stretch and do what you can do when situations come up.

Interns also bring their own challenges to the internship program. I have interns who have broken up with significant others, who have been made homeless by the arrival of a new baby in the family that they are living with, interns who have had family members pass away, interns who have had their own medical issues, and all sorts of things that I never thought about before these same things happened. There has to be some sort of stretching when it comes to this process. I have extended internship times, found projects for my interns to do, gave my interns bereavement leave, and manufactured additional assignments to help my interns get the hours that they needed to complete.

Flexibility within structure - that's what I strive for.

I have one group and three individuals to see today. I am apprehensive about one of the individuals and the group, but I will do the best that I can. I am bruised from the same group's session on Friday, and I am just too tired to even see straight. In addition, I have a pain-filled eye again and am wondering why people insist on spraying things in my work environment. The temperature is falling and the rain is on it's way. My joints are aching all over the place. Let's hope that the groups that we have today are calm (unlikely) and able to focus on what we present.

Happy Monday. 

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