Being an Internship Director: Knowing the National Roster Requirements and Living Them All

One of the things that always seems to surprise music therapy students when I talk to them about becoming interns is that there are some responsibilities that they have to follow in this entire process. There are times, when I am talking to internship supervisors, that I have to say the same types of things - there are responsibilities that internship directors and supervisors have during the internship as well.

One of the things that I try to do before each intern starts with me is to re-read all the documents that are required reading. After teaching the AIAC continuing education course for about 10 years, I know what the expectations for all parties are pretty darn well, but it is always good to review them on a regular basis. I do my best to follow all of the National Roster Internship Guidelines throughout the intern's time with me. They are pretty easy to follow, but there are some folks who just don't bother or who are unaware, I guess.

The thing that continues to be the most difficult thing to comply with is internship agreements, but only with one school. Now, I am not responsible for doing these agreements - that is the job of the university professors, but that document is very handy when I am trying to accommodate specific characteristics and needs of my incoming interns. I am considering starting up my evaluation "pre-test" thing again - specifically with interns who come from this particular program since I don't EVER get the paperwork, even after asking several times!

There are so many things that make up an internship program, and there are so many things that make up being a supervisor. I continue to learn about things and techniques to try, so I am working on strengthening my skills in this role.

One of the things that I have found is that our training for internship supervisors is just the tiniest dip into the supervisory responsibilities and requirements and all that. The best training that we have out there is on-the-job, and that is too bad, both for our supervisors and for our music therapy students.

I remember dreading the start of my first intern. I did every single thing that I could to dissuade her from coming in October because I did not feel ready. I was as ready as I could possibly be, and she was a good intern, but I did not feel ready at all. I had taken all the courses, I had sought out additional training, and I was scared to death! I had been a pre-internship supervisor already, but I still did not know how I was going to handle the responsibilities of being an internship director.

Intern #3 nearly did me in as an internship supervisor. That intern was my biggest "problem child," and I learned so much about what I didn't want to have to do as a supervisor. I was able to figure out things about my responsibilities and about what are not my responsibilities. I sincerely thought that I was no longer wanting to be a music therapist during time with that intern, but I was able to figure out that it was a relationship issue rather than a "me" issue. That realization changed my life as an internship director! I tried to change myself (big mistake since the issues that this intern had were not my issues, they were the intern's alone), but after on particularly public confrontation, I realized that nothing was my fault or my responsibility, so I stopped apologizing and started supervising! That particular intern ended up taking a month off from clinical interaction and spending an entire month past the original end date. I thought this intern would NEVER leave but would torture me forever, but eventually, it was time to shoo the intern into the professional world where this person continues to be a music therapist.

The advantage to having supervised 35 different humans over the past decades is that I have learned so much about how to approach each intern during their time with me. I try to ensure that each intern's time with me is shaped to each intern. I try to understand how people learn and how to explain things to different interns based on their learning styles. I do a better job with this for some interns than for other interns - going back to the whole being human thing.

At this point right now, I am satisfied with my internship setup, my compliance with the National Roster Internship Guidelines, and with the way interns come to me. I will have some time without an intern this year, which is just how I like it - some time to be "therapist" rather than "supervisor." It's been three interns since I've had a therapist break, so it is time. I had a taste of being therapist last week when my current intern was out, and I enjoyed it, but I am ready for #35 to return today. I have task boxes to finish up and things to do for my co-workers and clients.

The lesson to be learned here is to read the internship guidelines, and do your best to live up to those expectations, but also remember that you can only do what you can do. There are interns that will challenge you. There are interns who will not be into the whole thing but who are just with you to finish a degree. There are interns who will enrich every single thing that you do. Your job? To shepherd students through clinical experience and into their first entry-level job.  

Happy Monday, all!