Being An Internship Supervisor: Constant Review and Focus on Growth
The tracts that I am thinking of will probably include changes in assignments across the entire program, so I have to figure out what I want my interns to know at the end of their internships to figure out how I am going to get them there.
That's the way that competency-based education works - starting from the ending and then working backwards to develop the tasks, assignments, and learning objectives of each assignment. All things should be related to the desired level of competence. Period. Without this type of ending focus, students are not always aware of why they are learning what they are learning. Another part of competency-based education is that students are aware of why they do what they do. I try hard to link all of my internship assignments to the AMTA Professional Competencies in a way that allows my students to see why they are doing their assignments and the specific things that I am asking them to do.
Some of my interns get it. Some do not.
So, the tracts are specific self-study topics based on what my interns are interested in doing after their internships. I am starting to outline the ending competencies this week. I have my three ideas, so it is time to get things going on the task lists. I need interns to have enough tasks to do to cover most of their breaks, but not all of that time. Breaks are important as well. So, I am coming up with my competency-based outcomes for this process while looking at what I want my interns to get out of this process. I also need to figure out how interns demonstrate their competence in each area. That is another element of competency-based education that is very important - the demonstration element.
If things had been a bit different, I would be talking to internship supervisors, directors, and faculty members about this topic this Friday, but I'm not, so I am channeling my own talk into my current state of being. I will miss my day of preparation and planning time this week, so I may not get to all the things that I want to do on this topic, but I will start the process.
So, I start with identifying what I want to be able to do at the end of this time. At the end of this planning time, I want to know what things interns will do to fill up their time off so we can get them out in six calendar months instead of seven calendar months. I want to link those things to the AMTA Professional Competencies in a way that makes sense to my future interns and to me. This will mean a bit of a change in my competency-based evaluation - not every intern will be doing every tract, in fact, they will only do one during their time with me. So, my evaluation will need some adapting to accommodate these new assignments.
In a competency-based clinical training setting, there is so much more than just making a decision to add or change an assignment. You have to figure out how you can reach the competencies because those elements provide the road map for the training situation. If something does not fit within the AMTA Professional Competencies, then is it something that should be studied during an internship? The other area of focus for us as music therapists is the CBMT Board Certification Domains. Many of the things that I have thought of already fit better in the Domains than in the Competencies, so I will be looking at combining both of the documents into my evaluation process and into the ways I evaluate my interns. That will change all of the assignments a bit, but that is a good thing.
It is important to continue to evaluate the things that you ask interns to do from a perspective that focuses on value and relevance to interns. Assignments should never be stagnant or "just what we do here." All aspects of an internship program have to be reviewed on a regular basis in order to remain relevant to the students who come into the program. This is how internships produce the best learning opportunities for interns.
For some time now, I have been feeling that what I am doing with my interns is not exactly propelling them into their futures well. The majority of interns that come through my program have ideas about what they want to do, and most of them do not want to find a job like mine. Most of them are focused on either private practice or graduate school. I want their internship to prepare them a bit more for their futures, so it is time to rethink everything.
I have four groups and four individuals today. I do not have much time for thinking in the next three days, so most of the competency review will have to happen on Thursday and during the conference since I will not be at work with all of my preparation time. I will end up using my internet connection most of the conference for non-presentation work.
Sorry to all the people I will end up only listening to with one ear this upcoming weekend.
Well, it is about time to go to work.
I think we are going to have an assembly on Friday with an electric violinist, so I am going to work on preparing my students on how to act during a concert. We are going to learn a bit about the violin and about not touching someone else's instruments. We are also going to remind each other that we do not know how to play the violin simply because we have touched the violin. I do not want a student breaking the instrument of our performer the day before the gala performance. I have not been told that my principal knows about this assembly, but I will ask before the end of the day.
After work today, I am heading to the dentist for a protracted cleaning and gum work. I am not looking forward to it at all. It fills me with anxiety, but I know that it needs to happen. They are going to numb me up and only do one half of my mouth this evening. I am not happy, but I know that it has to be done. Hopefully, it will not be as bad as I am anticipating. I am not looking forward to the TMJ and bleeding gums that will happen this evening. I need to check my sick time to see if I can take tomorrow off - if I need it.
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