Being an Internship Supervisor - On Hiatus: Enjoying the Relaxed Schedule

I do not have any interns these days, and I am enjoying the opportunity to leave at the end of my contracted hours. This may seem like a small thing to be happy about, but it is one of the perks to not being supervisor at the moment - I get to leave my workplace at the end of my day!

Let me explain.

In order for my interns to be able to finish up the 1020 hours that are required by most university programs in seven months (with a generous time off schedule), they have to work 8.5 hour days. I need some quiet time every morning, so I tend to arrive at work between 6:45 and 7:00 am. My contract time starts at 7:15 am. Interns arrive at 7:30 am which means that they leave the workplace at 4:00 pm in order to get their 8.5 hours each day. Since I do not believe that I should require them to work when I am not present, I end up working until 4:00 pm each day.

When I do not have interns, I get to arrive when I am ready to arrive and leave when my 8 hours are finished. This means that I get to my house an hour earlier than when I am an acting supervisor which feels like lots of extra time at home. It is wonderful to have that extra time.

There are other benefits as well. I do not have to interrupt my work process to accommodate the needs of others. I can deal with my own messes in my way. I do not have to explain client behaviors or quirks or responses to anyone. I can spend time in the quiet and in the dark at the end of my day,

At the same time, though, there are detriments to not having interns in my clinical space. Interns challenge my ways of thinking about why I do what I do. They make me think more about my reasons for doing things with clients. They take my ideas and change them in ways I never think about - which is so much fun! They also are company in the music therapy suite. Interns bring much more positivity to my professional existence than negativity which is one of the reasons that I continue to be an internship director and supervisor.

So, I am going to head to my quiet music therapy space where I will lead the three group sessions and the dyad session that I have on my schedule and then turn off the lights and enjoy the dark and quiet when my day is done. First, though, it is time for a shower and then the commute.

This will be a long week - we have a 12-hour day on Thursday (our LAST one for the year!) and an inservice on Friday. I have a hand doctor appointment on Friday and OT today, so I have some things to do outside of my house and work schedule. I forgot about my OT appointment until just now. I need to make sure that I remember this afternoon or it will be more complicated than it needs to be...

I am guaranteed paraffin dips from now on! Huzzah!!

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