Advice for Beginning Internship

[sardonic]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hi All!

I searched threads and found several that provide advice on applying for and choosing internships, but I haven't found one that provides general advice for the internship year. And so I started this thread. Interns (including me) will be starting their internship year from now through September. Although I and others have benefited from speaking with previous interns from our doctoral programs and internship sites, it is often helpful to have the collective advice of a broader group.

So, general advice on how to approach the year? How to balance dissertation and internship (particularly at sites without protected time)? How early to start thinking about post-doc? How to make it known that you might be interested in post-doc at your internship site? How hard to push for opportunities that are not typically part of internship but available at the site? Anyone have experience not being able to get rotations they originally wanted? Any research-oriented folks have some thoughts about being at a non-research-oriented site? Did anyone start worrying about EPPP during internship?

Other interns--please feel free to add to these preliminary questions.

Many thanks in advance.

 

[cara susanna]

I just finished internship so this will be a fun reflective exercise for me.

So, general advice on how to approach the year?

Be prepared for a steep learning curve. It is a year of immense growth over a very short timeframe. Especially if you do rotations, because you'll be starting over a few times over the year. Also, use the year to not only obtain specific training in what you want to do, but also to fill in training gaps. If there's something you've never done but want to get experience in, go for it. This is the time to do that.

How to balance dissertation and internship (particularly at sites without protected time)?

My site had protected time, so I just made sure to really keep that boundary. It was easy to schedule things during that time, though, and I admit that I did it a few times.

How early to start thinking about post-doc?

I'd start actually thinking about it as early as September, but don't start working on things until October. Unless you have a lot of free time that you know won't be available later.

How to make it known that you might be interested in post-doc at your internship site?

Tell your supervisors. Network.

How hard to push for opportunities that are not typically part of internship but available at the site?

If it's really something you think you need, I'd push harder. At the very least, definitely mention it.

Anyone have experience not being able to get rotations they originally wanted?

Yes! I was the only intern to not get the only rotation that I actually really wanted and that was most relevant to my career goals. It was extremely distressing until I got a post doc. Even now, I have some regrets. However, not getting the rotation gave me some benefits--the training committee gave me some opportunities that I might not have otherwise gotten, which I think helped my competitiveness for post doc. Because I couldn't focus on my top area as much as I wanted to, I also had more of a chance to focus on my second area. The post-doc that I got ended up being a combination of my top two areas, and I do think that my experiences in that second area helped in addition to the unique opportunities I got related to the first area.

Any research-oriented folks have some thoughts about being at a non-research-oriented site?

Why, yes, I do! My site was research-friendly but I wasn't allowed to start new research because I hadn't finished my dissertation. It's okay to not get original research done during the year. You will be super busy. Keep trying to get things through the pipeline, but know your limits. I managed to get two papers published, but they were already R&Rs before I started internship (plus I had a great collaborator who took on the brunt of revisions). Also, think of internship as your one chance to become really immersed in clinical work and see a glimpse of what life would be like as primarily a clinician. In the end, I was not productive during internship year, but that's okay. Your CV is still your CV, and post-doc sites are just as interested in what you did as in what you're doing. When you apply for post-doc, it's way too early to have accomplished much research during internship anyway. I should specify that I got a research-focused post doc, so not being a research-focused internship site did not hurt me there. I also networked with the researchers at my site despite not being able to get involved in their research, because connections do really help. I mainly approached it as asking them what their research career entailed and if they had any suggestions for someone hoping to be in a similar position. So, despite not being able to do independent research during internship, I became known as a "research-y" intern. In research, it's so easy to compare yourself to other people and discount everything you've done, so it was really nice to see how impressed people at my internship site were by my CV (which I frankly do not find very impressive, myself. 😉)

Did anyone start worrying about EPPP during internship?

Another intern took it and passed. It worked out really well, but this intern did seem pretty stressed out during the process.

 

[Cigolon]

I just finished internship so this will be a fun reflective exercise for me.
I became known as a "research-y" intern. In research, it's so easy to compare yourself to other people and discount everything you've done, so it was really nice to see how impressed people at my internship site were by my CV (which I frankly do not find very impressive, myself. 😉)

That's good to read. Thanks for that because its exactly where I find myself.

 

[smalltownpsych]

My suggestion is to recognize the importance of personal/professional development during the internship year. This is the last intensive training experience for most of us and it can be extremely stressful as we forge our new identity. Learning how to work within a system, deal with difficult supervisors, handle a high workload, challenging cases, and planning for next step all come together. Framing it as a positive opportunity to develop, improve, and implement the strengths and skills that a psychologist needs to have to be effective will help. Each of us has to find our own path through this process. For me, I made the choice (after discussing with my wife) to put the dissertation on the back burner because I needed to be able to balance family concerns, as well. Fortunately, my internship led to a teaching position that helped me bridge the gap after internship while I completed it. Making these types of choices and how to balance things will be part of the learning. As a psychologist, I am never able to do all that I want because I love to do it all!

Also, I would suggest to maintain an open mind. During internship some opportunities arose that I didn't anticipate and others that I wanted to do never materialized. I didn't think that I would ever want to create and facilitate a grief group, but that was needed at the internship and it led to me having excellent group skills that helped me secure my first employment as a licensed psychologist. Another intern became involved in a research project that was completely outside their prior research interests, with a psychiatrist of all people, and that led to a post-doc position there.

Have a great year!

 

[deleted343839]

So, general advice on how to approach the year? How to balance dissertation and internship (particularly at sites without protected time)? How early to start thinking about post-doc? How to make it known that you might be interested in post-doc at your internship site? How hard to push for opportunities that are not typically part of internship but available at the site? Anyone have experience not being able to get rotations they originally wanted? Any research-oriented folks have some thoughts about being at a non-research-oriented site? Did anyone start worrying about EPPP during internship?

If your internship does not provide protected time for writing your dissertation, my advice would be to consider every option for using your "free" time to write, with the goal of defending before your year is done. This will remove a huge barrier to moving on to a fellowship. No one wants to be saddled with more pre-doc stuff after internship. Some people have to, but my advice is to avoid it if at all possible. For me, this meant coming home after a 10-hour day, spending a few hours with husband and baby, writing for an hour or two after they went to sleep, and carving out larger chunks of time many weekends. It was not a fun year, but everyone survived. Once my internship year was over, I could really engage in my postdoc training (and enjoy 8-hour days again).

I didn't think about the EPPP until I was well into my postdoc, and only when faced with a realistic prospect of a clinical job. I studied for a few months before I needed to take the test and it worked out fine for me. I wouldn't have been able to manage during internship with everything else I had on my plate.

Do start thinking about postdocs a couple of months before deadlines, which like cara susanna said would be around fall. Network, network, network. Cold-call psychologists or other professionals in the area whom you'd like to talk to, learn from, or possibly collaborate with. You'd be surprised by how often people will give you the benefit of a few emails or even half an hour over coffee if you have a clear goal in mind for talking with them. I wouldn't be in my current position without doing this sort of networking (my internship actually made me do it!).

Don't start a project you don't think you'll be able to finish during internship or very soon thereafter. If faced with the choice between original data collection and working with an existing data set, go with the latter if you think you can make something of it. Since you're unlikely to start crafting the crown jewel of your career as an intern, focus on deliverables. Lines on the CV. Avoid working with known procrastinators and with people who take days to respond to a simple question; gravitate toward the productive ones and learn from them. It's fine to start "bigger and better things" if you anticipate staying in the same place, but make sure you can disengage in the event your career path veers in another direction.

Finally, if you have the ability to take some professional leave to attend a conference or two, do it - and make your plans early on before your schedule fills up with other obligations. Among other things, it's a good break from the day-to-day grind of internship.

 

[Shooter]

I just finished internship so this will be a fun reflective exercise for me.

So, general advice on how to approach the year?

Be prepared for a steep learning curve. It is a year of immense growth over a very short timeframe. Especially if you do rotations, because you'll be starting over a few times over the year. Also, use the year to not only obtain specific training in what you want to do, but also to fill in training gaps. If there's something you've never done but want to get experience in, go for it. This is the time to do that.

How to balance dissertation and internship (particularly at sites without protected time)?

My site had protected time, so I just made sure to really keep that boundary. It was easy to schedule things during that time, though, and I admit that I did it a few times.

How early to start thinking about post-doc?

I'd start actually thinking about it as early as September, but don't start working on things until October. Unless you have a lot of free time that you know won't be available later.

How to make it known that you might be interested in post-doc at your internship site?

Tell your supervisors. Network.

How hard to push for opportunities that are not typically part of internship but available at the site?

If it's really something you think you need, I'd push harder. At the very least, definitely mention it.

Anyone have experience not being able to get rotations they originally wanted?

Yes! I was the only intern to not get the only rotation that I actually really wanted and that was most relevant to my career goals. It was extremely distressing until I got a post doc. Even now, I have some regrets. However, not getting the rotation gave me some benefits--the training committee gave me some opportunities that I might not have otherwise gotten, which I think helped my competitiveness for post doc. Because I couldn't focus on my top area as much as I wanted to, I also had more of a chance to focus on my second area. The post-doc that I got ended up being a combination of my top two areas, and I do think that my experiences in that second area helped in addition to the unique opportunities I got related to the first area.

Any research-oriented folks have some thoughts about being at a non-research-oriented site?

Why, yes, I do! My site was research-friendly but I wasn't allowed to start new research because I hadn't finished my dissertation. It's okay to not get original research done during the year. You will be super busy. Keep trying to get things through the pipeline, but know your limits. I managed to get two papers published, but they were already R&Rs before I started internship (plus I had a great collaborator who took on the brunt of revisions). Also, think of internship as your one chance to become really immersed in clinical work and see a glimpse of what life would be like as primarily a clinician. In the end, I was not productive during internship year, but that's okay. Your CV is still your CV, and post-doc sites are just as interested in what you did as in what you're doing. When you apply for post-doc, it's way too early to have accomplished much research during internship anyway. I should specify that I got a research-focused post doc, so not being a research-focused internship site did not hurt me there. I also networked with the researchers at my site despite not being able to get involved in their research, because connections do really help. I mainly approached it as asking them what their research career entailed and if they had any suggestions for someone hoping to be in a similar position. So, despite not being able to do independent research during internship, I became known as a "research-y" intern. In research, it's so easy to compare yourself to other people and discount everything you've done, so it was really nice to see how impressed people at my internship site were by my CV (which I frankly do not find very impressive, myself. 😉)

Did anyone start worrying about EPPP during internship?

Another intern took it and passed. It worked out really well, but this intern did seem pretty stressed out during the process.

Great response Cara! Took EPPP early tho' 🙂

 

[PsychPhDone]

Hi All!

I searched threads and found several that provide advice on applying for and choosing internships, but I haven't found one that provides general advice for the internship year. And so I started this thread. Interns (including me) will be starting their internship year from now through September. Although I and others have benefited from speaking with previous interns from our doctoral programs and internship sites, it is often helpful to have the collective advice of a broader group.

So, general advice on how to approach the year? How to balance dissertation and internship (particularly at sites without protected time)? How early to start thinking about post-doc? How to make it known that you might be interested in post-doc at your internship site? How hard to push for opportunities that are not typically part of internship but available at the site? Anyone have experience not being able to get rotations they originally wanted? Any research-oriented folks have some thoughts about being at a non-research-oriented site? Did anyone start worrying about EPPP during internship?

Other interns--please feel free to add to these preliminary questions.

Many thanks in advance.

I just finished internship myself...first of all: Take care of yourself and get to know your cohort!! I miss mine already and wish we had more time together.

You should be working with your TD and supervisors to develop a training plan. If you could learn 4-5 new things this year, what would they be? Prioritize and don't overcommit. For me, priorities were things I didn't know already but likely wanted to incorporate into postdoc.

I'd start thinking about postdoc in September and speak with relevant folks at your site in September/early October, depending on your start date. People there will be used to Interns asking about staying, so just be direct.

As for opportunities, I'd consider speaking with a supervisor you trust and gauging how realistic it would be to add to your plate with them. Do a decisional balance. Is the extra opportunity worth it?

Fortunately for me, the not getting rotations thing wasn't an issue for my site.

I was at a research oriented site but without protected time. I set aside some time on weekends for research. I was usually too tired to do much in the way of research on weekdays, at least for the first 3 months. You're not really expected to get much in the way of research done on Internship. If you haven't finished your diss, start scheduling time for that after the first 8 weeks of Internship are over (to give yourself time to adjust). If you have finished your diss, I suggest picking one reasonable project to work on. Maybe that's reaching low, but this is your year to learn as much as you can clinically and maybe also administratively. If I were to suggest prioritizing any projects, I'd pick something that'd be easiest to get done while actually at the site (e.g., data collection that easily fits into existing clinic procedures or something with archival data available there).

Taking the EPPP wasn't a consideration for me during internship because of where I planned to be for postdoc.

Good luck!!!!!

 

[PsychologyToday1984]

How was your work/life balance on internship? I'm hoping for a better balance during my internship year.

 

[smalltownpsych]

How was your work/life balance on internship? I'm hoping for a better balance during my internship year.

Internship is a good time to learn how much work this job really entails. Internship is a full time job with a prat-time equivalent of integrating and developing professional identity and beginning to look towards the next step and if you still have to complete the dissertation, then tack that on as well. For me internship was about pushing my limits past the breaking point and I am glad I had that experience because now I now where those limits lie and how to cope when I am approaching them.

 

[Ollie123]

How was your work/life balance on internship? I'm hoping for a better balance during my internship year.

The worst of my professional career, but I was also still working on my dissertation. A dissertation which my committee of hardcore researchers at a clinical science program described as "overly ambitious"....at least its now done!

Not to mention trying to keep other research going too. So I'd say it depends largely on your situation and what you make of it.

Honestly, my main piece of advice is just to keep it in perspective. Half the ECPs I know have said they barely remember what rotations they did, let alone it being a life-changing experience. Take the opportunities that are available, learn what you can, but remember that learning is a lifelong process. Internship doesn't make you "ready" for professional practice any more than grad school does...its just more practice towards an aspirational goal. I think its important to get good training, but I also think the internship shortage has built internship up to be a bigger deal than it should rightfully be.

All of this is colored by the perspective of someone who matched to a very well-regarded site that ultimately wound up proving disappointing and failing to follow through on multiple things it promised. I spent the first half of the year upset about it, came to accept it wasn't going to change and moved on. Doesn't seem to have impacted my career trajectory that I didn't get what I wanted out of it.

 

[smalltownpsych]

The worst of my professional career, but I was also still working on my dissertation. A dissertation which my committee of hardcore researchers at a clinical science program described as "overly ambitious"....at least its now done!

Not to mention trying to keep other research going too. So I'd say it depends largely on your situation and what you make of it.

Honestly, my main piece of advice is just to keep it in perspective. Half the ECPs I know have said they barely remember what rotations they did, let alone it being a life-changing experience. Take the opportunities that are available, learn what you can, but remember that learning is a lifelong process. Internship doesn't make you "ready" for professional practice any more than grad school does...its just more practice towards an aspirational goal. I think its important to get good training, but I also think the internship shortage has built internship up to be a bigger deal than it should rightfully be.

All of this is colored by the perspective of someone who matched to a very well-regarded site that ultimately wound up proving disappointing and failing to follow through on multiple things it promised. I spent the first half of the year upset about it, came to accept it wasn't going to change and moved on. Doesn't seem to have impacted my career trajectory that I didn't get what I wanted out of it.

Because even though you didn't get what you want, you got what you needed. The Stones are right about that one. 😎
I went into internship with high hopes and expectations about the learning experience and ended up learning how to deal with negative supervision, ECT being used to treat Borderline Personality Disorder, putting a halt on a psychiatrist's premature discharge plan, and coping with staff burnout that manifested in a variety of ways. Don't even get me started about the administrative that went on. At the end of the day, the big point, as you stated, it's just one part of our training and getting through it is what really matters in the end.

 

[cara susanna]

My work life balance on internship was great, but I think it varies depending on your rotations and work style.

 

[EmotRegulation]

My work/life balance on internship was AWESOME compared to grad school. I was at a VA Consortium site and never worked more than 40 hours per week on internship related duties. I had plenty of time to work on my dissertation in the evenings and hang out with friends on the weekends. Though, I started dating someone who worked odd hours (got off work around 11pm), so I definitely screwed up my sleep schedule, working in the early evenings and then napping so I could stay up until 1am to spend time with my paramour. I made the most of being in a totally different area of the country, going on little day trips and attending local festivals, etc. It was the year I had the best work/life balance in the last 10 years (i.e., better than grad school and better than life as an assistant professor now).

This absolutely depends on your internship and rotations. The neuropsych intern at my site worked waaaaaaaay more than 40 hours, but the rest of us didn't.

 

[Pragma]

Work life balance on internship can be awesome - if you get your dissertation done before. Get that wrapped up and enjoy only having one job! I was at a government site so 40 hours per week was a cakewalk. Then postdoc happened and it was like grad school all over again 🙂

 

[thewesternsky]

I did internship at a fantastic but INTENSE site (which was my first choice, and I made that decision with eyes open). Work-life balance was worse than graduate school, by far... Generally, clinical duties took about 45 hours of my week. I defended my dissertation in fall of internship year, started a new research project at my internship site, moved a few manuscripts ahead a stage or two (e.g., from submitted to published or from data collection to written up) and applied for numerous grants--and all that work happened on evenings and weekends. I'm staying at the same site for post-doc and I expect things to be even more intense, since I still have research-related goals and I'm also going to be preparing for licensure and writing the EPPP. I'm trying to learn to thrive on being busy. We will see how it goes.

 

[G Costanza]

I would just offer that it's good to go into internship with a mindset of willing to be flexible. I'm sure there will be things that will be wonderful and maybe a couple things that aren't as exciting. Make the most of an incredible opportunity. I wasn't thrilled to be leading a couple mindfulness groups but decided to just accept it (without judgement ) and wound up learning a lot about myself.

Maybe there's new things to learn if you keep the perspective that this is a really cool and unique experience.