Any other interns burned out?

[PsychologyToday1984]

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Is anyone else feeling burned out now that internship is coming to an end? I have 3 months left and I just don't have the energy or motivation that I had before. I really love my internship but I'm getting antsy to finish up and move on to post-doc and graduate.

 

[WisNeuro]

Is it workload burnout, or more of a senioritis type of burned out?

 

[President_LeslieKnope]

Oh man, I was thinking about starting this thread myself! I have 2 months of internship left and am in total burnout mode. I do love my internship but I completely agree with you - I am having difficulty feeling motivated and energized for the rest of internship year. I think what contributes to this, in addition to senioritis, is that I picked my final rotation to be something very different than what/who I truly love to/want to work with. I miss that population a ton and am really looking forward to fellowship where I can get back to working with the group I want to spend my career working with. It's difficult for me to feel passionate about the work I'm doing right now and I'm really ready to have more autonomy in my clinical work (not trying to sound arrogant, there are certainly many areas I can continue to improve upon).

 

[WisNeuro]

If/when you go on postdoc, just wait til you have a job lined up and are still on fellowship. Talk about having a hard time getting motivated.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

If/when you go on postdoc, just wait til you have a job lined up and are still on fellowship. Talk about having a hard time getting motivated.

This x100.

It was hard when I secured a fellowship with 4+ months to go, but fellowship to job...lol. I also was doing chronic pain management evals and research (not my area), so that made it even worse.

Can you start studying for the EPPP? You can take it in KS, I think MI, and a few other states right when you finish internship.

 

[PsychologyToday1984]

Is it workload burnout, or more of a senioritis type of burned out?

I honestly think it's a mixture. I think it's 60 percent senioritis and 40 percent burn out from completing my dissertation and applying/finding a post-doc. I'm ready to just rest 🙂 It's good to know i'm not alone! I definitely feel like i lost my energy but I hope i can get it back and push forward for the next 3 months.

 

[dissonance_]

.

 

[smalltownpsych]

I remember the feeling well. We were so done at this point and ready to move on to the next step. Now I look back at the experience with nostalgia. Back in my day... 🙄
I'm just glad I make a lot more than 18k a year these days. 🙂

 

[deleted760483]

Yeah I got some good things out of internship but overall I hated it.

My internship paid $22K, offered no benefits, had two doctoral level providers who offered a total of one supervision hour per week, had no training budget, a 50% no-show rate, and was twice as far away from my home but I had to accept it to graduate.

The job I had to leave for my internship paid 45K, offered full benefits, had five doctoral providers who gave me 2 hours/week of individual and 2 hours/week of group supervision, and gave me a 5K/year training budget, and gave me 30 client hours per week. But despite being superior in every way from a learning perspective, that didn't count towards my education because it was a "job" not an "internship." Our system is still pretty broken.

 

[bmedclinic]

Yeah I got some good things out of internship but overall I hated it.

My internship paid $22K, offered no benefits, had two doctoral level providers who offered a total of one supervision hour per week, had no training budget, a 50% no-show rate, and was twice as far away from my home but I had to accept it to graduate.

The job I had to leave for my internship paid 45K, offered full benefits, had five doctoral providers who gave me 2 hours/week of individual and 2 hours/week of group supervision, and gave me a 5K/year training budget, and gave me 30 client hours per week. But despite being superior in every way from a learning perspective, that didn't count towards my education because it was a "job" not an "internship." Our system is still pretty broken.

your internship sounds a little like mine. And I was so tired of it.
If it helps current interns out, I'm 1 year post licensure and burned out of my current job. The difference is that I can demand more money now, have options, don't have to move, and am actually appreciated (for the most part) for my skill set.

 

[WisNeuro]

Yeah I got some good things out of internship but overall I hated it.

My internship paid $22K, offered no benefits, had two doctoral level providers who offered a total of one supervision hour per week, had no training budget, a 50% no-show rate, and was twice as far away from my home but I had to accept it to graduate.
.

Is this an accredited internship? Because, if what you say is true, it shouldn't be.

 

[bmedclinic]

Is this an accredited internship? Because, if what you say is true, it shouldn't be.

iunternship minimum standards are pretty freaking low, and sites can and do figure out ways to "make it work" when it shouldnt. After you match, you have no recourse to fight it.

Also APPIC standards are no lower than APA standards afaik in actuality. The only real difference that I know of is that sites pay a more than modest fee to essentially become apa approved. According to two TDs I know, if you can become appic approved (and anyone can) you can become apa approved. If my statements are heresy, let me know. But that's what I've been led to believe.

 

[WisNeuro]

iunternship minimum standards are pretty freaking low, and sites can and do figure out ways to "make it work" when it shouldnt. After you match, you have no recourse to fight it.

This is below the minimum, even by APA's low standards. Last I heard, internships sites needed to provide a minimum of 4 hours per week, 2 of which are individual. So, either they are not accredited, or they lied during their most recent site visit, both are no bueno.

 

[bmedclinic]

This is below the minimum, even by APA's low standards. Last I heard, internships sites needed to provide a minimum of 4 hours per week, 2 of which are individual. So, either they are not accredited, or they lied during their most recent site visit, both are no bueno.

F to the Y eye, last i recall (circa 2013) APPIC doesnt even require a site visit. So you get some psychologists employed by your agency, list them as supervisors, bling blang... I'm not saying my internship site did that, and I'm also not saying I did my internship site's APPIC recertification or whatever as an intern, I'm just sayin'....

so, would it shock me if this happens more often than not? Nope, not in the slightest. 😕

 

[WisNeuro]

Well, if someone took a non APA-accredited internship, can't say I empathize too much. Caveat emptor.

 

[smalltownpsych]

Yup. A good reason why APA accreditation should be the minimum standard.