Just throwing this out there - on the map in the right side of the screen, I have plotted all the spots I have been thus far. I hope by the end of this trip to have pin points all over it!
So, this is where I work:
Mondays are nice because there are other students there. There are four of us total, but the other three only do one day a week at the hospital. I enjoy talking to the other students because they have yet another perspective of the field. We went to lunch today in town as well. It is nice to have that social aspect with others around my age, since I am not really getting that anywhere else. One girl is a Counseling PhD, so we were comparing our program requirements today. As doctoral students, they are required to do 450hours of one-on-one therapy before they are allowed to practice independently and graduate. Their programs are three years compared to our 5-7 years. I thought that was interesting. 450 hours in a placement did not seem like so much at first compared to the 900hours minimum that we get before graduation from our masters program. However, their hours do not include paperwork, trainings, supervisions, agency meetings or events, or any of that. Just 450 hours of delivering therapy.
On Wednesday, I am going to an organizational meeting in which we are going to talk about what things are working and what things are not in the NHS. The other students are going as well, so it should be an enlightening experience for all of us. We are all still kind of outsiders looking in. I am looking forward to being in on these discussions. Then on the 24th, I am going to the Royal Infirmary for a really big NHS meeting. That is an all day event, though I am not really sure what information it will cover. I'm expecting an email about that soon.
In further news, my trip for Friday-Saturday is all booked and paid for. Looking at the itinerary for the tour to Alnwick, I saw that coach might pass right by Haddington on the A1. I decided to just email the tour and ask if it is possible to get off when passing Haddington to save some time and money on the commute home, and they replied that they will do that. I just have to remind them the day of. So that is nice! I feel like the same question in some parts of the USA may warrant a more negative response.
I will admit I am having a bit of anxiety about the internship and not getting to do enough. I have things to do, but I am used to a much bigger work load. I wish my FBI check would come back soon so I can start doing more clinical stuff. I'm pretty fed up with the system we have in the States where we have to do a separate fingerprint check and request for everything we do. It's such a waste of precious resources (like TIME) in my opinion. I just think it would be a shame if I miss out on certain opportunities while I am here due to this formality. Just not sure what else to do, as it is all out of my control. I am trying to make the best of it, but I don't want to feel like I am wasting the precious time I have here. I have two months left from today. I know it's going to fly.
No comments:
Post a Comment