Internship
My internship is with Dr. Jill Fodstad and their lab's focus is on applied behavior analysis of the emergence of self-injurious behavior and behavior disorders. I was so excited about working with her and her lab because I haven't had the opportunity to be involved with internships like this! This psychiatry internship represents an invaluable opportunity for me to broaden my understanding of mental health, gain practical experience in a clinical setting, and positively impact individuals grappling with mental illness. It would enable me to develop a better understanding of diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. While I acknowledge that life can be unpredictable, my commitment to this profession remains steadfast. Envisioning a future where I can use my neuroscience expertise, proficiency in Japanese and life experience, I hope to bridge gaps in mental healthcare both locally and globally. By fostering understanding, empathy, and open communication, I aspire to empower individuals and communities to seek the support they need and dismantle the societal stigmas surrounding mental health.
My role thus far has included coding articles relating to the study on the implementation of a new exexercise regimen for older individuals. We are also planning on attending an upcoming conference on material related to this. My site is invested in developing programs like this so that patients will have better physical health as they age and won't be scared of falling.
(October) : The overview of my internship is also focused on topics related to exercise science. We have reviewed articles based on various approaches to implementing exercise programs for elderly disabled populations. I have become better at reading scientific articles. This had posed an issue before because when I would get an article, I couldn't read past all the jargon. There are several papers that are complicated because they don't employ the use of layman's terms which naturally makes scientific articles only readable for scientific individuals. Learning to read articles is kind of like learning a different language; it takes time to get used to. Aside from that, going through these articles gives hope for the elderly population and keeps them healthy. The average person would care about the outcomes of this because it would mean that elderly people would be more able to care for themselves without being a danger to themselves because it would keep them healthy and active.
My Internship(December)
Here is a story that explains a real life example of what our most recent poster about youths with autism in correctional facilities was about:
My site does not have a website, but among several cases, incarerated youths with autism was one of our topics.
I feel that my ePortfolio tells a story of my goals as I have seen changes and similarities from month to month. I have a difficulty putting my plans for the future within the confines of the questions that are asked each month, but on my own time, I have seen a difference in how I think about things in the short-term and long-term. I have made several thought webs and plan spreads on my plans as I feel writing them down give me hope and make me want to accomplish them. Most are not professional, so they may not make sense to put here, but I had the idea that when I have the majority of my time back to myself when I am out of academia, I would like to learn a few more languages, learn a few more instruments and join a monthly water aerobics class.
With a semester of content, I feel that my style and design is lacking, but it is far from being messy. There are typos in areas where google sites has lagging issues. I will revisit this issue soon, but some sections shiver and add extra letters for no reason. I wonder if there is a way to add a website template like powerpoints do.
The Workplace
Some behavior and actions that I have witnessed that I want to have include good communication and flexibility. There have been several occasions in which we were not able to coordinate our meeting times because we all had difficult schedules. That being said, communication has become an apparent issue. It can feel awkward to send a message, but the sooner the message, the easier it is to reschedule. Flexibility was also apparent when we weren't able to meet in person or work in person. This semester, I have struggled immensely with time management as I have been taking 17-18 credit hours this semester. I appreciate my team members for being patient with me when there are times when I am feeling unable to work. I want to grow in my ability to adapt to situations quickly and master time management as these are skills that are beneficial for my future career.
(October): Behaviors and actions that I have seen that I want to have is the ability to remain flexible. I have said it before and I will say it again: flexibility is a necessary skill in environments that involve collaboration. I feel that I have this already, but internally, it takes me a minute to adjust when plans change. Sometimes, things don't happen as we want them too and it's important to remain flexible during those times. Still, I am human and to err is human. I doubt that I will always be perfectly fine if plans were changing all the time. That would be an unstable environment. The over-arching goal aside from flexibility is being able to better define my workplace values because if I was able to find a workplace that valued my time, then it would be my understanding that adaptability would come naturally as the workplace itself needs to be reliable first.
The Workplace(December): My past internship experiences have all blended into one another, so my memory may not be the best. I say this because it feels easier to say that than to recall my disappointments with prior internships. I have met many great researchers who have shown me their passion for the work that they do. I have enjoyed it all as each has taught me what it is like to work in research. Research can be messy at times. It can be disappointing as goals may not always be reached. There are times when setbacks are the norm. The same goes for any work environment. I guess it has taught me the importance of patience as well. I tend to fall into this pattern of thinking that nothing will come of doing the same thing over and over again, but new discoveries aren't made when we don't do the work of going through failed experiments. Failure is the setting grounds for growth. In regard to previous experiences, I was able to learn to work on new programs and helped with organizing data. With this internship, I have learned the most important experience of learning to read scientific articles.
The Workplace(Feburary)
My attitudes and beliefs have been impacted by engaging and working with people who have perspectives and backgrounds that are different than my own. I feel I have a more thought-out plan of my future. That being said, I still don't know if things will work out. Like, I don't dream of labor. I think that's a fair statement to make when living in the modern day. I want to find fulfillment outside of work as much as I find it within. Working in the field I want to is going to take a lot of time no matter how I go about it. Some things haven't gone well like I didn't start studying on time for the MCAT as my parents are going through a divorce. I went from being kind of unsure about everything to knowing what I need to do in order to succeed. And that is to take care of myself first. There is a lot that will change in the future and I won't stop it no matter what I can do. Knowing that I trust myself and my own limits will take me farther than pushing myself to the edge ever did. I am willing to take my time, as much time is needed, to achieve my goals in mental healthcare.
(March)The workplace culture of my internship is harder to define as it is an online lab. I like the idea of working from home, but when dealing with lab work, it is harder. Like, significantly harder. I have never known how to navigate OneDrive as much as I do now. There was a period when I couldn't find things so then I couldn't get them done. There are so many folders! They are all organized, I just took too long to find them. I really wanted to work in a physical lab, but I think with how the semester is going, I am grateful to be working from home. We are all people with busy schedules, so we meet up once a week and briefly regroup what we did for the week. Again, with 18 credits, I barely remember what I do during the week because it flies by. Differences between the workplace culture at my internship and my ideal workplace would be set hours with the ability for overtime and a physical location. Psychiatrists, more than other professions, have a lot of individuality in how they work when they are independent contractors. A lot of jobs delegate the hours and pay and remain rigid with it while independent workers can set their hours and pay somewhat. I want to work a shift that starts in the afternoon and ends at night. That kind of schedule would be a dream.
Successes and Challenges
Successes and Challenges(November): I have not felt successful yet. I know now that it is not my fault. I am struggling and there is nothing that can be done about it. What is done is done. I took on more than I could handle and it caught up with me. It has been hard because I want to feel that I am doing a good job. The reality is that I am doing a good job with what I have. It's a lot harder to receive any guidance when you are a black woman entering into fields such as science and medicine. These aren't fields that my parents or my peers pursued and with reason. I have done everything I can do and I think it's okay to accept that the outcome of overworking myself would be more burnout. I will keep doing my best with what I have. I have sought out the people at LHSI and the members of my internship for guidance and they have been very supportive. That encourages me. The most challenging is time management and this is because of my schedule which again, I have learned that I can't continue like this. The good news is that I am becoming better at my time management, so there is in fact a silver lining. That and I am learning more about myself.
Success and Challenges(February)
A new success is that I have started studying for the MCAT as well as progressing in my internship with the systematic review. I feel I have kind of grown as a professional as a result of these interactions as I have learned how to reflect and plan ahead. I would like to continue to grow with my independence. My internship team has helped me overcome the obstacles of being afraid of conflict through resources provided by my mentor. Despite the demanding nature of my studies and the commitments I have undertaken, I have managed to maintain my work ethic. I am more comfortable knowing that I have done what I can. I am now more confident with addressing things that bother me without causing additional tension as there have been times that have made me reconsider putting up with the things I normally do.
Learning and Skills
Skills that I have used this year are flexibility and communication. I have always struggled with communication due to being introverted, but have been able to improve my skills in that area over the course of the year. I think it worked out well that I took part in an online internship as I got to exercise my communication muscle in a sense. When most of your day-to-day is talking with others, I feel like it becomes more natural. Another thing that I feel that I have gotten better with in regards to flexibility is knowing when to speak up that this flexibility is instability and when it is appropriate. One skill that I would like to grow is actively seeking challenges to an appropriate level. I feel like I will be doing this when I take the MCAT as that is one large challenge itself that I may not be able to do in the timeframe I originally expected (March).
Elevator Pitch
Abstract
The Fodstad Labrotory is an online lab led by Dr. Fodstad and Jadon Mehringer to understand and improve people with functional and developmental disabilities so that they can recieve better care and be more successful.