Internship wrap-up + more good news
First news: I have a dissertation committee!! I've had 4 forever, but finally got a fifth - dragged him out of retirement to do it, too :). I'm very, very happy with the group I've got, they're all both really smart and generally kind, so I think they will push me to make my study better without making me cry. YAY!
In, other news the final internship count is in...7 interviews! Definitely more than I expected. Along with trying to prelim, January is rather insane. But it's good to have options.
Jan 5: University of Maryland School of Medicine/VA Maryland Health Care System, Baltimore - Child track
Jan 10: Center for Multicultural Mental Health,(Boston University School of Medicine) Boston
Jan 11: Children's National Medical Center, Washington DC
Jan 17: Center for Multicultural Human Services, Northern Virginia - child & family track
Jan 18: Advocate Masonic Health Care Services, Chicago
Jan 19: Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago (Affiliated with Northwestern)
Date TBA: The Allendale Association, Lake Villa, IL
In other news, it is SO cold here. It made my hands hurt to be out without gloves during the brief walk from the car to the store. Makes me wonder what on earth I was thinking when I applied to all those internships in Chicago & Boston. During the drive home, my car's windshield was getting all greasy as I drove, and I thought it was roadcrud from the highway, so I kept trying to get it off with washer fluid & the wipers. It just kept getting worse, and I had to pull over into a gas station to clean the window because I couldn't even see to drive. Turns out the wiper fluid was freezing as soon as it hit the glass. BRRRRRRRRRR.
Also, I finished Christmas shopping for my entire family today, and packed up about half of my apartment. Whew. If I can just write 7-8 pages in the next 2 days I will be such a happy camper.
In, other news the final internship count is in...7 interviews! Definitely more than I expected. Along with trying to prelim, January is rather insane. But it's good to have options.
Jan 5: University of Maryland School of Medicine/VA Maryland Health Care System, Baltimore - Child track
- What I love: Child & Adolescent outpatient specialty, and community work in Baltimore public schools. Work with trauma survivors, abused & neglected kids. Possible chance to work with domestic violence survivors. Seems like a very community-oriented internship.
- What's not so hot: Early start date. Fewer opportunities for Spanish-language therapy. Not sure how I feel about living in Baltimore - it's relatively close to home but I don't know anyone there (unlike the other locations I'm looking at)
Jan 10: Center for Multicultural Mental Health,(Boston University School of Medicine) Boston
- What I love: Lots of opportunities for therapy in Spanish, as well as to work with immigrants from all over the world,in Boston near two of my close friends, late start date means more time in Ecuador. I've heard great things about the quality of supervision. Work with a wide age range, with opportunities to focus on child work. Possible opportunities to work with homeless clients and/or with issues of HIV/AIDS. Probably the best diversity-related training of all my sites.
- What's not so hot: Stipend is a little on the low side, and Boston is expensive. I would very much not like to be in debt by the end of next year.
Jan 11: Children's National Medical Center, Washington DC
- What I love: In DC! And, most likely, one day a week in northern VA. If I live in the States, this is where I'd like to settle, so this would give me one leg up on the job search. Outpatient and inpatient experiences with children and adolescents. Training to work with kids with behavior problems and pediatric HIV. Emergency room rotation means I can build my crisis management skills. Training in specialty work with abused & neglected kids.
- What's not so hot: Early start date, a little more neuropsychologically oriented than I am. And fewer opportunities for therapy in Spanish.
Jan 17: Center for Multicultural Human Services, Northern Virginia - child & family track
- What I love: Focus on services for immigrant children, opportunities to work with refugees & torture survivors, lots of work in Spanish. Domestic violence rotation (both women & their kids). This would be the perfect site for me - combines diversity issues with the child-track option - except for one big drawback
- What's not so hot:Not APA approved. This could majorly limit my future job prospects and make licensure more difficult.
Jan 18: Advocate Masonic Health Care Services, Chicago
- What I love: Probably the biggest variety of training opportunities of any of my sites. Kids, teens, families, community work in schools, various types of therapy, substance abuse treatment, intensive adolescent treatment program. Several faculty members perform/supervise therapy in Spanish, so it looks like I'd get a fair amount of experience with that as well. Family and good friends in & around Chicago - it would be nice to see more of them next year.
- What's not so hot: More time with adults means less time with kids, so though I'm gaining breadth of experience I think I'd lose some depth. Chicago is freezing cold and I'm not sure I could handle another Illinois winter.
Jan 19: Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago (Affiliated with Northwestern)
- What I love: All child and family work, some opportunities for Spanish language work, the hospital has an amazing reputation in Chicago and nationwide, opportunities to be involved in research, subrotation working with HIV-positive kids, community outreach in the local schools. Highest stipend of all these sites. Probably the best HIV-related training of all these sites. Also probably the most prestigious.
- What's not so hot: Early start date, see above re: Chicago is way frickin' cold.
Date TBA: The Allendale Association, Lake Villa, IL
- What I love: Very intensive residential and outpatient work with teens with serious difficulties. This is probably the type of setting that comes closest to what I do in Ecuador. Lots of experience doing with child & adolescent therapy. More therapy and less neuropsych than a lot of the child rotations
- What's not so hot: It's even further north than Chicago. About an hour outside the city, so I lose some of the hanging-out benefits of being there, and keep the freezing cold weather. Definitely the least diverse of these sites: the demographics of the residents seem pretty darn white. Not many Spanish-language opportunities.
In other news, it is SO cold here. It made my hands hurt to be out without gloves during the brief walk from the car to the store. Makes me wonder what on earth I was thinking when I applied to all those internships in Chicago & Boston. During the drive home, my car's windshield was getting all greasy as I drove, and I thought it was roadcrud from the highway, so I kept trying to get it off with washer fluid & the wipers. It just kept getting worse, and I had to pull over into a gas station to clean the window because I couldn't even see to drive. Turns out the wiper fluid was freezing as soon as it hit the glass. BRRRRRRRRRR.
Also, I finished Christmas shopping for my entire family today, and packed up about half of my apartment. Whew. If I can just write 7-8 pages in the next 2 days I will be such a happy camper.