#intern archives

Welcome to a mini-series of blog posts titled “Intern Archives” where I will be sharing in greater detailed about all of my internship experiences so far! I was requested to write about my internships on Instagram during a Q&A session, so follow me for more frequent updates HERE. 

This is the last post of the series and I will talk about my current neuroscience research internship. Under the supervision of a postdoc, I have been researching social decision making and empathy at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience. The aim of the project was to look at how the costs and benefits associated with a particular choice can influence the learning of consequences of participants’ actions. We were also interested in understanding how the learned information influences future decision making. This is a brief and most simplistic explanation of my research project. 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

I’m enrolled in a research masters in Neuroscience, which means that my primary focus is scientific research. Therefore, I am required to complete two internships as part of my masters degree and this was my first research internship, working at a lab. I discovered this position via networking and I have written other blog posts about finding research internships, which you can read HERE. I have also written blog posts about a day in my life at my internship and my experience with coding in Neuroscience both of which are also relevant reads. 

MY TASKS

My tasks varied by month and dependent on the progress of the project. I spent the first month working on writing my research proposal and reading background literature. Afterwards we were ready for data collection and I worked on that for a couple of months too, scheduling and carrying out experimental sessions with participants in our lab. I also worked on random additional projects/tasks that would come my way and the last few months I have been focusing on data analysis and writing my final thesis report. It truly was all over the place and I even got to learn how to do EEG (which was not planned initially) but I enjoyed the variety!

WHAT I WAS ABLE TO LEARN

I got to observe a lab environment and learn what a typical day in a PhD or postdoc job looks like. I have to admit that prior to this internship experience I glamorised working in the lab and the reality is quite different and rather disappointing because most of our work day is spent in front of the computer. However, I learned a lot! Mostly programming in R and Bayesian modeling for analyses, which was something that I wanted to learn when joining this project. I also really like the topic of decision making and hope to find another internship within decision neuroscience for my second research project! 

As I am currently finishing the days spent at the lab and am focusing on finishing writing my thesis I do not feel comfortable sharing too much details about this research project! It has been a great learning experience for me!

I have written other blog posts about internships, which you can find here:

Finding Internships: General Tips

How to Find a Research Internship

Day In My Life: Internship Edition

Intern Archives: My 1st Creative Internship (Event Planning)

Intern Archives: Clinical Psychology Internship

Intern Archives: Psychology Lab Teaching Assistant

Welcome to a mini-series of blog posts titled “Intern Archives” where I will be sharing in greater detailed about all of my internship experiences so far! I was requested to write about my internships on Instagram during a Q&A session, so follow me for more frequent updates HERE. 

In this 3rd post of the series I will share about my experience volunteering as a teaching assistant at a psychology lab. I assisted a professor and mentor for 9 months during my gap year in two cognitive psychology courses. This was my first academic teaching experience and I enjoyed it a lot!

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

After completing my studies I was invited by my mentor and thesis advisor to become a volunteer teaching assistant for her Cognitive Psychology course lab section. I think this serves as a great example that one should invest time in developing relationships/networking with your instructors! I only worked during the lab section of the courses. The two courses were: Cognitive Psychology I: Sensation, Perception and Representation and Cognitive Psychology II: Learning and Memory. 

MY TASKS

My main tasks included assisting the professor during the two hours of labs, once a week. I mostly helped with setting up and carrying out experiments with students all of which were in cognitive psychology. I also got to propose methodology for new experiments that we could do based on the topics covered in the courses. I also assisted students during labs if they had questions, as well as answering questions about data analysis/statistics for the lab reports (often they would require general statistics assistance). 

WHAT I WAS ABLE TO LEARN

Although I have completed theses courses and labs during my undergraduate studies myself, it was fun to be on the other side of the classroom as a teaching assistant. I had a lot of fun interacting with students and sharing my knowledge not only about cognitive psychology or statistics but also life post-grad and my plans to continue my studies. I often ended up answering questions similar to the ones that I continuously receive on my social media accounts. This was a great first teaching experience for me, especially because at the time I was considering continuing my studies, obtaining a PhD and having a full-time career in academia as a professor and researcher (that’s not my goal/plan anymore). Although I’m reconsidering my career options and am gaining interest in industry work, I would consider giving lectures from time to time because of this experience! I’m extremely grateful to my professor for inviting me to assist them during their courses! 

I have written other blog posts about internships, which you can find here:

Finding Internships: General Tips

How to Find a Research Internship

Day In My Life: Internship Edition

Intern Archives: My 1st Creative Internship (Event Planning)

Intern Archives: Clinical Psychology Internship

Welcome to a mini-series of blog posts titled “Intern Archives” where I will be sharing in greater detailed about all of my internship experiences so far! I was requested to write about my internships on Instagram during a Q&A session, so follow me for more frequent updates HERE. 

This is my 2nd post in the series about my clinical psychology internship at a psychiatric hospital. I completed this internship during the last semester of my undergraduate studies, just before graduating with a BA in Psychology. This was my first field related internship and overall I had a very positive experience!

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

My undergraduate psychology studies required me to complete two practicums (or internships). The first we did during our 2nd year of studies and the aim of this course was to expose students to a variety of settings in which  psychologically-oriented activities take place. We were supposed to explore and gain a better understanding of the types of work done by psychologists and other professionals in related fields. Therefore, we did a lot of site visits. 

The second part of the course is at the end of your last year of studies and required us to complete a 4 month internship. We needed to have a supervisor and gain experience by applying theoretical knowledge to practice. Additionally, the course contained of seminars with a focus on self-understanding and professional development. 

I was interested in Clinical Psychology for a while but I didn’t have a good understanding of this subfield; therefore, before beginning this course I knew that I would either like to gain research experience (which was not possible at the time) or in clinical psychology. These internships were set up for us by the course coordinators and the personal contacts within their network, which meant that my fellow students completed internships in other places, such as schools or social service agencies, etc. I ended up being selected to complete my internship at a local psychiatric care facility. It was an hour away from my hometown and I commuted to my internship with another student from my class by car. 

I was interning at a psychosocial ward, which mostly consisted of hospitalised patients suffering from addiction disorders, namely alcoholism. However, I also encountered patients suffering from depression disorders, as well as other psychiatric conditions. The cases varied and I got to see a lot of different conditions in person. 

MY TASKS 

Because I was a bachelor’s student, the head of the ward was our main supervisor but we shadowed different psychologists and mostly observed their work. I was a co-therapist in group psychotherapy but also observed and sometimes practiced individual therapy sessions, group rehabilitation sessions with social workers, group mindfulness sessions, occupational therapy (ergotherapy), as well as psychological assessments and case evaluations for discharge. 

Our role was supposed to be mainly observational but because of our enthusiasm and showed interest to learn as much as possible during our internship, they allowed us to practice some things under strict supervision. The patients were not harmed by our presence and I think this is important to mention because such internships are not easy to come by. 

WHAT I WAS ABLE TO LEARN 

The previous semester of my senior year I took a clinical psychology course and was surprised with what I learned, as it was quite different to what I had imagined this subfield to be. I always linked clinical psychology with psychiatry and patient care but during this course I learned that most therapists obtain degrees in clinical psychology. I was not interested in therapy/counselling; therefore, this internship experience was important when it came to making the decision of whether I should continue my studies in clinical psychology or switch to neuroscience. I ended up switching to Neuroscience research in the end and you can read about it in more detail HERE. 

This internship experience allowed me to understand that I was not interested in being a therapist/counsellor and that my attraction was the current research of clinical psychology, rather than practice. However, I am grateful for this experience because it allowed me to see various mental disorders in person, it’s different symptoms and forms of morbidity, as well as treatment options available at such hospitals. For example, group therapy sessions would often be very exhausting and emotionally challenging to complete but I feel extremely privileged to have had such an experience! 

I hope you enjoyed the first reflection on one of my psychology/neuroscience field related internships! I will continue to write these, as I hope that at least some of you will find these posts to be useful!

I have written other blog posts about internships, which you can find here:

Finding Internships: General Tips

How to Find a Research Internship

Day In My Life: Internship Edition

Intern Archives: My 1st Creative Internship (Event Planning)

Welcome to a mini-series of blog posts titled “Intern Archives” where I will be sharing in greater detailed about all of my internship experiences so far! I was requested to write about my internships on Instagram during a Q&A session, so follow me for more frequent updates HERE. 

I want my internship experiences to have dedicated blog posts because not all of them have been in psychology/neuroscience fields or research! I’ve discussed in previous posts how my education path was quite unique, as I started my education by attending a fine arts profile school for 12 years (my gymnasium/high school was combined with fine arts classes). I always had interests outside of academia and my 1st internship allowed me to explore my creativity!

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

I started it in January of 2016 after I had returned from studying abroad in South Korea. I wanted to throw myself into school work and extra curricular activities and this internship just sort of “landed” into my hands. My aunt has a wedding and event planning company and was looking for people who would be willing to intern for her. Given my artistic background I agreed to join the company and help out. This is a great example of networking for finding internships that I have discussed in THIS blog post which includes general tips for finding different internships!

MY TASKS

As an intern I started with doing research on PInterest, organising inspiration boards for different events, as well as looking up reference photos. Before events I also worked on DIY art projects and packing for the event. During events I would help with decorating venues, setting up tables, chairs, linens, centrepieces, table numbers, etc. I also got to assist during creative photoshoots and other special projects, such as Bridal Brunch workshops.

I decided that I liked working for the company, so I ended up staying for 3 years and worked as a creative assistant once my internship had ended! It was nice for this internship to turn into a part-time job, alongside it being a creative outlet for me. 

WHAT I WAS ABLE TO LEARN

I live for personal development and growth; therefore, it should not be surprising to all of you reading this that I like to reflect on what I was able to learn during all of my different internship experiences. 

For this one, I learned not only about event planning and decorating, how much time, effort and money has to be put in to organise a Pinterest like party but also about working with clients, as different people have varying needs and wishes, as well as team work. It was important that our team worked cohesively, so that the event would be a success for everyone involved and most importantly our clients. 

This experience also allowed me to practice other skills that I posses, such as creativity, time management, interpersonal communication all of which are not directly related to academia! I also got to experience working for a small company that was a side job for everyone involved, kind of like a passion project. We worked directly with a really small group of females, all of which were very different from each other. Although it was not always easy to work under pressure, we would always come out happy with our work in the end. I liked having a creative outlet outside of my studies and if it wasn’t for this internship I would not have taken an Instagram marketing course and started my studygram!

This was my first reflection about my 1st internship during my undergraduate studies. I am looking forward to writing and reflecting about others, all of which are more directly related to Psychology and Neuroscience, so stay tuned! I hope you enjoyed this post and found it somewhat useful. 

I have written other blog posts about internships, which you can find here:

Finding Internships: General Tips

How to Find a Research Internship

Day In My Life: Internship Edition

Getting pulled over by a cop for being on the phone and telling him you were on a very important conference call does not work.

Sundays were made so you could be at your laziest. 

I am usually someone who always rushes and gets stuff done really really fast. Which can be a good thing and sometimes it's not.

Blame it on the intern!