How to Survive as an Intern (in a Pandemic)
I’ve been at this for 8 weeks now which is still just the starting line. But I can confidently say that while I’m still new, I’ve learned a lot and I’m starting to know the ropes about what it means to be a dietetic intern.
1. Take time to observe your site and your preceptor before you jump into your projects. When I figured this one out, it felt a little bit life changing and a little bit challenging. As an intern, you have expectations to complete projects but you also can’t let that get in the way of getting the full experience and understanding each unique rotation.
The first day of my first rotation I came armed and ready with my list of competencies, my project assignment descriptions, and my learning experience checklist. I was ready to start off strong and jump in. I had limited time in a four week rotation and a lengthy list of things to complete. I have a tendency to get things done early which has saved me in many cases, but has also gotten in my way a few times. When I brought up project ideas to my preceptor on day one, he essentially told me that they will come as we go along and not to worry about getting them done.
So I set down my binder (apprehensively) and got to work just OBSERVING everything that was happening. I sat in on meetings, I watched the action in the kitchen, I shadowed on patient rounds. And while at first I essentially felt useless, I started to get a sense of the whole operation, what was going well and what was not, and slowly developed my ideas for projects.
**Give yourself permission to take your time and get comfortable with just observing; in the end this will only help you.**
2. Set deadlines for yourself ahead of your actual due dates.
This might sound a little inconsistent when my first piece of advice was essentially to “chill” when starting out. But make sure you give yourself plenty of leeway when it comes to meeting deadlines. If your preceptor wants things done by Wednesday, have a plan to get them done by Monday. While you can do as much as possible to plan your day so you finish your projects, things will come up last minute that you are asked to do or that you want to contribute to.
**You want the flexibility to participate in these opportunities without being bogged down with deadlines.**
3. Internships look different in a pandemic- take time to recognize that and reach out for support.
Let’s get personal for a minute. Being an intern during a pandemic has been incredibly challenging for me, and I’m sure for many of my peers. The world does not look the same as it did when we applied, the internship is not the same, and the sites are not all the same. We are asked for a hefty amount of flexibility and devotion on top of the already demanding experience of a dietetic internship. It’s worth it, I promise, and I’m very thankful and happy to be here. But I still want to recognize some added barriers to success that previously didn’t exist:
· There are the small barriers, like understanding clients while they are wearing a mask, and making sure they can understand you when some of them may be hard of hearing and rely on seeing your mouth to understand your words.
· There are medium barriers, like having significantly more zoom communications rather than in person contact with preceptors and directors.
· And there are larger barriers like not having the freedom to see my husband and cat nearly as frequently as we had originally planned.
So, what have I learned with this so far? Connection is crucial, but because it’s not as easy, we have to be especially mindful about it. Make time to text and call your regular support system like best friends and family, as well as the other interns in your cohort and classmates from your DPD programs.
Remember that everyone appreciates connection and we all need it, especially right now. Recognize that life might be harder in 2020 but we share in that, so make the time to connect.
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