Oh Sweet Lord it is the Last Week of a Grueling Internship
(Un)Happy Monday!
Let me tell you how I really feel about this internship. It has been arduous, simply enduring. I have had an extremely hard time emotionally adjusting to nepotism. My employer’s son is unemployable, yet he has been handed a job by his mother. I understand this, meaning that I can see how a mother would want to help her (undeserving) son by giving him a steady job. However, the treatment I, my co-interns, and the permanent staff have been made subject to by said son is inexcusable. Let this be a warning to all – do not let your family negatively affect your business. Due to his behavior, patients have left the practice, other doctors refuse to work with him, and people are made to be super uncomfortable in his presence. Now, I do not mean to say that he is like this all of the time, but clearly, an attitude adjustment is called for. Dr. G. is a very highly regarded professional in her field, but her son is holding her practice hostage. We are the first intern group to risk voicing our concerns and grievances to Dr. G. and we were rather unsure as to how our feelings would be received. She listened to what we had to say, but no change was made. Now, she knows how we feel and still does not attempt to curb his behavior nor does he make any attempts.
The saving grace of this internship was bestowed upon us lowly interns by two women, Dr. S., a seasoned psychologist, and Christina, the office manager/personal assistant to Dr. G. By not including Dr. G. in this short list, I am not trying to say that she was terrible or added to my discontent with my time here, but rather, I am saying that she did not stand out as someone who really taught me about the field or who I felt was a positive presence – she has been a neutral influence though I am grateful to her for hiring me so that I may know more about my intended profession. Dr. S. held bi-weekly sessions for interns to do group therapy or group discussion with her. From this woman, I learned the bulk of pertinent information for my future. She is who I got to when I have questions, and I always have questions (maybe because I am always confused and generally indecisive). Dr. S. was never afraid to get personal with us, nor did she hold herself back when we asked her opinion-charged questions, which really helped me develop a better understanding of what pursuing a PhD further would mean for me.
Despite having a lackluster interning experience, I am extremely pleased to say that this was not due to the actual profession itself. Though there are things here and there that I am not particularly looking forward to (I’m talking about you, insurance companies), I am positive that I want to be, and am going to be, a licensed psychologist (in like, 100 years when I finally finish graduate school). I didn’t expect a negative experience to reaffirm my career goals, but here I am.
See you back at Wake!
