Interning at the Calm Clinic has given me a chance to have conversations with professionals, and to experience what they do for a living. I feel that talking to patients and being able to shadow their appointment will help me in the future when I have to lead a conversation with a patient.
As a psychology major, this internship has given me the chance to see different aspects of psychology specifically in talk therapy, and psychiatry.
There are no educational requirements needed for this internship, but since this clinic mainly deals in administering the medication Spravato and TMS, it might be more suitable for those in psychology or those looking to be PAs.
I am not necessarily interested in being a PA or a psychiatrist, mainly because I would want my career to be more involved with the patients themselves. It has shown me that I have more of an interest in applied psychology rather than clinical psychology.
In this internship you will meet PA students and you will meet different PA providers. In order to secure a full-time position in this field you will need to complete a bachelor's degree and a PA program. This process takes about 6-7 years to complete if you are a full time student.
One piece of advice for incoming interns is don’t
be afraid to ask questions or for more opportunities. As nervous or shy as you are in asking, the PA students or providers might also be reluctant in communicating with you, so to make the most of this experience it is important to ask for opportunities. The providers are friendly and willing to answer any questions you may have about the clinic, the system they use or about what they do at the clinic, so don’t be afraid to ask!
Hello Jacky!
I agree that this internship has given me the opportunity to talk with professionals to not only learn from them, but to also see what their daily life consists of. With this internship, I was able to gain experience in learning about the different treatments like TMS and Spravato. However, I wished there was more counseling and talk therapy involved because I was shadowing physician assistants rather than therapists. After meeting with patients and seeing their journey, it made me even more passionate to pursue a career of being a therapist. I would also give the same advice as you because I feel like asking questions not only helps you converse with others, but allows you to learn more about things.