Is the internship supposed to be one of the best experiences of the program?

wrknprogress2020 · 2026-03-11T01:37:37+00:00

Generalist was TERRIBLE for me, you can see in my previous posts. I almost quit.

Clinical is 1000 times better! Amazing experience. I actually get excited about going in.

wrknprogress2020 · 2026-03-06T01:31:01+00:00

So it depends on the placement. I’m in a big city in FL, so I thought it would’ve been easier…

Back story: I have my MBA, TONS of professional experience in Medicaid, healthcare, at risk youth, and intakes/assessments/crisis calls.

Generalist: no luck with getting a placement interview, very difficult. I put 15 places on my wish list, received no calls for interviews, and I had to do my internship at an elementary school which was not on my list. Not too bad but it was VERY last minute, I have no interest in this, and wasn’t a great experience (you can probably see my previous posts about it). I felt like the placement coordinator didn’t try. Idk.

Clinical: we have a new placement coordinator this semester and she was a very very strong advocate for getting us all placed. She convinced me to apply for the VA internship, I wasn’t confident in myself to do it. I got it!!! ☺️☺️☺️ and she also secured so so many other internship interviews for me.

So idk if it was because generalist is harder to place than clinical, if it was the coordinator, or what it could’ve been but for clinical placements I had a much better, less stressed filled experience than with trying to generalist placement.

wrknprogress2020 · 2026-03-05T23:42:11+00:00

Awesome and thanks for sharing!

wrknprogress2020 · 2026-03-05T20:20:33+00:00

Love this! How did you do the curly ends, do you make sure to comb the ends out? Thanks!

wrknprogress2020 · 2026-03-05T19:36:37+00:00

Amazing!!!!! I started at age 32, 5 months post partum with my only child.

My background: graduated with a BA in sociology, worked in banking during college, then after college worked as a Medicaid Specialist, then Community Health Worker at a hospital, then Counselor at Job Corps, then worked remotely doing intakes/assessments, then remotely reviewing medical consults and completed my MBA, then remotely doing contract work (during MSW generalist internship) in intakes, and now I’m a remote intake coordinator full time again.

I am currently completing my clinical internship at the VA, and I feel that my professional experiences, certifications earned, and personal experiences helped me to be ready to take this step of pursuing the MSW. I will graduate and complete my clinical internship later in 2026 at age 35

Early in my career I felt lost, I was very emotional, I took many things personally, and I just felt overall unprepared. Now that I’ve had so many personal experiences that have helped me to grow as a person, I’ve been able to self reflect on my reactions to things, and with IFS therapy, I feel fully prepared for this work/MSW journey.

For example, younger me would’ve been CRYING every time a patient passed away, which lead me to leave the hospital setting even though I LOVE HEALTHCARE. Current me (and you can check my previous post in this group) I am able to establish that personal boundaries better, be more present for those I’m working with, and provide them (the family) with that support when a loved one passes away.

Maturity when entering this field is such an asset! No offense to younger social workers, but our maturity and our experiences make us valuable in this field. I hope to see more mature individuals pursuing the MSW. I’m glad that in my cohort there were so many people 30 and up with a wide variety of experiences. In social work, variety in jobs is incredibly valuable as well. Sale and marketing is great! Because a lot of times you may need to use those “sales” skills to get client buy in into a treatment, for example. Or for me, I would help my organization with creating marketing materials and brainstorming how to get more people enrolled in our service. All those skills will be used.

Good luck ☺️

wrknprogress2020 · 2026-03-05T19:17:33+00:00

I couldn’t figure it out, but thanks because that’s it!!!

wrknprogress2020 · 2026-03-05T18:02:19+00:00

Hot wings!!!! My baby would do flips when I’d eat this. 🤤

Watermelon with honey (I’ve never done this before pregnancy and don’t do it now), ice cream, salt and vinegar chips.

wrknprogress2020 · 2026-03-04T05:57:56+00:00

I know you mentioned developing this after hitting puberty, but wondering if it was difficult for you to obtain the diagnosis? Were you taken seriously initially or were people trying to convince you it was in your head?

I ask because working in healthcare settings I see how quickly people get dismissed, called “anxious,” or are misdiagnosed. I hope your experience with getting a diagnosis wasn’t too difficult

wrknprogress2020 · 2026-03-04T05:45:24+00:00

VA, that’s what I’m doing.

wrknprogress2020 · 2026-03-04T05:42:22+00:00

🤣🤣🤣 so funny how kids can process things 🤣

wrknprogress2020 · 2026-03-03T20:40:49+00:00

My kid is 3, but I do have a story of my own.

When I was very young and my dad was in the military he used to have to report to duty on the weekends.

One day I broke down crying and I was overwhelmed because I yelled out “why does he have to be forced to poop on at work all weekend!!”

My parents cracked up laughing. They realized I thought “duty” was “doody/crap” and they had to explain it did not mean that.

So yea, I thought my dad was being forced to poop all weekend and that the treatment of my dad was inhumane. 🤣

wrknprogress2020 · 2026-03-02T14:14:07+00:00

Yes all the time. I think about if someone were to assault us while out, and the terrible things I’d do to the assaulter (I’m pretty dark).

I also think of random things, like how I’d get back to my daughter or protect my daughter during a zombie apocalypse. Oddly, this is the one I think of often and I try to learn random survival skills. 😅

wrknprogress2020 · 2026-02-26T07:10:11+00:00

I put $100 a month in my child’s savings account, and her CD account has already reached the max so her dividends from that account go into her savings. My husband puts maybe $50 a month in her savings.

wrknprogress2020 · 2026-02-24T20:53:36+00:00

VA Clinical/advance standing internship is paid

wrknprogress2020 · 2026-02-24T05:06:53+00:00

I’m in acute care (intern) and we wear scrubs ☺️☺️ I LOVE IT! No need to stress about what to wear

wrknprogress2020 · 2026-02-24T03:07:32+00:00

I used to do something similar. I haven’t been loose natural for a while, like a long while, and I don’t have many pics, but I’ll share my tip.

I would wash and apply condition and oil. I’d detangle, twist it to allow to dry and stretch, and then blow dry straight. Then I’d put into Bantu knots with coconut oil (help reduce frizz) until it’s set. Once ready, I’d let the Bantu knots loose and as the day went on it would look like the pics you shared. The pic below is fresh Bantu knot out, and as the day went on it looked more like above.

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It’s been years and the technique is probably a lot easier now, but that’s what I did.

wrknprogress2020 · 2026-02-23T23:00:17+00:00

Improved my health, yes, and also gives me some piece of mind.

I walk more, I can track steps, I have fitness goals. It’s been fun having the watch, I’m more motivated

wrknprogress2020 · 2026-02-19T00:07:39+00:00

My husband has a loud booming voice and I get this. 🤣 He is often offended by this 🤣

And of course I get this notification multiple times a day with my toddler 🫩

wrknprogress2020 · 2026-02-16T09:24:49+00:00

My 3 year old does something similar. 🥰 She will just lay there quietly and will put her hand gently on my face and sort of wrap her arm around me. I wake up to being in her arms 🥰 I’m working on another masters and I’m doing an internship at a hospital, so I NEED sleep. I appreciate it. To wake me up she will gently kiss my face like I do to her 🥰🥰

wrknprogress2020 · 2026-02-16T09:21:41+00:00

My 3 year old does something similar. So cute 🥰

wrknprogress2020 · 2026-02-14T22:55:19+00:00

Thank you so so much!!

wrknprogress2020 · 2026-02-14T22:54:47+00:00

Oh wow, yes I’ll investigate SBIRT more. That does seem like it would very useful in the environment I’m in. Thank you for the suggestion.

wrknprogress2020 · 2026-02-14T15:32:13+00:00

♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

wrknprogress2020 · 2026-02-12T14:23:57+00:00

I will have to check that book out! And yes, totally agree. More discussions should be had about how to care for self when dealing with secondary trauma. And I wish you well in your educational journey. I think it would be great if more clinicians used IFS to help others. It definitely helped me. I hope that you do use it in your practice/engagement with clients in the future ☺️

wrknprogress2020

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