Current student Madeline Katz shared the following about being an intern at VA Boston Health Care…
How did you find this internship?
I found this through a newsletter sent out by the Tufts Psychology Department.
What did you enjoy most about your internship?
I enjoyed being able to have phone conversations multiple times per week with Parkinson’s patients. This really helped me learn how to communicate with patients over the phone, and gave me experience on how to work with patients on cognitive activities and ask health related questions.
What did you find challenging?
I found it most challenging to find my voice, but once I did it made such a huge difference in my experience. I was lucky enough to have supervisors who encouraged me to speak up and provide any input I had into our research. While I was nervous to do this at first, getting to the point where I felt comfortable to voice my opinion opened new doors for me and allowed me to contribute greater to the project.
What advice would you offer to someone who wants to make the most of an internship like yours?
Some advice I would offer is to tell any ideas and suggestions that you might have to your supervisors! Suggesting my own ideas for cognitive activities allowed me to play a greater role in the research project and helped me create some work I was really proud of.
