Gaining Experience: My Journey as an Intern

by Bryce Robinson

The saying, “The early bird gets the worm” emphasizes the importance of starting something early to maximize the potential outcomes. This saying had no meaning to me until I found out how competitive getting into a clinical psychology graduate program is. To be a qualified candidate, I would need to gain clinical experience before I even applied. Thus, I started my journey to obtain this clinical experience in the spring of 2019 in preparation for writing my graduate applications in the fall of 2020.

Finding an internship that satisfied the requirement of clinical experience was at first burdensome. I found many opportunities, but they weren’t a fit for me based upon things such as the internship’s location, skill requirements, or required hours per week. This changed when I joined the Nevada Psychological Association in May of 2019. Through this association, I was able to network with two local private practices that have a joint partnership, Desert Psychological and Odyssey Wellness, who gave me the opportunity to perform various tasks around the office and observe testing.

In the summer of 2019, I began my internship at Desert Psychological and Odyssey Wellness. I started out being trained to operate the front desk of the clinic. I learned a variety of things, such as how to work with patients of all ages and backgrounds. I also got accustomed to the necessary paperwork for certain clients and their appointments, and I learned how to schedule clients. In addition, I learned how to interpret insurance information and how to operate the Veteran Affairs’ client portal, and I came to understand the many types of testing and therapies my clinic offered. After mastering my training of the front desk to the point where I was able to run it by myself, I started to sit in with a doctor to observe. I sat in on police candidate evaluations for Boulder City Police Department and Henderson Police Department. During these observations I got to see how a clinician conducts a Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and administers the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). I got the opportunity to score an MMPI by hand and observe diagnostic intakes, during which the clinician meets with a patient and gathers information to direct future appointments. During this observation I got to observe how a clinician directs the conversation to evoke responses from a patient as well as how to properly record that information for future use.

I have learned a lot so far at my internship and developed many skills to benefit not only my graduate school application but also my growth as a future clinical psychologist. Being able to start interacting with clients at an early stage has allowed me to start thinking about what population of people I want to work with in the future. For example, I found myself enjoying working with veterans more than children. Coming to this realization before applying to graduate school helps me narrow down the target population I would want to research during graduate school. Likewise, having experience with patient paperwork has given me the advantage to understand the clerical component of running a private practice.

I got into this internship because I wanted to prepare for graduate school. Because graduate school admissions are really competitive, anything you can do to enhance your qualifications is a huge benefit. However, internships have benefits that extend past graduate school applications. Benefits include gaining valuable industry knowledge, networking with people in your profession, and developing professional skills. Perhaps most important, an internship can be an excellent way to “try out” your planned career.

It is true that the early bird gets the worm, but it should also be said that it is never too late to gain experience. If you the reader are considering applying for graduate school, I highly recommend getting into an internship, so you can start gaining industry experience as soon as possible. To begin searching for an internship, I recommend first crafting your CV or updating it if you already have one. When working on your CV, you should focus on listing skills you have that an employer could use. Consider skills you gained from your personal hobbies and extracurricular interests, alongside skills you gained from volunteering, paid work, and academic studies.

Once you have a CV, the key to finding an internship is networking. You can network in many ways. One way is to ask your colleagues if they have an internship or have had an internship that might suit your interests. Another way is to make use of the many campus resources such as the Career Services Center, which keeps an up-to-date list of internships and often hosts career fairs with businesses that take interns. Clubs and organizations are also great locations for networking as they often invite outside professionals and businesses to speak.

You might find it difficult to get a suitable internship, much like I did. I encourage you to persevere and network until you find an internship that fits you. Completing an internship can help you maximize your potential. The hard work you sow now will help you reap benefits in your later education and career. So get out there and start networking.

Bryce Robinson has been a member of the Interactive Measurement Group since Spring 2019. Bryce is majoring in Psychology and minoring in Sociology at UNLV. After graduating in the Spring of 2022, Bryce hopes to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, so he can eventually become a clinical psychologist.