Hi Guys!
To my satisfaction, I have made progress towards achieving all five of my learning objectives. As I have worked on drafting progressive policy proposals for Louisiana, I have strengthened my research analysis skills, learned more about the intersection of public health and policy, worked to define and meet my own deadlines, practiced communicating in a professional setting, and explored potential career paths relevant to my majors.
I know that my internship has helped me grow and learn, because the final draft of the project I just completed looks vastly different from my first draft. I have learned how to write a policy proposal, which I consider a concrete skill. I just finished writing a proposal to curtail the opioid epidemic in Louisiana by mandating that providers refer patients to alternative forms of treatment for chronic pain, such as physical therapy and acupuncture, before prescribing pain medication. I also wrote a proposal to adopt a musical therapist licensure in the state so that music therapy can become a regulated form of treatment for various mental illnesses in the state. It took several weeks to complete the research, writing, and editing of these two proposals. My internship supervisor never harshly criticized me, but I was frustrated when I found out how many changes I would need to make to the first drafts I submitted. I was incredibly proud this last Tuesday when my supervisor praised my hard work and was impressed with my final drafts. In the past, I have tried to work very hard on first drafts of papers so that I can minimize the amount of revising that I need to do. Usually this works out in my favor, and I was a bit disheartened to not succeed on my first try at writing policy proposals. I now have a much better understanding of this process and feel that my extensive revisions served as a learning opportunity and will allow me to approach policy proposal writing differently in the future.
While I have not been provided with a direct leadership role at my internship, I feel that I am developing skills that will help me be a better leader in the future. In addition to learning about health policy, I have learned how to manage my time to complete my own projects and have learned when and how to ask for help when I encounter obstacles that I cannot figure out on my own. I think that in the future, this will enable me to delegate tasks to others, and I will remember that a good leader listens to her superiors and subordinates and asks questions. Historically, policy and administrative roles have been dominated by men. However, the executive director of 504HealthNet and all four of the staff members I have worked with are female. I feel inspired by these women who are pursuing careers in public health and advancing to leadership roles within the field.
Even after just a month and a half at my internship, I already feel that my research and analysis skills have progressed significantly. The type of research I have been doing is different from the type I have done before to write papers in class, and I feel that it is more applicable to the “real world” and the type of work I see myself doing after I graduate. I also feel like I am learning office etiquette and networking skills at my internship that will be valuable for whatever career I end up pursuing.
The picture below is an example of some of the colorful houses I pass everyday in the Bywater district on my way to work!
