I’m finishing up my final internship hours for my Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling (I will hold an LPC license when all is said and done). Because I work full time (and need to work full time), I am not able to do the 2-3 days per week (generally 8-5) at an off-campus site…not if I want to eat and have shelter, anyway. But my university has a teaching clinic on-site, and I’ve been doing my internship there – they are open 3-9 PM so though it makes for very long days, at least I’m not trying to make up 24 working hours each weekend.
I had hoped to finish my required hours over the summer – generally there are fewer students in the university clinic then – but of course THIS summer there were about 25-30, so I had only 10 hours scheduled, with about 7 clients. I was like, fine, whatever, I’ll finish up in the fall. I didn’t think it would be a problem – I only needed 75 direct client-facing hours to finish up, and that would be relatively easy to do over 15 weeks. I already had at least 5 established clients.
Weeellllll…..about 2 weeks ago, my clients started dropping like flies. Last week, out of NINE scheduled clients, I only saw TWO. Mostly they are just not showing up at all, no call-no show. A few were canceling day of, and eventually just cancelled all remaining appointments for the semester. But it’s killing ME to be taking off a few hours of work in the afternoon to go see clients…who simply don’t show up. (I’ve started taking my work laptop with me and at least getting something done while I wait LOL)
We’re coming up on the end of the semester, and the university clinic is closed over winter break, so if I don’t complete my hours by December 12, I will have to continue through the entire spring semester, which puts off my degree conferral by another 6 months. I have a job now, so it’s not like I need to start a new job right away, but….I have a potential job offer (it’s a departmental transfer with my current org), and they probably don’t want to wait until next summer.
20 hours. That’s all I need between now and December 12. But the holidays next week cut out most of my clients – and then it’s just 2 weeks in December. If every single scheduled client from today on made their appointments, I would literally have the EXACT number of hours needed. But that ain’t gonna happen.
Finally, on Monday, I just threw in the towel and registered for spring semester. The university implemented a new rule this semester that if you are finishing an “incomplete” from a class and you have submitted your Application for Degree for that semester, you have to be enrolled in at least 1 credit hour. I was lucky to get that waived this semester (since nobody bothered to tell anybody – including most of the faculty – until mid-September), but they won’t next time, so I decided to take 2 classes (1 course, 1 practicum) that I will need for the certification later (I don’t need it for the degree, just for the Play Therapy Certificate, and I have 2 years once I’m licensed to complete those).
I’m just….so, so, so very tired. Tired of the long nights, the extra weekend work hours to make up for the time I’m gone, all of it. And no idea what the hiring people will say if they make me a offer on the transfer and I have to say “Yeah, about that….”
So frustrating. I’m calling into question why I ever thought this was a good idea LOL.
Anyway, just me venting. Graduate school peeps, I stand in solidarity. *holds up arm with 3 fingers in the air* The odds might not be in MY favor right now, but I hope they are at least in yours.
