Intern at 50+

Has been really busy with assignments, practicum, short holiday with family etc etc. Got an attachment with a Family Service Centre (FSC) to practise counseling and to accumulate the 100 hours of practicum so required. Indeed being an intern when you are 50+ comes with mixed feelings. Used to be when I was working in a statutory board many many years ago, internship period called for a lot of negotiation among division heads, tai-chi-ing and coming up with creative excuses not to be able to accept any. One morning when you noticed 1 or 2 fresh looking youths waiting patiently outside your office when you stepped in, you squirmed and summoned your staff. "How to teach and involve them when we are so busy?" " You trust them to do this and that meh?" Common excuses sigh. "Never mind ask them to read annual report and procedural manual first hehe"

Well that must be retribution I thought on my first day of internship. I was given a desk (fortunately they have one unoccupied desk) without phone and desktop, nearest the entrance. Since everyone was so busy I spent my first couple of sessions going through procedural manual, familiarise with reports and various forms that need to be submitted , and knowing laid down policies.I was REALLY BORED and would have felt even more uneasy had it not been for the friendliness of the social workers. You know social workers are the more friendly and caring type so at least I felt less awkward. Because I was bored I told them if they needed help they could just call on me. So I helped one called up home shelters to enquire about vacancies for her client which was good because I got to know the resources available. But something really funny, the boss asked me literally to do counting to help in the quarterly statistical report. Gosh I told myself "What am I doing here, counting the number of cases instead of counting billions of $$$ at my previous job?" My my this really needs getting down from riding on the high horse.
Maybe because I acted humble, and maybe because I showed the boss I wanted to assimilate into the centre, I was given 2 counselling cases quite soon after.But the most humbling experience for me was when they allowed me to join them in their monthly session with their consultant. This is a session when they discussed difficult cases getting input and advice from the consultant and learning from others. It was such a useful and fruitful session for me. It really places me when I really belong, a NOVICE. I have so much so much to learn and I know I need to start from scratch, just like the interns I took in many many years ago.