Greetings,
The stress of finding and securing a practicum has finally started to fade! The application process itself has been a valuable learning experience. I learned about the importance of building relationships with individuals in public health and also the importance of asking for help. I can say without much hesitation that I would not have been able to secure such a fitting internship without support from the practicum team, TA’s and professors. Reflecting on this has helped me set goals for next semester and the rest of my career.
I am thankful to be working with a UNC team based in North Carolina and in Hanoi, Vietnam. The pilot program is called VITAL and is funded by NIDA and NIH. The project’s full title is Adaptation of the Friendship Bench counseling intervention to improve mental health and HIV care engagement outcome among people living with HIV who inject drugs. I will be working on two primary deliverables, including an exit interview to assess the acceptability of the program from a provider perspective. Also, I will be working on a targeted review of some of the existing literature on the topic. Both of these projects are things I am only slightly familiar with and especially for the targeted review, there will be a learning curve. However, I am excited to flex some new mental muscles and contribute to an important topic in the field of mental health.
So far, the practicum has been wonderful! My teammates and the leads have been extremely welcoming and I feel like my efforts are valued. I have been working on the provider exit interviews for the past few weeks and it has been a challenge to nail the right number of questions and also have limitations so that the amount of translation is not overwhelming. I have been examining exit type interviews used in similar projects, which has been very helpful as models. The remote aspect has not been a challenge and I feel we are all getting more used to a hybrid school and work environment. I am looking forward to working more with the VITAL team and getting a chance to gain new skills as I work on the targeted review.
Thanks for reading!
-Sage