1/7 Mailman Child Development Center

Internship Site: Mailman Child Development Center (Miami, FL)

Major Rotations: Hematology/Oncology; Child Protection Team

Special Stuff:  Individualized training plans; 1/2 day a week for research; wide variety of rotation experiences; opportunity to work in primary care settings; Lots of work with children birth-5; GORGEOUS setting!
Downsides: One intern per major rotation; Location is pretty far.

Flying into Miami was amazing - it was a beautiful blue-sky day and I flew in over the water and right by the Miami skyline. This made me very excited for the internship, the scenery was so gorgeous. I had flown in early the day before the interview in order to have some beach time, however, there were several kinks in this plan. One, it was 40 degrees in Miami. Two, I was staying out near the airport, which  meant three bus transfers to get to South Beach. In the end I decided I did not feel safe enough to go which I was disappointed about but felt good about the decision.

The interview day was fairly long but everyone was really laid back and welcoming. It was funny though because the building had not turned the A/C off and it was FREEZING. All of the faculty and staff were walking around all huddled up and in coats and stuff. The training director said she had to dig for something professional to wear because she did not have any warm professional clothes. The training director was so protective of her interns (i.e. making sure that they are treated well) that I felt like she was a mother to these people, which was a cool thing. It came across in the way she spoke about how we would be treated as well.

The internship site allows their interns to focus both on basic child psychology as well as pediatric psychology, which is working with kids who have medical illnesses. This is a strength of the program as it would allow me to work in both areas without having to commit quite yet. The program also allows for each student to have their own individualized internship plan which I really like as well. A cool aspect of the program is that they have interns work off-site at primary care clinics, and there is also a "mobile" unit that travels around and provides medical care to children in rural areas. A picture of the mobile unit is to the right.

I interviewed for two major rotations: Hematology/Oncology and the Child Protection Team (CPT). Hem/Onc is a rotation where you work with children who have cancer and their families. CPT is a rotation where you provide forensic assessment for kids who are suspected of being abused. You also spend a considerable amount of time evaluating adults and suspected perpetrators as well. The CPT team described themselves as having pretty "dark" humor which is something I would fit right into I think. The saying "if you're not laughing you're crying" comes to mind. I know that that kind of humor is what got me through grad school so far - my classmates and I had to find everything funny or it would have been difficult to handle some of the stressful times.

Overall, this was the best site I have seen so far in terms of opportunities and connection with faculty and staff. The campus was like paradise and was very appealing in itself!

So I have a plane ride home, and then tomorrow (Friday) morning I take the train to Delaware!