Week 1:
University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics

January 23, 2013

While there are many ways to describe an experience, I think one of the simplest and most effective ways is to go through that experience day-by-day.  So, without further ado:

A Week at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics: Sparknotes Style

Monday, Jan. 14:  I arrived after plenty of sleep at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics Medical Education Building at 11 AM, feeling thankful that I had figured out where this building was and where I had to park the night before.  I briefly met with my site mentor, whereupon I was handed keys to my office and a self-help book concerning Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT, which I’ll probably explain more of next week, as you’ll see a lot of it on my blog) as it pertains to anxiety.  I share the office with the paid Research Assistant (RA), although I was informed that when classes for the University of Iowa students begin, we will be joined by two other RAs, and I have a feeling that I’m going to be the one who has to share.  However, that doesn’t change the fact that, for the time being, I have my own desk and a computer with dual monitors (which I’m a bit more excited about that I should be).

After an hour or so, I was greeted again by my site mentor, who showed me the way to lunch through a series of underground tunnels with automatically-opening double doors, which (like the dual monitors) I think I was a little too excited about.  Lunch itself wasn’t bad, although the cafeteria atmosphere (with so many diverse people, from the families of patients to doctors to everyone in-between) was a tad overwhelming.

As for my actual work, I mostly read the book (entitled “things might go terribly, horribly wrong”).  I have a feeling that, as I was already trying to process so much, I was getting let off easy for the day.

Tuesday, Jan 15:  I arrived on solid sleep at 8 AM, a task which was a lot easier than I expected it to be.  I’m also getting the hang of these dual monitors, although I’m kind of worried that I won’t be able to function properly without them at the end of these eight weeks.  I also forgot to bring my sandwich from Cornell with me, so I ate at the cafeteria instead.  They were serving cheeseballs that day.  I was pretty happy.

My work consisted of mostly reading more of the book, although there was a little bit of data analysis as well (mostly figuring out what percentage of participants fit certain conditions).  I was informed by the paid RA that I would be taught how to input data later, which did not look like an easy process.  I have a feeling that’s going to be an interesting experience.

Wednesday, Jan 16:  Today I finally finished “things might go terribly, horribly wrong” and began my notes for the review I had to write on it.  I’ve also been finding myself using ACT concepts in my everyday life now.

Thursday, Jan 17:  Hey you!  Yeah, you reading this!  Go buy, rent, borrow, or in any other way get your hands on “things might go terribly, horribly wrong.”  It’s good.  Real good.  In-between finishing my notes section, I also read the transcript of one of the sessions run for the last experiment, although it unfortunately covered only about 1/3 of the session.

Friday, Jan 18: 7001 words.  I’ve written 7001 words with relatively minor breaks (4512 for the notes and 2489 for the actual review).  And it didn’t feel like a lot of work, either.  I also met with my site mentor to return “things” and pick up a new book (this one on relationships entitled “ACT with love”), and I let slip that I had read the transcript.  This inspired the site mentor to send me the rest of the document (once we figured out which one it was) and write my thoughts on it.

Saturday & Sunday, Jan 19-20:  No official work, although ACT concepts wouldn’t leave my brain.  I actually think they’ve been helping me be a bit more motivated already.

Monday, Jan. 21: Got to sleep in and catch up on some matters not related to the internship, thanks to Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Tuesday, Jan. 22: It’s less than a week until the other student RAs arrive, and I’m seriously starting to question if I’m going to be able to share the dual monitors nicely.  This is also the third day I went to the cafeteria for lunch, which is still an intimidating experience.  As for work, I mostly just worked on the transcript.

Wednesday, Jan. 23: I arrived this morning and saw that all of my papers had been pushed to the side of the desk and that someone else had logged into the computer.  It has begun.

Summary and thoughts:  I just realized I haven’t explained what it is I’m doing!  Well, in short, I’m assisting with some research at Carver College in the University of Iowa Hospitals and clinics with Dr. Lilian Dindo.  Her recent work has dealt with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), specifically the use of an intensive, one-day group therapy to assist people suffering from diverse maladies including depression, migraines, and vascular diseases, often pairing two of them together in one study.  Right now the entire lab is getting ready for a therapy session coming up this weekend.  While I’ve mostly been doing research and catching myself up to speed, I have a feeling I’m going to get caught up in this whirlwind of work really soon.

I am really enjoying the experience, though.  If I didn’t feel like this post was already a bit on the long side, I would willingly ramble on and on about ACT and its applications and just how incredible it is that such easy-to-understand concepts can have such a significant effect on improving one’s life in so many diverse ways, although I think I’ll save that for later.  Right now I’m just really thankful that I was allowed this experience, in addition to having so many classes that allowed me to understand psychological thinking and explanations better (my site adviser was apparently surprised that I could understand the transcripts by just reading them).  While I haven’t yet been able to see patient visits or do a lot of direct work yet, I’m still gaining an idea of what a consistent work schedule is like and learning that, above all else, this is material I am truly interested in.  The actual work atmosphere, meanwhile, will change drastically once this first session is over and the other RAs arrive, I think, and I am very curious to see what that brings.

Next Week: Expect pictures and a further explanation of ACT.

Random ACT Insight:  ACT certainly pulls no punches.  As one might expect, “things might go terribly, horribly wrong” begins by flat-out stating that you will have unfortunate thoughts and internal experiences and there will be nothing you can do to get rid of them (as trying to avoid them causes its own problems), and “ACT with love” starts out by flat-out saying the dreamy-eyed Hollywood myths about love are completely, utterly false.  And yet, somehow, there blunt truths feel more uplifting than the seemingly more pleasing lies.