Field Experience Research Paper

First Journal Entry
The countdown to graduation has officially begun! A senior means I only have a few more courses to take. Of these courses, the field experience course is the one I have looked forward to since I declared my major because it is the pedagogy of my social work education. Last year, when school ended there was this nervousness and stress that was starting to consume me because of the unknown, this unknown was because I had no idea of where I would be doing my field placement. However, after I received an email from Dr. Russell describing a field placement at Western State Hospital (WSH) I became really excited and felt the stress and nervousness slipping away, but only for a moment. As I finished reading the email, I learned

I think the email exchange between Stephanie and I made me more at ease because I felt like we got to dialog with each other prior to the interview. Stephanie met me at the entrance and took me into the office where the interview would take place. The room where the interview took place was rather small, and I remember walking in, “I hope I am not sitting at the head of the table”. Well, there I was sitting at the head of the table with three people to my left and three people to my right. Talk about being uncomfortable. When the interview began each person introduced themselves and described their position at WSH and Stephanie described how the interview process would go also reassured me that all of them had been through a similar interview. I remember vaguely the questions that were asked, but there were some that I found to be interesting. These questions were about my self-care and if there was a population of clientele that I would not want to work with. I felt that these questions were a recap of my junior year with Dr. Keller and Dr. Russell had us identify each of these things, so I could answer them with absolute honesty and clarity. When the interview concluded, I was told that they would be in touch with me after receiving my background check. A few weeks had gone by and I received and email from Stephanie stated they were excited about having me intern there and I would have to complete a forty hour orientation prior to starting my internship. During my orientation, I learned that the hospital emphasizes teamwork and self-care, and how to communicate with patients. I was very surprised how efficient the orientation team was and how well-organized and task-centered they were, it made the entire experience