intern/extern participation
Dear Susan,
Do you have any suggestions for making sure the externs are participating to their full ability? I sometimes get reports from students that they are observing more than getting the "hands on" experience they need. I want to keep good relationships with the offices that offer the externships, however I want to make sure the students are recieving the training they need. I do not know if it is the student not asserting themselves, or the particular offices that are the problem.
Thank You
Great question. Externs participate fully when they are well trained and confident. Course work prior to externship has to provide the skills and knowledge for the student to be successful and match the needs of the externship site. The student needs to know exactly what is expected of him/her. Successful externships require two great supervisors. One from your school and the other from the site. A list of competencies need to be provided and how these will be measured. There needs to be ongoing evaluation and coaching. The goal is for 100% placement at the externship site. That means your students have to be really really good. Thanks, Susan
I feel that this is one of the most important job placement stratigies we have in our industry.It gives students and employers the chance to see if this is a good fit for them before they actually put in application to work there.Also it is givving them real on the job experience to give them on idea of what to expected in this field in a job situation verses the school atomsphere.
We totally agree. We once asked an externship coordinator how many students were placed at their externship site and he said 100%. Isn't that amazing? But when you think of it, this can be possible. It takes great training and setting expectations that this will happen. thanks, Susan
Hi Susan
I'm considering changing how we do our externship at our school. Normally I find the locations for our students to do an externship at a location. For our next class I'm thinking about having the students find and secure their own location. This will give them an opportunity to seek out places that are close to where they live and their idea place of where they would like to work one day. Thanks for any advice you can give.
