a la folie!

NDRC Week 1: Psychia Rotation

For starters, I just have to set the record straight- I have no idea what I was into. Okay, that was quite an overstatement, but seriously, I was never confident that I am equipped enough to intern at NDRC. It entails serious academic and training background, hard work and commitment to be able to handle patients with psychological disorders and addicts on the fast track to self-reformation. But I do know one thing: what I lack in training and skills, I make up with my enthusiasm and willingness to learn.

And so there I was before the clock ticked 8 o’clock, bombarded with unexplained anxiety and excitement about the clinical internship ahead. We were oriented by Maam Kat, our site supervisor, and much to our surprise (and a pleasant one, I have to say), we were joined by psych interns form Xavier University and Notre Dame of Marbel University and are eventually told to have the internship together, but divided into 2 groups- one having to intern at the psychiatric ward first, then addiction, and the other, vice versa. So, obviously, our home group from SPC was divided. I chose to be with the psychia ward group, a choice I will never regret making. So anyway, it wasn’t really an instant happy-because-we-are-so-close environment that my new group mates had during the first meeting, after all, we are from different schools and we barely even knew one another, or even knew what the other’s names were. But we had to do what we had to do; and besides, the fact that we were all psychology students, with more or less the same goal of being in NDRC, somehow gave us a common group which eventually lead to good rapport and dynamics.

lovely people are lovely ♥

I for one could really say that I have a really great group. The psychia rotation is really draining and excruciating to be honest, plus, Maam Kat really sets a high standard in training us. We go on overtime almost every day and I don’t even notice the time anymore because of all the to-do stuff piled. It was a really giant leap of change from what I was used to from my internship at Ford Davao. At NDRC, we get to organize a different structured program for each day. It also does not help that we are still yet to take up Group Dynamics, which is could’ve been really helpful in our activities.

The environment was really weird at first in the psychiatric ward. It was as if the place sucks all your energy out. We all had to exert extra energy everytime we conduct out SLE’s and Maam Kat was very specific about keeping the energy present at all times and giving the appropriate activities for our patients to keep them interested, after all, they are people with psychological problems, not imbeciles.

I couldn’t really point out an exact favourite activity for the week because every experience is different, and it is as if the fun and learning accelerates each day. I am so happy to meet new friends from different school and get to immerse in the life of the lovely patients in NDRC. My perception about them really changed. To be perfectly honest, when I first came there, I had little expectations about the people I have to deal with, and even with myself, but right now I could say that somehow, I week changed me. I am now more open-minded, more selfless. When you get to deal with people whose reality is different from ours, you somehow get to value and hold a tight grip at your sanity, whatever that is. I could never really judge and fathom the experience that these people had been through, and I guess no one ever has the right to do so. In the past 5 days, we all learned one important thing: SINCERITY- because the truth is, they know when you’re for real and when you’re just in it for the act, and trust me, I genuinely treasure the relationships I was able to build there. I really thought I was only there to practice what I know, but much to my surprise, I learned much more from these people more than what I could ever learn in the four corners of the classroom. Call me crazy or whatever, but even at just a week in, I don’t want this internship to end.

*sucks cause we swore to confidentiality and protecting our patient's identity, so i can't really post our photos here ;)