I am four full days into my internship in Dublin, and it has been a long week. So far, it has been great getting to know everyone at the company I am interning for, and I have had a great time getting settled into my internship here. I have had a lot on my plate at work for the first few days, and my first day was especially stressful, so there is a lot of getting used to over the next several weeks I will be here. I was definitely stressed coming into this week, but my nerves have mostly been settled by this point. There is still plenty of time for me to become more comfortable in my position, but I am starting to get a hang of my responsibilities in the office despite it being a bit of an overwhelming start. Aside from work, I have spent my time running errands, exploring the whole city of Dublin, and relaxing!

Since I have only been working for a few days, there is still a bit of uncertainty regarding what my day-to-day will look like at my internship. The design of my office is unique in the way that there are different tasks and activities set up each day for the patients, so it has become a bit difficult for me to keep track of my responsibilities with the ever-changing activities. However, it is also exciting to have a different agenda planned for each day, it definitely keeps me on my toes. The company of my internship is based in several locations, and I have two different office locations for my internship. So far, I have only been in one of the offices once. This has made it a bit difficult for me to settle in there and grow accustomed to the environment. Because my schedule is designed in this way, I am still a bit uncertain at the start of each day about what tasks I am completing. I also am a bit unsure of what my overall goal is that I am achieving to reach at the end of this internship. I plan on navigating through this by keeping a detailed list on my computer of what each day at my internship contains since it will be different each day. I believe that this will allow me to become more organized during my internship and have more certainty with my tasks and responsibilities. Also, I plan on using the first two weeks to become comfortable in my two office environments, and I plan on using the assignments I have every day to build a long-term goal for me to accomplish by the end of my internship.

There have been a few instances over this past week at my internship in which there has been a lack of direction regarding the tasks I should be completing. In my internship, there are several different tasks I am meant to be completing each day, but these have become rather unclear at the start of my internship. These tasks change day-to-day since my internship has different activities planned each day. This has been a difficult schedule for me to get used to since most of the days I have worked so far this week have involved different tasks. I have found that once I get used to a set of tasks I am meant to complete, a new set of tasks arrive the following day.  Also, since I am based in two different offices, it has been especially a challenge settling into my new environment. I have dealt with these unclear directions by simply asking my supervisor and other colleagues what I should accomplish for the day. I found that it is much better to ask multiple questions throughout the day and try to be as helpful as possible rather than stand back and be confused and unsure of what to do. I often ask if I can help anyone out multiple times a day when there is a lull in my duties. My supervisor and colleagues have appreciated these questions I have been asking as well, and they have been happy to guide me and help me through this week.

The ambiguity during my internship so far has been regarding the tasks I am supposed to complete each day. There is not a clear guide or set of instructions that I am meant to follow during my work at my internship. There is also ambiguity regarding what my end goal is by the time I complete my internship this summer. I plan on figuring this out by chatting with my supervisor and talking through my goals, how I plan on getting there, and how she can help me through that process.

This week has made me very excited and positive for the remaining weeks of my internship, and I cannot wait to see what the rest of the summer has in store for me!