iNTERNSHIP pROGRAM
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1. Shadowing of Coalition staff members to learn more about what the Coalition does and becoming involved in planning and information sharing.
2. Assistance with Events, Health Fairs and Awareness Tables through out Steuben County.
3. Administering Young Adult/Adult Surveys and possible analysis.
4. Medication Drop Box Identification Project.
5. Coalition Information Physician Offices Project.
6. Youth Engagement Projects.
7. Resource Researching for Website.
8. Opioid/Heroin Data Collection/Research for Steuben County.
9. Narcan Data Collection/Research for Steuben County.
10. Public Service Announcement Projects.
11. Grant Funding Projects.
12. Possible Conference/Training Attendance.
1. Shadowing of Coalition staff members to learn more about what the Coalition does and becoming involved in planning and information sharing.
2. Assistance with Events, Health Fairs and Awareness Tables through out Steuben County.
3. Administering Young Adult/Adult Surveys and possible analysis.
4. Medication Drop Box Identification Project.
5. Coalition Information Physician Offices Project.
6. Youth Engagement Projects.
7. Resource Researching for Website.
8. Opioid/Heroin Data Collection/Research for Steuben County.
9. Narcan Data Collection/Research for Steuben County.
10. Public Service Announcement Projects.
11. Grant Funding Projects.
12. Possible Conference/Training Attendance.
Meet our intern
Lindsay Bushnell, Keuka College Intern (BSW) February 2018 - May 2018
During my time with the Steuben County Prevention Coalition I was given the opportunity to engage in a variety of different projects, presentations, and educational opportunities. Upon my arrival I was introduced to the Protective Needs Assessment Survey (PNA) that was administered to students in grades 8, 10, and 12 in 12 of the 13 surrounding school districts. The PNA survey results showed the rates of protection, perception of risk, the correlation of antisocial behavior and substance abuse, ATOD use in the past 30 days, ATOD lifetime use, and problematic behaviors associated with ATOD use. This survey allowed me to understand part of what is done here in preventative services. I found that there was quite a variety in data between each of the schools that participated in the survey. I had the opportunity to observe one of my colleagues present this information to schools’ administration and staff. The presentations are created in order to make recommendations tailored specifically for each school based on the report. This survey provides a lot of information and is a huge tool in assessing how and what preventative services are offered here is Steuben County.
One of the most important things that I learned during my placement happened to be at a conference held by the Southern Tier Regional Addiction Center, called The Language of Addiction. William Eggleston, Clinical Assistance Professor with Binghamton University’s School of Pharmacy, presented on the potential partnership with SUNY Upstate Medical Center. This partnership intends to focus on opioid research; standing by the mission/goal ‘Prevention, treatment, harm reduction.’ This program included a piece from the Institute for Human Services’ 2-1-1 Helpline, a hotline that provides comprehensive information and referral services through AIRS Code Taxonomy. This is a lot of fancy wording for a resource guide that can be accessed online by anyone. We participated in an exercise that entailed brainstorming of new terms, alternate phrases, or other thoughts regarding the AIRS Code. For example, AIRS Code RX-8450.6600 Perinatal Substance Use Disorder Treatment, can be reworded to “I’m pregnant and addicted” or “What will happen to my baby if…?” Changing these to layman’s terms,
as opposed to professional jargon, will hopefully allow people better luck in accessing services. Although both of these were educational and important, I found the presentation by Dr.Sarah Wakeman to be most beneficial. She was the keynote speaker that discussed changing the language of addiction in order to end the stigma surrounding substance abuse and addiction. She focused on person-first language and terminology. I created a PSA about changing the language to end the stigma using volunteers from the office. I also created a youth engagement piece that was a PSA regarding safety/alternatives to using drugs and alcohol during prom and graduation seasons. Both PSA’s will be displayed on various forms of advertising platforms.
The biggest part of my practicum placement and internship is the conducting of a single subject design research project. For this assignment I decided to implement my own intervention, after identifying the problem with excessive internet use present in today’s society. My intervention “The Look Up Challenge,” restricted the way and amount of time participants were permitted to use their electronic devices. I intended to create an awareness and limit use of electronic devices. I conducted pre-and post- survey questionnaires to accurately assess the average psychological, biological, and social functioning of participants and how their functioning is affected by electronic devices. I also assessed the amount of time participants were using their electronics and their level of awareness of time spent online. My results showed that participants were using electronics 72% of the time and were only 28% aware before the challenge. After the challenge responses showed that participants plan to use electronics 47% of the time as opposed to 72% of the time. Respondents also said that they plan to be more aware of use at a rate of 53% opposed to 28% aware before the challenge, showing that The Look Up Challenge was successful and my hypothesis was accurate.
I created an educational awareness project regarding the LGBTQ+ Community and how these individuals may be affected by use of drugs and alcohol. I presented on the different terminology, statistics and facts, history, and what we can do to best support this community. This presentation was
done at Catholic Charities Leadership meeting, which is attended by the directors of each sub program, administrators, and development and communication professionals. This presentation was well received, and I was asked to present to another group of staff. There was open discussion and questions at the end of the presentation. The presentation will help Catholic Charities to become more culturally competent and better able to work with individuals that identify with this community.
One of the most important things that I learned during my placement happened to be at a conference held by the Southern Tier Regional Addiction Center, called The Language of Addiction. William Eggleston, Clinical Assistance Professor with Binghamton University’s School of Pharmacy, presented on the potential partnership with SUNY Upstate Medical Center. This partnership intends to focus on opioid research; standing by the mission/goal ‘Prevention, treatment, harm reduction.’ This program included a piece from the Institute for Human Services’ 2-1-1 Helpline, a hotline that provides comprehensive information and referral services through AIRS Code Taxonomy. This is a lot of fancy wording for a resource guide that can be accessed online by anyone. We participated in an exercise that entailed brainstorming of new terms, alternate phrases, or other thoughts regarding the AIRS Code. For example, AIRS Code RX-8450.6600 Perinatal Substance Use Disorder Treatment, can be reworded to “I’m pregnant and addicted” or “What will happen to my baby if…?” Changing these to layman’s terms,
as opposed to professional jargon, will hopefully allow people better luck in accessing services. Although both of these were educational and important, I found the presentation by Dr.Sarah Wakeman to be most beneficial. She was the keynote speaker that discussed changing the language of addiction in order to end the stigma surrounding substance abuse and addiction. She focused on person-first language and terminology. I created a PSA about changing the language to end the stigma using volunteers from the office. I also created a youth engagement piece that was a PSA regarding safety/alternatives to using drugs and alcohol during prom and graduation seasons. Both PSA’s will be displayed on various forms of advertising platforms.
The biggest part of my practicum placement and internship is the conducting of a single subject design research project. For this assignment I decided to implement my own intervention, after identifying the problem with excessive internet use present in today’s society. My intervention “The Look Up Challenge,” restricted the way and amount of time participants were permitted to use their electronic devices. I intended to create an awareness and limit use of electronic devices. I conducted pre-and post- survey questionnaires to accurately assess the average psychological, biological, and social functioning of participants and how their functioning is affected by electronic devices. I also assessed the amount of time participants were using their electronics and their level of awareness of time spent online. My results showed that participants were using electronics 72% of the time and were only 28% aware before the challenge. After the challenge responses showed that participants plan to use electronics 47% of the time as opposed to 72% of the time. Respondents also said that they plan to be more aware of use at a rate of 53% opposed to 28% aware before the challenge, showing that The Look Up Challenge was successful and my hypothesis was accurate.
I created an educational awareness project regarding the LGBTQ+ Community and how these individuals may be affected by use of drugs and alcohol. I presented on the different terminology, statistics and facts, history, and what we can do to best support this community. This presentation was
done at Catholic Charities Leadership meeting, which is attended by the directors of each sub program, administrators, and development and communication professionals. This presentation was well received, and I was asked to present to another group of staff. There was open discussion and questions at the end of the presentation. The presentation will help Catholic Charities to become more culturally competent and better able to work with individuals that identify with this community.