There are so many things I knew I would do in internship, but to get a contract was not one of those things. Whether I foresaw it or not, here I am in the midst of trying to do that very thing.
Final project
As part of your internship you have to complete a final project. You talk with your supervisors and decide what it will be. I in a moment of “go big or go home’” decided that I wanted to try and secure a contract with a memory care or hospice facility. In my head it sounded easy. You just do it and “bada bing, bada boom” you’ve got a new contract you’re in charge of. I was not thinking of any of the middle steps in that moment.
Breaking it down
Once I was getting closer to having to do it, it started feeling like a herculean task. What part of the elephant do I take a bite of first? That is when I met with Katey, one of my supervisors and the business owner. We made the giant task into smaller bite-sized tasks. We started with the endpoint of what I wanted and worked back from there. I quickly realized that I wildly underestimated how many calls and emails I would have to make and just how much socialization I would have to do.
- Acquire a contract with hospice or memory care for 1:1 sessions.
- Meeting with admin
- FAQ
- Program Plan
- How much is going to cost
- How is it being paid for
- What materials are being
- Expectations
- Documentation
- Explaining benefits
- Data
- FAQ
- Outreach to hospice/memory care company
- Email exchange
- Written email part
- Pdf with information (marketing assignment)
- Initial eye catching – sell yourself
- Data
- Meeting with admin
Memory care/Hospice
I chose this as my final because I really hope to one day work with older adults in both memory care and hospice. A majority of the contracts at MTC serve children. I love working with children but older adults has always been my jam. Not to mention the idea of bringing in a new contract and helping MTC expand was a pretty cool idea.
While in college, I worked as a student music therapist at a nursing home. It was so special to me. I loved every minute of it. I loved it even when I was in full PPE because of COVID. The same goes for when I go the opportunity to do my practicum in hospice. I fell deeper in love with music therapy in those places.
Following the plans
Starting is the hardest part. Having the first thing I needed to do be create marketing materials made starting even harder. As I mentioned in a previous post, I did not consider myself to be creative. Even now, my first reaction is to say that I am not creative. I draw stick figures. After a lost attempt on Canva and a small breakdown, I accepted some help and stopped overthinking it. I even began to have fun with it. I went so far as to even make a second flier. It also helped lead into the next part.
First contact
At this point in time I had already done research on different memory care and hospice facilities in the area and made a list of my top choices. I then had to draft an email. Lucky for me, I had a really cool, eye catching flier to do the talking for me.
In my planning, I had not taken into account the fact that I needed the email addresses of the activity coordinators which was not included on any of the websites. That’s where all the calls came into play. I had to call each facility and ask for the contact info. Most of the time, I was forwarded to the activities director who I then had to ask for their contact info since they didn’t have much time to talk. I definitely felt awkward, but I put on my big girl pants and pretended to be the most confident businesswoman version of myself.
Meeting preparations
After writing and sending the emails, I had to wait and after days had passed I sent follow-up emails. While waiting, I had to prepare for any meetings I would hopefully have. I met with Katey again and we discussed potential questions that may come up. She threw all sorts of questions at me so that I wouldn’t be caught off guard when it came to the real thing. I felt so prepared.
The day came. I got responses and meetings and calls were set up. I now find myself on the other side of these meetings waiting for any news of a potential contract. Even if nothing comes from this, I have done so many things outside of my comfort zone. I have done it once so it won’t be so scary to try again in the future or to just to keep trying.
To wrap up my final project, I will put all my correspondences with facilities together along with a sample session plan. I can’t believe that is what I have left of my final. Something so big and scary is so attainable and close now. As I wrap up, I can’t help but to think of everything I have accomplished in my time as an intern.
GraceAnne
