EXSC 399R Course Info

Meet with your site supervisor at the beginning of your internship to define 5 specific responsibilities that you will fulfill during your internship.
· Submit a list of 5 specific responsibilities of your internship.
· For each responsibility identify several learning outcomes.

Your learning outcomes are the specific skills you will develop as you fulfill your responsibilities. They should include both Exercise/Wellness specific skills and NACE Professional competencies. Before completing these learning outcomes, please read the section entitled Skills and Competencies which explains the Exercise/Wellness skills and NACE Professional competencies.

This assignment is a critical step in your internship and will provide the framework for the weekly reflection assignments and the final paper. While you will need your site supervisors input to define your responsibilities, the identification of learning outcomes is your responsibility. Please be as specific and thorough as possible.

Due one week after starting your internship.

Skills and Competencies

At the beginning of your internship you will identify several learning outcomes for each responsibility that you will have during your internship. These learning outcomes are the specific skills you will develop as you fulfill your responsibilities. Your learning outcomes must include both Exercise/Wellness skills and Professional skills.

Exercise and Wellness Skills Examples

1. Physical Therapy Clinical Skills
   
   1. Assisting and Interacting with Patients
   2. Exercise supervision and support
   3. Administering rehabilitation modalities
   4. Clerical skills
2. Appraise health and fitness
   
   1. Conduct fitness assessments
   2. Write exercise prescriptions for healthy and special populations
   3. Evaluate health behaviors/health outcomes
   4. Evaluate risk factors for disease and physical dysfunction
3. Design, implement or manage worksite wellness programs
4. Coach
   
   1. Strength and conditioning
   2. Player development
5. Teach
   
   1. Exercise/Wellness seminars
   2. Exercise classes
6. Research

Listed above are examples of some Exercise/Wellness skills. The specific skills that you will use in your internship may include but are not limited to this list. You will need to identify the skills you will be using, specific to your responsibilities. Your Exercise/Wellness skills should be related to the six core areas of knowledge.

1. Stress management
2. Chronic disease prevention
3. Anatomy
4. Exercise Physiology
5. Healthy diet
6. Weight management

NACE Professional Competencies

The development of professional skills is crucial to your future employment success. The National Association of Colleges and Employers has identified eight competencies associated with career readiness, based on extensive research among employers. Your learning outcomes must include professional skills taken from this list.

1. Critical Thinking/Problem Solving: Exercise sound reasoning to analyze issues, make decisions, and overcome problems. The individual is able to obtain, interpret, and use knowledge, facts, and data in this process, and may demonstrate originality and inventiveness.
2. Oral/Written Communications: Articulate thoughts and ideas clearly and effectively in written and oral forms to persons inside and outside of the organization. The individual has public speaking skills; is able to express ideas to others; and can write/edit memos, letters, and complex technical reports clearly and effectively.
3. Teamwork/Collaboration: Build collaborative relationships with colleagues and customers representing diverse cultures, races, ages, genders, religions, lifestyles, and viewpoints. The individual is able to work within a team structure, and can negotiate and manage conflict.
4. Digital Technology: Leverage existing digital technologies ethically and efficiently to solve problems, complete tasks, and accomplish goals. The individual demonstrates effective adaptability to new and emerging technologies.
5. Leadership: Leverage the strengths of others to achieve common goals, and use interpersonal skills to coach and develop others. The individual is able to assess and manage his/her emotions and those of others; use empathetic skills to guide and motivate; and organize, prioritize, and delegate work.
6. Professionalism/Work Ethic: Demonstrate personal accountability and effective work habits, e.g., punctuality, working productively with others, and time workload management, and understand the impact of non-verbal communication on professional work image. The individual demonstrates integrity and ethical behavior, acts responsibly with the interests of the larger community in mind, and is able to learn from his/her mistakes.
7. Career Management: Identify and articulate one's skills, strengths, knowledge, and experiences relevant to the position desired and career goals, and identify areas necessary for professional growth. The individual is able to navigate and explore job options, understands and can take the steps necessary to pursue opportunities, and understands how to self-advocate for opportunities in the workplace.
8. Global/Intercultural Fluency: Value, respect, and learn from diverse cultures, races, ages, genders, sexual orientations, and religions. The individual demonstrates, openness, inclusiveness, sensitivity, and the ability to interact respectfully with all people and understand individuals’ differences.

The National Association of Colleges and Employers

You will report on the skills you are developing in your internship throughout the semester via 6 progress reports as follows.

• Progress Report 1 - after completing 20 hrs
• Progress Report 2 - after completing 40 hrs
• Progress Report 3 - after completing 60 hrs
• Progress Report 4 - after completing 100 hrs
• Progress Report 5 - after completing 120 hrs
• Progress Report 6 - after completing 140 hrs

Include the following points in your progress report.

1. At the top of  the page - Date you completed the required hours for each report
2. A brief description of what you have done to fulfill your responsibilities with a focus on what you have learned.
3. A longer discussion of the progress that you have made toward your learning outcomes. What have you learned? How have you used exercise/wellness and professional skills?
4. Your strengths and weaknesses as they relate to specific skills.

Each progress report should be approximately 250-300 words in length.

Due by Saturday 11:59 PM of the week in which you completed the specified hours.

Once you have completed half of your total internship hours you will need to submit a midterm evaluation. You don’t need to do a weekly reflection assignment for the week that you submit the midterm evaluation. It will take the place of that weekly reflection assignment. You will need to meet with your site supervisor for feedback on your job performance. Ask your site supervisor in person or by email the following questions:

1. What am I doing well?
2. How can I improve?
3. Is there more that I could be doing?

Using your supervisor’s feedback and a self-evaluation, write a one page, single-spaced evaluation of your job performance. Include a discussion of your overall progress toward your learning outcomes and the specific skills you have learned. Conclude with a discussion of what you hope to achieve by the end of your internship. This assignment is different from your weekly reflection assignments in that your narrative should be based on the feedback your supervisor has given you and how that feedback relates to you accomplishing your learning outcomes. Please include the total number of hours worked thus far at the top of your assignment. Due one week after completing half of your internship hours.

2 pages, single-spaced, 1" margins

Your final paper should be a comprehensive summary and discussion of your entire internship experience. Please include the following sections with appropriate headings.

Responsibilities and Learning Outcomes

· Discuss each of your major responsibilities and the specific ways you fulfilled them.
· Provide an estimate of the number of hours spent on each responsibility.
· Discuss the learning outcomes. Did you achieve them? Why or why not? What did you learn?
· What additional skills did you learn that were not part of your original learning outcomes?

Job Performance Evaluation – Exit Interview

As you complete your internship schedule a time to have an exit interview with your site supervisor. This interview is your responsibility. Plan ahead to ask a variety of questions about your performance as an intern. Ask specific questions related to how you fulfilled your 5 major responsibilities and in what ways you could improve. Ask specific questions related to the skills and competencies you hoped to develop. Ask for specific, constructive and honest feedback.

Write a discussion of your exit interview and evaluate your job performance.

Career Preparation

· Describe how the internship has prepared you for future employment in exercise and wellness?
· Create a list of specific skills from your internship that you could use on a resume. Write it in such a way that you could copy and paste it directly to your resume.

Thank You Letter

· Provide a copy of the thank you letter that you wrote to your site supervisor.

Attach it as an appendix. Does not count towards the 2 page total.

In order to help future students, please complete the agency evaluation at the end of your internship.