Internship on a Trauma Unit

Yay trauma! It's my passion and position where I've grown the most. Our unit speacilizes in adult survivors of childhood trauma so our most common dx are PTSD and dissociative identity disorder. Of course depression and anxiety go hand and hand with trauma histories. DID patients are often missed diagnosed with various other dx particularly psychosis or borderline PD.

You should find out what type of trauma your unit specializes in (childhood trauma, veterans, recent trauma) and read up on trauma theory, sidran.org has some great resources.

Most importantly soak in knowledge from the staff; watch how they deescalate patients, how do they get them out of flashbacks, how they set limits. As an intern notice how the nurses manage their time and reprioritize throughout the day. Notice the relationship with treatment team members, how do they delegate to the mental health workers.

Be present, go with the flow and ask questions!