Simon Burkhalter, psychology student, completed an internship at the IML from Sep. 16 - Feb. 17. Find out more in his report.

At the interface between medicine and psychology

My internship at the IML was exciting: It enabled me to gain good insights into the area of medical education at the interface between medicine and psychology. I was able to take part in constructing an instrument for the assessment of students’ communication skills. This allowed me to gather experience in practice-oriented research and I was able to witness how a field experiment is conducted while being involved in its planning and scientific evaluation. The diversity of the tasks that I was required to complete during the internship meant that I benefited hugely from the experience. My contact persons at the IML ensured that I understood the contexts and was able to comprehend all of the steps. For instance, we took part in intensive training courses to learn about the application of the instrument. 

Theory and practice

During the entire internship, I never had the feeling that I was simply there to carry out tasks. Instead, my views as a co-worker were sought. Another positive aspect was that two further interns were working alongside me. Particularly in the training courses, our exchanges among ourselves were valuable for discussing uncertainties and finding solutions. Through the internship, I learned how methodological approaches covered in my degree course are applied in practice. In this way, I was able to get a first impression of how the rather theoretical contents of the degree course can be practically applied for very specific questions.

The IML regularly advertises internships for various ongoing themes and projects.

Speculative applications are possible. Further information can be obtained from the contact persons.