1/24/2020 Topic: Hospital Internships for Interns in wheelchairs Erin Fogarty	Hi Everyone, I am the instructor for a Project SEARCH program at on of the Beaumont Hospital sites in Michigan. We are just finishing up our very first year in a hospital setting and have had a good amount of internships in this first year and are looking to add more sites for next year. We have the potential to have a couple of wheelchair bound students as interns next year and I was wondering for those of you in hospital settings, what types of internships do you have for your interns in wheelchairs?
3/5/2020 Topic: Attendance Erin Fogarty	Hi All! Thankfully our site has had very good attendance the last couple years. Last year we had a student who missed about 30 days in the program to a combination of medical and lack of wanting to come in. It was determined by the students progress, meetings with parents and discussion about realistic work outcomes that Project SEARCH would not be appropriate for that intern to continue and we looked into other more specialized training with the school district and community agencies for that particular intern. We also had an intern in the past who had mobility and health issues, he was a wonderful intern and did a great job when he was present, however due to how much he had to miss with medical needs he hasn't been able to find a business that would hire him at the end of the program because he cannot reliably stick to a schedule. I would suggest with that particular intern try to work backwards, with her condition would she be able to hold a part time job? Or would she need more individual job coaching outside of a Project SEARCH program to be to be successful? Maybe have her complete a probational period? Maybe if she enjoys the skills and independence she gains from attending her internship it may motivate her to come in on those days where she normally wouldn't feel like it?
3/5/2020 Topic: Using Your Social Filter Erin Fogarty	Hi Susan, Something I have found really helpful is Five Against the Law. It is a really great book, I think it is about $20 on amazon and it talks about behavior on a scale of 1- 5 1 being harmless normal behavior (ex- waiving or saying high to someone), 3 being things that may be "weird" behaviors or things that may make others annoyed or uncomfortable to a 5- physically and or emotionally abusive behavior that can equal termination and legal consequences. It really breaks it down for the students and gives them something to visualize and language for us to use with the student. So if there was a student maybe walking too close to another student you could point out "Hey walking that close to someone is a level 3 behavior that may make them uncomfortable". edited by fogarte@dearbornschools.org on 3/5/2020
3/5/2020 Topic: Hospital Internships for Interns in wheelchairs Erin Fogarty	Hi Susie, I actually think I received an email from her! Talking with our business liaison its looking like clerical spots in different departments and possibly retail (Gift Shop) may be our best bets.
3/9/2020 Topic: On boarding Module Practice Erin Fogarty	Hello Everyone, The host site we are at requires new employees to complete computer training modules (blood born pathogens, etc) during their first couple weeks of employment. I have interns that the host site is interested in hiring and most businesses require some type of module training during the orientation and training period. I was wondering if anyone had any websites, computer games or programs were students could practice going through a module?
3/24/2020 Topic: Sharing info & education about Project SEARCH Erin Fogarty	Hi Heather, In my school district something new that we implemented when we were moving on to our new site this year was holding an informational night for parents and students interested in Project SEARCH. We open it up to not only students who wish to join for the following year but also for students and parents who may be 2, 3 or even 4 years from starting Project SEARCH. We have found with our families the earlier you can let them know what programs are available to their students the more comfortable and supportive they are when the time comes for them to apply for the program.
5/6/2020 Topic: Project Search Classroom Erin Fogarty	Hi Bria! That is so exciting to be starting at a new site! I think something very important to get out of the way at the beginning of the year that was an issue for us this past year transitioning to the hospital setting ( the previous year my program was at a community college) was securing adequate technology for both you and your students. We ran into the issue of only being able to use chrome books and laptops at our site due to the fact that we were only allowed to use the hospitals wifi for internet access and not their actual network. This was understandable as their network has sensitive information, however it was a road block for my program as both the district and host site weren't clear on that in the beginning, so it took a long time to get computer access for myself and students. I would say chrome books are good to have. Personally I think having a table or a couple tables for interns to sit at worked best, because that is more realistic to most meeting areas they will end up working at.
11/11/2020 Topic: Project SEARCH Remote Instruction Erin Fogarty	Hi Ken, I am in a program in Michigan which has been totally remote since the start of the year. We had only two weeks where we were able to hold in person labs where the students could come to the host business for 2 2 hour and 45 minute sessions each. We are probably going to be staying completely virtual through January if not longer depending on the cases. It has been very tough to teach this program virtually due to it being internship based and not heavy on academics like a high school class would be. I have found with my students, it is very challenging to keep them engaged when we are not on a face to face zoom session. One thing that has helped is splitting interns into small groups and scheduling small group sessions throughout the week along with individual meetings to address intern needs. It helps me with planning and it is good practice for the interns to have to keep track of when small group meetings are, we are looking into changing up the small group meeting times every couple of weeks to simulate schedule changes that would happen on a job. Our plan for our site as well is to just power through our class room time activities for the year during virtual time, so that as soon as we get the green light to be back at the host site they can spend almost all of their time on the internship site to make up for lost time. Erin Fogarty - Beaumont Dearborn
8/26/2021 Topic: Hospital Sites Erin Fogarty	Ruth, Over the years we have had 5-10 students, we found that are sweet spot is 8. It really all depends on how many students want to join the program.
10/7/2021 Topic: Clocking In and Out Erin Fogarty	Hi Mindy, While I don't have a specific lesson for it, but I have found with my interns class discussion and modeling this behavior has helped the most. We discuss about what a break is for, how being late from a break can effect their future pay check, how it can effect their other coworkers breaks if they come back late and we review the host business policy on breaks/write ups etc. Also during our orientation/classroom time we give the students lots of small practice brakes (10-15 mins) throughout the day to practice travel time and identify which interns may need to use timers or alarms to help them stay on time. If we really have an intern who is consistently late, they would get written up for not returning from their break on time.
11/4/2021 Topic: Dealing with Death in a Hospital Setting Erin Fogarty	Hi Everyone, I was just wondering if any other hospital programs have any lessons or helpful resources that they use with their interns to teach them about dealing with death in a hospital setting. While our interns don't have many patient facing tasks, we do have interns on all patient floors of the hospital and they may occasionally pass by a room on their route/work area where someone is having a medical emergency or has passed. Any resources would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
4/7/2022 Topic: Suggestions to help an intern focus. Erin Fogarty	I had an intern in the past with a very similar situation, however this intern had an ADHD diagnosis that was not being managed by the student or parent, which we feel was a big piece of the puzzle. In that situation after trying many interventions, we had several meetings with the intern and parents and team to discuss a more individualized training program through our voc rehab as well as looking into a supported employment setting to build skills as the intern would not have been ready after a year to work independently in a competitive job environment. The intern had a desire to work but after 2 rotations that didn't go very well we needed to switch gears.
9/26/2022 Topic: Stamina Erin Fogarty	Hi, When Interns start rotations and start to see that they are up on their feet moving around a lot and getting tired quicker, we use that as a time to review some healthy living habits. We talking about getting enough sleep but also how the food we eat is fuel. If we eat too much we can get tired, if we eat too much junk food it can make us feel tired or sick and make it hard for us to concentrate on work etc. I also find within a month or so of being in the routine of work they naturally build more stamina and the post lunch slump isn't as much of an issue.
12/7/2022 Topic: Resistant Parents and Intern Erin Fogarty	Hi, Sorry you are in a tricky situation right now! I think there are a couple things to consider, the fact that they are able to independently transport themselves is a plus because you know they are capable of doing it which is a big step. Are they showing up late at the same time every day? (8:30 vs 8:00 etc, 30 mins late every day) because if they are coming late, but arriving consistently at the same time and working well at their internship the rest of the day, that is something to work with. Maybe work with the parents to say ok if this is the route they are taking that is fine for this year and then plan with the interns team and job developer that when they look for employment it will need to find shifts that start in the afternoon if morning bus routes and transportation are too early, or whatever their reasoning is for not taking the earlier route. I just suggest this because if they are going to be pushing back so much on the transport, that may be a battle you can't win, so maybe focus on other areas where the intern does well to build them up and maybe that will help the family soften a little. Hope that helps and good luck with the employment meeting!
12/20/2022 Topic: Intern Injury Restriction Erin Fogarty	Hi Everyone, Just wanted to gather some ideas of how to deal with an intern that is on Injury restriction. I have an intern currently who will have to be in a cast and splint causing them to be unable to participate in at least the first half of rotation #2 due to not being able to work with restrictions. I have had interns in the past who for a week or two couldn't be on a job site for one reason or another and we were able to make things work, but 6 weeks off of a rotation is a lot of time. I am reaching out to departments to see if there is any clerical work any of our departments may need, but I figured I would ask if anyone else has had a similar situation and how they handled it. Thanks!
1/9/2023 Topic: Intern Injury Restriction Erin Fogarty	Thanks Meaghan! Those sound like great options and kind of along the lines of what I was thinking.
11/29/2023 Topic: Switching P.S. sites Erin Fogarty	Hi, Just to clarify do you mean when an intern needs to be moved from one internship site to another during a rotation?
10/17/2024 Topic: More Thorough Candidate Screening Erin Fogarty	Hello, We have run into this issue in the past as well. Every year we try to tweak our skills day/observations/interview questions, so that we can get the best picture of that student as we can. Unfortunately one day is not enough to test every outcome, so we just have to make the best call with the information that we have. Sometimes, students and their parents may not be forth coming about behavior issues or an issue does not arise until the student is on the worksite and because it is a new experience it would not have been encountered otherwise. Here are some things we ask/look at on skills day and before skills day that have been helpful in trying to catch behaviors that may be problematic before Project SEARCH - I have their current teacher fill out a survey about the student which asks about their attendance, class behaviors, parent involvement etc. I will say I have a decent relationship with the teachers in our district and they are usually very honest with me about if they feel a student is a good choice. I also bring our teachers in for hospital visits to see current interns so they are able to see the work environment and how a current student may fit in. - IEPs usually will not give a full behavioral picture, so if I have an IEP that shows school social work, I will touch base with the social worker to ask about how they have been assisting the student and if it is for behavioral issues that may impact their internship. - Parents accompany the interns to skills day as well where we have a separate interview for them where we ask questions about the students community involvement. - Does the intern go out to public places? ( grocery stores, malls, dinner with family or friends) - If not why? ( it is a red flag if interns are not going out to public spaces with or without family. we have found it is usually due to behavioral reasons why they have to stay home.) I think the biggest thing we do is make sure to reiterate our program rules and expectations through our informational nights, applications and skills day that Project SEARCH takes place in a host business and that we have to follow their rules first and things that were able to be dealt with or worked through in a school setting cannot be in a public host business. If we do have interns we have to have leave due to behavioral issues, we want to make sure they are being set up for success after Project SEARCH with any supports they may need to work on the behavior that caused them to be excused from the program. Hope that helps!

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