The UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute’s (FPG) Implementation Division recently wrapped up its fourth annual Implementation Division Summer Internship Program, a paid opportunity for masters' and doctoral students. The program, which is designed to create a challenging and meaningful professional experience, exposes interns to implementation practice and research across a variety of fields and practice settings.

The four interns of this year’s cohort recently took time to reflect on their experiences in the internship program and answer a few questions. Here’s what they each had to say.

Licensed speech-language pathologist and second-year doctoral student at the University of South Florida, Ansley Davis worked with Rebekah Hornak, MA, on a detailed analysis of dissemination and communication efforts within FPG’s National Implementation Research Network (NIRN).  

During the internship, you had a new experience conducting a focus group. Were you glad to have had this experience? As a researcher I think it's important to have multiple skill sets in your toolbox. At this time, I've primarily engaged in quantitative research. Qualitative research methods, such as focus group analysis, are critical for gaining a well-rounded picture of participant's attitudes and beliefs. I think a mixed-methods approach will yield the most insightful data about how best to serve the individuals we work with.
 
In your opinion, how can speech language pathology benefit from implementation science and dissemination science? Dissemination and implementation science combine specific methods for system building in addition to evidence-based practice (EBP) evaluation. Combining these methods with the field of speech-language pathology could bridge the gap between research and clinical practice for various practitioners focused on communication sciences and disorders. Specifically, engaging clinicians as key stakeholders for the improvement of EBP is an area that would benefit the profession and those who receive services.  

What did you find to be the most rewarding about the experience over all? The introduction to multiple people within the field of implementation science; it's been great thinking about how the different roles allow people to tap into their personal strengths.

"I would highly recommend applying if you have any interest in growing your knowledge base of translational research. The idea isn't for you to come in knowing everything about the field. You don't have to be an expert already―you just have to have an interest," says Davis. "The mentors appreciate a willingness to learn."

What would say about the internship to those thinking of applying? I would highly recommend applying if you have any interest in growing your knowledge base of translational research. The idea isn't for you to come in knowing everything about the field. You don't have to be an expert already―you just have to have an interest. The mentors appreciate a willingness to learn.
 
Is there anything else you’d like to share about the internship program/experience? This opportunity is meant for a person to learn and grow within a supportive network. It accomplishes its goal by allowing the intern to take control of their experience. I think that's an important work climate to experience early in one's career.

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Cari Carson, a PhD student in the School of Education at UNC–Chapel Hill, and Alexandra Morena, a PhD student in applied psychology and prevention science at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, worked with mentors Caryn Ward, PhD, and Sophia Farmer, MT on the Virginia’s Evidence-Based Practices Initiative: Transformation Zone project. Carson and Morena conducted a literature review of high-fidelity wraparound (HFW) care implementation evaluation, a ‘states review’ investigating how other states/commonwealths have implemented HFW, and prepared a summary of their findings for a variety of audiences and project stakeholders.

Cari, could you tell us a little bit about what you learned from your work? I learned so much! This was my first exposure to applied implementation science, and seeing and supporting the beginnings of a project’s implementation was valuable. I began to learn about the tools and terminology of implementation science in a field of interest, supporting child mental health and well-being. I also had the chance to be immersed in an incredible team culture and to learn practices of effective teaming.

How will you be taking those learnings—be they specific to the project or just the experience of the internship overall—with you moving forward in your career? I am interested in the application of improvement science, and the intersection with implementation science, in dramatically improving outcomes for students with disabilities in public schools. The lessons learned from this internship will no doubt inform my dissertation research, as well as my practice of working toward special education improvement, as I am now much more cognizant of the need for effective implementation through the use of implementation science principles and methods.

"The lessons learned from this internship will no doubt inform my dissertation research, as well as my practice of working toward special education improvement," says Carson, "as I am now much more cognizant of the need for effective implementation through the use of implementation science principles and methods."

What would say about the internship to those thinking of applying? Absolutely apply! This was an excellent, organized, and invested-in-my-professional-growth internship experience! The other interns were fantastic colleagues as well.

And do you have any advice for our future interns—what to expect from the experience and how to navigate it? Dive in! Ask to talk to other staff, ask to shadow various implementation experiences, ask to sit in on other meetings, etc.

What did you find to be the most rewarding about the experience over all? Two things: first, is how invested I felt the project team was in my professional development and how genuinely kind and caring they are. Second, is the opportunity to see implementation science in action with a variety of partners.

Is there anything else you’d like to share about the internship program/experience? I feel truly privileged that I got to have this opportunity!

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Alexandra, how will you use this experience going forward? Moving forward, when thinking about my own research and implementation science journey, the main takeaways for me that I hope to apply to my future work include:

• setting expectations about collaboration and what each team/individual should bring to the table;
• being more explicit and intentional about thinking about what perspectives should be at the table during the planning process and thinking critically about it; and
• thinking critically about what introductory/foundational information team members and/or collaborators need to have to set them up for success.

I come from an implementation research background, so I knew coming into this internship that I am strongly interested in implementation science. These past eight weeks have only further solidified just how much I enjoy engaging in this kind of work. This internship was an incredible learning opportunity for me specifically for implementation practice, having the chance to shadow such talented and skilled implementation specialists was very impactful for me. Mentors were also very engaged and willing to meet folks where they were at, and really took the time and effort to educate us about different aspects of implementation science and how they were coming into play for our specific projects.

Additionally, I think this internship not only provides great learning opportunities for implementation science, but it also emphasizes community work and partnerships, which is something I gravitated toward when first applying. Through this internship, I have been able to engage with community partners across various projects happening at NIRN and have established great connections through this process.

For anyone who is considering applying, if you’re interested in community engagement work, implementation science, and/or working on projects that aim to improve youth wellbeing – this is the internship for you and I can’t recommend it more!

"This internship has shaped where I want to go on my implementation science/research journey next," says Morena. "I am so excited to apply my learnings from this experience to my own work!"

What might you tell future interns? Embrace the process, ask questions, be up front with the mentors and say, ‘I don't know what that is, can you teach me about it?’ if you need to.”

What did you find to be the most rewarding about the experience over all? Kind of going off some of what I mentioned already, the most rewarding experience overall for me was the opportunity to engage in community-based statewide work. I have never worked on a state-based implementation project before and have never had to think about implementation at such a large scale, and all the factors you need to consider along with that. There were so many socio-political considerations that came up that had never really come up (at such a large scale) in my previous work. So, it was a great learning opportunity for me to see how the team facilitated conversations around these challenges, how specific implementation decisions were made, among many other things. Relatedly, another rewarding experience for me was attending the states’ forum for the SISEP project. I was able to observe how other states engaged and shared learnings with one another from their own implementation experiences and that was a cool experience to witness and participate in.

Is there anything else you’d like to share about the internship program/experience? This internship has shaped where I want to go on my implementation science/research journey next. I am so excited to apply my learnings from this experience to my own work!

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Shaelyn Hawkins, a UNC student earning her MPH in health equity, social justice, and human rights, worked with the Impact Center at FPG on embedding equity within resources produced by The Impact Center's Implementation Capacity for Triple P (ICTP) project. Her mentors were Capri McDonald, MA, Ariel Everett, and Alana Gilbert, MPH.

Hawkins’ work centered around reviewing learning and application resources (LARs)—such as tip sheets, worksheets, PowerPoints, videos—produced by the Impact Center, and evaluating them on their language and accessibility.

At first, you were looking at just the tools and resources themselves, but soon realized that it is just as important to be looking at it more broadly. Could you tell us a bit more about this? Initially, I was solely looking at how the tools and resources themselves can be more equitable by evaluating them on their language and accessibility. While reviewing previous literature on best practices for equity in implementation, I started thinking more about other factors that contribute to equity such as partner relationships and engagement, acknowledging inequities that exist in certain populations, and adapting resources to better fit the context they are implemented in.

Also, while conducting focus groups with the ICTP implementation specialists, they expressed how equity needs to be embedded at the organizational level to encourage everyone to uphold equity principles and think critically about equity in practice. When thinking about equity as multidimensional, this means that many different factors can contribute to achieving equitable outcomes whether it be the content of the tool/resource itself, the way the tool/resource is facilitated, or how partners are engaged.

What challenges did you encounter (or foresee) in adjusting the language of LARs to better serve their intended audiences? I didn't get a chance to actually work on adjusting the language of LARs―but a challenge that I foresee with this is figuring out a way to simplify more complex ideas as specialists in this area who are very familiar with these concepts. I think engaging with partners who may not be as familiar with these concepts is essential to ensure that the language being used is more easily digestible.

"FPG fosters such a welcoming and supportive environment ... The most rewarding part of my experience was the relationships I was able to build with my mentors Capri McDonald, Alana Gilbert, and Ariel Everett," says Hawkins. "They truly made me feel supported throughout the summer and helped me grow both professionally and as a person."

What are you taking away from the internship? And how will you apply some of these learnings during the final year in your program? During my internship, I was able to learn various skills such as conducting focus groups, creating and analyzing Qualtrics surveys, writing formal reports, and advocating for equity. These skills will help me with my capstone project working with the Cape Fear Collective to work toward equitable systemic change in North Carolina by collaborating with community partners to leverage local assets, illuminate actionable insights, and catalyze innovative programming.

Also, throughout this internship I was able to understand implementation practice from an implementation specialist’s point of view including how to engage with partners effectively, thinking about implementation practice from the end users point of view, and thinking critically about how to embed equity. With this, I was able to create products that I hope will be used to advance equity within Triple P.

What would you tell people considering the internship—those thinking of applying? Do it! FPG fosters such a welcoming and supportive environment. There are a lot of opportunities to network and learn about implementation science and practice. If there is something that you want to learn more about or are interested in, they really try to connect you with the right people and resources to support your learning and experience.

Finally, what did you find to be the most rewarding about the experience overall? The most rewarding part of my experience was the relationships I was able to build with my mentors Capri McDonald, Alana Gilbert, and Ariel Everett. They truly made me feel supported throughout the summer and helped me grow both professionally and as a person.