Profile
Romana Schwaiger
My internship with the Styrian health insurance organisation (StGkk).
Key data
Job description: Dietician
Company: Styrian health insurance organisation (StGkk)
Ort: Graz, Austria
I did my internship from 26 May to 26 June 2015.
What I did:
- Giving and documenting nutritional advice about weight reduction, diabetes, high blood pressure and food intolerances
- Holding talks and workshops (internal/external) such as training diabetic patients, workshops at kindergartens and secondary schools across Styria (classes 1/2), workshops as part of the ‘Eating right from the start’ (REVAN) campaign about pregnancy/breast-feeding/supplements and help with preparations
- Research activities
- Listening in during consultations
Why I enjoyed my internship:
- The extremely wide range of activities – every day was different and exciting. The best part of the internship were the school lessons.
- Fantastic team – I have rarely(!) experienced anything like it before. I felt valued and integrated well into the team.
- I was allowed to do whatever I wanted (consultations, independently running workshops, accompanying colleagues to school/kindergarten)
What I learned:
- How to develop workshops for the target group of children/young people
- How to handle difficult personalities, whether during the consultation or during talks
- 150 % preparation – to be equipped to handle all questions
- I experienced how challenging ‘teaching’ can be. I was drained after a four hour workshop. I have great respect for teachers now!
- I learned where my own boundaries lie and now I know better what to expect of myself.
My biggest success/My greatest experience:
Every day was a great experience – the ‘REVAN’ workshops were very valuable and it was great to visit the kindergarten and school.
How I secured the internship:
Ms Carstensen and Ms Klampfl from the StGkk health insurance organisation gave a talk on the REVAN workshops. It was there that I asked Ms Carstensen directly about an internship – and that’s how I got on board.
What I want to do in the future:
I would like my future workplace to be like this one – I can totally recommend this internship to anyone.
