Keifer Nevius One of Three Buena Vista University Students to Intern at the Mayo Clinic

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From Left: Navneet Sandha, Keifer Nevius and Cassie Sinclair

STORM LAKE, IA (03/01/2011)(readMedia)-- Three Buena Vista University (BVU) psychology majors, all juniors, interned at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., for three weeks over BVU's January interim term. Through their experiences, they got to see the inner workings of one of the top clinics in the country - and prepare for continued studies while learning about possible careers.

Navneet Sandha, from Punjab, India, was looking for an internship that fit her interest in neuropsychology – the study of the physical and chemical processes of the brain – a subject she is preparing to pursue in graduate school through her major in psychology and minor in biology. Dr. Wind Goodfriend, associate professor of psychology, helped her find a suitable opportunity with Dr. Michael Zaccariello, a neuropsychologist at the Clinic specializing in pediatric and adolescent medicine.

"Dr. Zaccariello said, 'if you don't know about something, just ask me'," says Navneet. "'You don't have to worry if you don't know everything now – you have a full life to learn.' I spent a lot of time with him. Seeing him interact with the kids who came to his office, I learned some great things about communication."

During the internship, Navneet used software to sample data for a project of Dr. Zaccariello's on multiple sclerosis in children. She also read articles and attended a teleconference on the disease. While Navneet was working on compiling data provided by patients, Keifer Nevius, from Osceola, Iowa and Cassie Sinclair from Waconia, Minn., were working with post-doctoral student Michelle Gryczkowski on a project analyzing how that kind of information is gathered.

"When parents think their child suffers from an anxiety disorder, they go to the clinic and fill out a massive packet of information, including information on rules the child has to follow, dad's behavior, and mom's behavior," says Cassie. "What Michelle was working on was figuring out what information is useful and what is fluff."

"The field of psychology is vast, and talking to Michelle helped me narrow down choices about furthering my education, says Keifer, who plans to pursue advanced studies in marriage and family counseling. "She was extremely helpful in giving me advice as a person who has much experience and an insightful perspective in the field."

Cassie and Keifer also worked on a project with Dr. Stephen Whiteside, a child clinical psychologist, on 'exposure therapy', during which people are encouraged to confront their phobias in a controlled setting. The students read books on the topic and watched videos of therapy sessions. The project was trying to determine whether the therapy is more or less effective when done in short periods over long intervals or in one large block.

"Kiefer and I were expecting some really stuffy and strict psychologist who would just give us tons of work to do, but Dr. Whiteside was really easy to work with and made a lot of jokes," says Cassie.

"We are in a statistics class now and can see the internship has really helped," says Navneet.

"In addition to regular course work, the psychology program encourages students to accomplish two important things to prepare for jobs or graduate school: complete internships and participate in research experiences," says Goodfriend, "The time at Mayo completes both of these goals with one amazing experience."

"Our advice is to take at least one psychology class," jokes Cassie. "Sooner or later you'll meet people who are crazy. A class will help you understand them."

2011 is the third consecutive year that BVU psychology students have interned at the Mayo Clinic.

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