NeuroObsessed
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- Jan 1, 2023
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I’ve seen some talk about removing the internship requirement for doctoral students. As someone who’s about to start their 1st year in a clinical psych program, I’m curious as to what people think about such a change. Are there any actual benefits for students completing pre-doctoral internships vs possibly combining it with their postdoc training?
I think the idea of combining the internship with postdoc seems to make a lot more sense for psych students. Psych students wouldn’t have to move for internship, split their attention 3 months in as they begin applying for postdocs, and then move again a year later for whatever postdoc they are accepted to. Patients and clients are then working with doctoral providers in training rather than a student who’s super close to getting their doctorates. Residency for med students is postdoctoral and for the students who choose to complete their residency, they become board eligible in their field. I think a similar model would do well in Psychology for those who wish to practice. Instead of a 1 year internship and 2 year postdoc in possibly two different locations to become eligible for licensure and board certification, we would just have a 3 year post doc in one location for the same end result. Similar to medical residents and dependent on the state, we could become eligible for licensure at some point throughout the 3 year postdoc or after completing the entire thing. With this, those who wish to pursue careers in research can avoid further moves and clinical training, and if they choose to, they can pursue postdoctoral experiences in research. I’m sure there is more to it than just changing the requirements and it is somewhat difficult to change the system, but it seems like such an obvious change that makes the road to becoming a psychologist a little easier.
I think the idea of combining the internship with postdoc seems to make a lot more sense for psych students. Psych students wouldn’t have to move for internship, split their attention 3 months in as they begin applying for postdocs, and then move again a year later for whatever postdoc they are accepted to. Patients and clients are then working with doctoral providers in training rather than a student who’s super close to getting their doctorates. Residency for med students is postdoctoral and for the students who choose to complete their residency, they become board eligible in their field. I think a similar model would do well in Psychology for those who wish to practice. Instead of a 1 year internship and 2 year postdoc in possibly two different locations to become eligible for licensure and board certification, we would just have a 3 year post doc in one location for the same end result. Similar to medical residents and dependent on the state, we could become eligible for licensure at some point throughout the 3 year postdoc or after completing the entire thing. With this, those who wish to pursue careers in research can avoid further moves and clinical training, and if they choose to, they can pursue postdoctoral experiences in research. I’m sure there is more to it than just changing the requirements and it is somewhat difficult to change the system, but it seems like such an obvious change that makes the road to becoming a psychologist a little easier.
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