Systemic Challenges in Internship Training for Health-Service Psychology: A Call to Action From Trainee Stakeholders

Abstract

The challenges observed in health-service-psychology (HSP) training during COVID-19 revealed systemic and philosophical issues that preexisted the pandemic but became more visible during the global health crisis. In a position article written by 23 trainees across different sites and training specializations, we use lessons learned from COVID-19 as a touchstone for a call to action in HSP training. Historically, trainee voices have been conspicuously absent from literature about clinical training. We describe long-standing dilemmas in HSP training that were exacerbated by the pandemic and will continue to require resolution after the pandemic has subsided. We make recommendations for systems-level changes that would advance equity and sustainability in HSP training. This article advances the conversation about HSP training by including the perspective of trainees as essential stakeholders.

Principles of socially responsive shared governance: Applying an ethics lens to systems of governance in professional psychology training.

“…This article presents foundational principles with some actionable first steps for programs to move toward socially responsive shared governance; incremental steps over several years may result in consistent steps toward a new system. Readers may be interested in Neville et al’s (2021) model of liberation psychology, and Palitsky et al (2022), which include a review of common governance models in their section, “trainee roles in decision-making and policy.” It is helpful to consider implications and recommendations about socially responsive shared governance for three communities: training programs, accreditation bodies, and trainees. Here, we organize our discussion around four principles of shared governance, with initial recommendations for these three communities as relevant.…”

Doctoral students' intention to use assessments in their career: The incremental role of self‐reported competence

“…Thus, engaging students in highly valued and supportive training (e.g., high rapport in supervision) are likely critical to developing and fostering students' self-efficacy which, in turn, impacts willingness to engage in long-term career practice of psychological assessment. This finding is also critical for training programs as adjustments are made following the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic (Casline et al, 2021;Palitsky et al, 2022;Patel et al, 2021), highlighting the need for supervisory experiences to meet the needs of trainees dependent upon modality of assessment experiences (i.e., virtual assessments). Thus, explicit focus on supervision components unique to assessment (Schneider et al, 2004;Wright, 2019) may assist trainer and, in turn, trainee competency.…”

“…This pattern of findings suggests that efforts to foster assessment competence may be shaped by coursework and practicum training. Further, these efforts should also consider the shift towards remote administration of psychological assessments following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and bolstering trainees' competency across multiple avenues of assessment administration (e.g., in-person, virtual/remote; Casline et al, 2021;Palitsky et al, 2022;Patel et al, 2021). Thus, efforts to increase exposure and training with assessments may result in greater competence and career engagement.…”

“…Training in health service psychology (HSP) revolves around a culture of competence (Roberts et al, 2005). This emphasis grew quickly after the 2002 Competencies Conference: Future Directions in Education and Training in Professional Psychology (Rubin et al, 2007) and has produced widespread impacts on education for HSP trainees, including recent advancements in considering the implications of assessment training following the COVID-19 pandemic (Casline et al, 2021;Palitsky et al, 2022;Patel et al, 2021).…”

Making the leap to socially responsive research training in health service psychology.

“…In concert with or in advance of course- and mentor-level changes, trainees can also make meaningful changes (Palitsky et al, 2022). The first two tables in the module provide recommendations for the production and consumption of research that considers social factors and systems.…”