What we know about predoctoral internship training: A 10-year update.

Abstract

Ten years ago (Stedman, 1997), I published a review of the extensive body of work related to all facets of the internship enterprise. The current review highlights many positive accomplishments of the last 10 years, including establishing the match, the uniform internship application format, the quantification of selection variables, and a deeper understanding of the training pathway. However, serious problems have surfaced, including the shortfall of internship slots and the impact of economic forces leading some to question the continuing relevance of internship as it currently exists. These issues call for deliberation and decision making by the profession, guided by research, both current and yet to be conducted.

An investigation of internship directors’ perspectives on the learning objectives required by the commission on accreditation.

“…*' Responders were not asked to order choices in the 3 and 2 elimination categories but merely to state 3 or 2 choices.° Percentages will not equal 100% in the 3 and 2 choice categories due to multiple choice possibilities. school and intemship clinical training for several decades (Magyar-Moe et al, 2005;Manese, Wu, & Nepomuceno, 2001;Stedman, 1997;Stedman, 2007) and, in general, current results supported that value. In fact, some respondents commented that this training is so intertwined with all other training events that it was difficult to assign a percent of time to the activity.…”

“…Moreover, many studies (American Psychological Association, Gloria, Castillo, Choi-Pearson, & Rangel, 1997;Ko and Rodolfa, 2005;Lopez, Oehlert, & Moberiy, 1996;Stedman, 1997;Stedman, 2007;Stedman, Hatch, & Schoenfeld, 2000;Stedman, Hatch, & Schoenfeld, 2007;Stedman, Hatch, Schoenfeld, & Keilin, 2005) have demonstrated that internships view their mission as teaching and training devoted primarily to clinical assessment and treatment. Hence, in this time of possible change, feedback from internship directors regarding current learning objectives might prove valuable in determining future educational planning.…”

An examination of applicant characteristics of successfully matched interns: Is the Glass Half Full or Half Empty and Leaking Miserably?

“…Internship is the capstone experience whereby the student experiences a developmental unfolding with intensive and rapid professional growth. The internship should be seen as an extension of the graduate training and be consistent with the goals and objectives of the student (Stedman, 2007). Students working towards a career in clinical child psychology, for example, should be looking for a very different internship experience than students interested in forensic practice.…”

Introduction to the Special Section on Teaching, Training, and Supervision in Personality and Psychological Assessment

“…According to recent reports of graduate training programs, training in psychological assessment has either been stable or increasing in the past 10 years, with the exception of training in projective personality assessment techniques (Ready & Veague, 2014). This is a promising shift after a long period of perceived decline and marginalization of assessment in graduate training programs (Handler & Smith, 2012;Martin, 2009;Stedman, Hatch, & Schoenfeld, 2001) as well as indications that trainees far too often arrive at the predoctoral internship level unprepared to practice personality assessment (Clemence & Handler, 2001;Stedman, 2007). Further, despite the continued threat to assessment by the rise of managed care (Eisman et al, 2000), assessment remains a nontrivial portion of psychologists' clinical activities (Norcross, Karpiak, & Santoro, 2005).…”