Do prospective hours count towards internship applications?

[Anais-In]

Hi Everyone,

I posted my first thread a couple days ago, about my PsyD program and the problems I am facing.

My program is set up to give us the minimum amount of hours required for many APPIC internships (450 assessment/intervention, 150 supervision). However, we do not obtain all of these hours by the time we apply for internship.

Will internship sites take prospective hours into consideration? I will probably have about 300 face-to-face hours by the time I apply for internship. I know that this is abysmal, and am doing everything I can to try to improve it, but that's my sad reality.

Our program tells us that prospective hours count towards internship applications, and that sites will take into consideration that we will still have 8 months of practica and will accumulate hours after the application deadline. I haven't been able to find this information on the APPIC website or in any of the old threads. Can someone confirm for me whether or not this is true?

Thanks,

Discouraged PsyD

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[psychRA]

When you apply to internship, there is a separate question that asks about anticipated hours, so you have the chance to list the hours that you expect to accumulate between the time that you apply and the start of internship. However, I don't believe that those are included in your total hours.

 

[DynamicDidactic]

they are not included in the totals but sites will definitely be able to see the anticipated hours.

 

[Anais-In]

Great thanks everyone!!

 

[AcronymAllergy]

they are not included in the totals but sites will definitely be able to see the anticipated hours.

This. Unfortunately, they also generally aren't counted towards any minimum hours requires that sites might have.

 

[WisNeuro]

They will see that, but tbh, I have never seen anyone with fewer than 500 already accrued by the time of application. 300 is very low.

Granted, we have a minimum requirement that is well beyond 300, so I imagine some people not meeting that just don't apply.

 

[thewesternsky]

My DCT told us that while anticipated hours might be looked at in a cursory way, they are generally taken with a grain of salt. Current hours at time of application are much more important.

 

[463951]

Hi Everyone,

I posted my first thread a couple days ago, about my PsyD program and the problems I am facing.

My program is set up to give us the minimum amount of hours required for many APPIC internships (450 assessment/intervention, 150 supervision). However, we do not obtain all of these hours by the time we apply for internship.

Will internship sites take prospective hours into consideration? I will probably have about 300 face-to-face hours by the time I apply for internship. I know that this is abysmal, and am doing everything I can to try to improve it, but that's my sad reality.

Our program tells us that prospective hours count towards internship applications, and that sites will take into consideration that we will still have 8 months of practica and will accumulate hours after the application deadline. I haven't been able to find this information on the APPIC website or in any of the old threads. Can someone confirm for me whether or not this is true?

Thanks,

Discouraged PsyD

I don't want to sound harsh, but why are your hours so low? Is it because you apply to internship early (e.g.., your 3rd year)? To be honest, even if sites did take into consideration that you will have 450 F2F hours by the end of your practicum, that is still kind of low...I am guessing you mean 450 FTF combined (intervention & assessment)?

To answer your question though, I just participated in this last internship cycle. When I was researching sites back in August, there were a few sites where I was just below the minimum hours the sites posted. I had about 450 hours for Intervention and about 200 for Assessment. So if a site I wanted to apply to wanted 500 hours for Intervention and 250 for Assessment, I emailed the TDs and asked if they would consider the fact that I would reach those hours by the end of my current practicum, and was told that they would consider them. And I did get interviews from these sites. However, some sites will state in their brochure that they will absolutely not consider any applications that do not meet the minimum number of hours at the time of the deadline. Out of all the sites I was considering, there was only one site I was interested in that stated this and wanted a high number of hours (600 Intervention, 200 Assessment I think). So I didn't even bother applying there.

A lot of people I know who applied this year and last year also told me that they were successful in applying to sites when they did not meet the minimum hours, but were somewhat close in meeting the hours. So overall, it seems that some sites do take into account the hours that you gain on your practicum year while you are applying for internship, but you definitely want a competitive number of hours at the time of the deadline. Overall, I would be concerned that your hours are just too low. And I would be concerned about the current status of your program, it being unaccredited.

I know that it is so incredibly hard, but I would really encourage you to consider cutting your losses now, and applying elsewhere. You sound like a very strong applicant based on what you said in your other post, it would suck have an unaccredited program hindering your future, with the internship process and after graduation.

 

[cara susanna]

To be honest, I had 500 F2F when I applied and that was considered low. I did get interviews, but at the more research-y sites that don't care as much about hours. I am sure that my low hours probably hurt me at a few sites.

 

[erg923]

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[futureapppsy2]

My program is set up to give us the minimum amount of hours required for many APPIC internships (450 assessment/intervention, 150 supervision). However, we do not obtain all of these hours by the time we apply for internship.

Will internship sites take prospective hours into consideration? I will probably have about 300 face-to-face hours by the time I apply for internship. I know that this is abysmal, and am doing everything I can to try to improve it, but that's my sad reality.

Like others have said, 500 hours is a common "minimum" but most of those people are research focused people. If your program isn't focusing on either research (i.e., publications) or clinical hours, what exactly are they having you do for 4+ years?

 

[Anais-In]

Yes, our program has been having people apply to internship in their third year, which is part of why our hours are so low. Our first year we hardly get any hours, as it is heavily focused on coursework and research. We work with paid actors during our first year, but this does not count towards face to face hours.

Given the recent match debacle, there is now talk about extending our program so that people apply to internship in their fourth year.

Everything is in flux, so I am trying really hard to be patient and stay motivated and watch what happens before making any impulsive decisions. I know I don't have it in me to undertake a full PhD at this point - I am too old and have been in school way too long. But fast track nursing is starting to look appealing.

Anyway, thanks very much for all of your replies and support. I know it must be frustrating to hear about programs like ours that contribute to the match imbalance. At least we are not competitive enough to pose a real threat to anyone! Le sigh.

 

[erg923]

Yes, our program has been having people apply to internship in their third year, which is part of why our hours are so low. Our first year we hardly get any hours, as it is heavily focused on coursework and research. We work with paid actors during our first year, but this does not count towards face to face hours.

Given the recent match debacle, there is now talk about extending our program so that people apply to internship in their fourth year.

Everything is in flux, so I am trying really hard to be patient and stay motivated and watch what happens before making any impulsive decisions. I know I don't have it in me to undertake a full PhD at this point - I am too old and have been in school way too long. But fast track nursing is starting to look appealing.

Anyway, thanks very much for all of your replies and support. I know it must be frustrating to hear about programs like ours that contribute to the match imbalance. At least we are not competitive enough to pose a real threat to anyone! Le sigh.

Whats the rush? 4+1 is the standard model for psy.d programs. 5 and 6+1 is more common for ph.d programs. While I cant understand wanting be in grad school for 7-8 years, I'm niot sure I understand your program's rush. 1.5 years of clincial experience competing agaist ph.d applicants with 5 solid years of clincial experience. What is your program thinking? Have you asked?