2013 APPIC Internship Application Thread

[sentimentalmood]

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I'm procrastinating by entering stuff on the AAPI, and it's actually pretty fun. Okay. So I wanted to check in about something. A couple of people that I knew from a different school who applied last year were counting groups that they had sat in on, not led, for group hours. My instinct is that this isn't valid, as there's no leading or therapeutic intervention required. That's not legit, right? It seems extremely not legit.

 

[LETSGONYR]

I'm procrastinating by entering stuff on the AAPI, and it's actually pretty fun. Okay. So I wanted to check in about something. A couple of people that I knew from a different school who applied last year were counting groups that they had sat in on, not led, for group hours. My instinct is that this isn't valid, as there's no leading or therapeutic intervention required. That's not legit, right? It seems extremely not legit.

I'm also trying to enter some stuff, especially the parts that I know won't change (e.g., the number of tests administered to adults). It's a cross between tedious and exciting. 🙂.

Re: your question... I wouldn't feel comfortable logging hours for anything that I did not actually do. It does sound fishy to me.

 

[paramour]

Welp, I'm officially out. G'luck, folks!

 

[futureapppsy2]

Welp, I'm officially out. G'luck, folks!

I'm taking that to mean you decided to apply next year instead of during this upcoming cycle, correct?

 

[paramour]

I'm taking that to mean you decided to apply next year instead of during this upcoming cycle, correct?

Not my decision to make, but yes, I shan't be applying this year. And, at this juncture, I'm seriously wondering whether I will be around next year. I'm growing weary of the whole process and almost ready to concede defeat.*






*which most likely means I shall mope around for a few days and then bust my ass off as usual to do it all over again ... and again ... and again <le sigh>

 

[erg923]

Not my decision to make, but yes, I shan't be applying this year. And, at this juncture, I'm seriously wondering whether I will be around next year. I'm growing weary of the whole process and almost ready to concede defeat.*






*which most likely means I shall mope around for a few days and then bust my ass off as usual to do it all over again ... and again ... and again <le sigh>

Can you expand on the "not my decision" part? Our diss proposal had to be defended for us to apply, but it was certainly under our control regarding that this get done. Does your program have other rules/requirements?

 

[Rivi]

Not my decision to make, but yes, I shan't be applying this year. And, at this juncture, I'm seriously wondering whether I will be around next year. I'm growing weary of the whole process and almost ready to concede defeat.*






*which most likely means I shall mope around for a few days and then bust my ass off as usual to do it all over again ... and again ... and again <le sigh>

Sorry to hear that. I know the freaking feeling.

 

[LETSGONYR]

Welp, I'm officially out. G'luck, folks!

I had a similar experience last year. It's frustrating, but at the same time, I feel as though I'm a much stronger candidate now than I would have been. There are worse things than waiting a year. 🙂.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using SDN Mobile

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Can you expand on the "not my decision" part? Our diss proposal had to be defended for us to apply, but it was certainly under our control regarding that this get done. Does your program have other rules/requirements?

If I'm remembering correctly, I believe paramour's program falls at the upper extreme of the "invasiveness" spectrum in terms of their control (and manhandling) of students' practicum experiences and internship application process.

paramour, I remember reading about your struggles in attempting to secure your desired practicum placement this year, so you definitely have my full sympathies that the department has stepped in against you yet again.

 

[LETSGONYR]

Anyone else feeling stuck as they try to draft essays or cover letters? I sat down with my cup of tea, ready to tackle these bad boys... and now my tea is empty, and all I have on paper is "I am a student in the APA-accredited..."

How do you get motivated or inspired?

 

[erg923]

You are deluding yourself if you think you are gonna get "inspired" or beyond minimally motivated to write 4 pieces of prose (3 of which will say merely what you think the site in question wants to hear...lets be real, folks) that serve as nothing but an irrelevant an unecessary hurdle in an already ridiculous process. Bang it out...do the dog and pony, so you can look forward to the real world. 🙂

 

[psychRA]

You are deluding yourself if you think you are gonna get "inspired" or beyond minimally motivated to write 4 pieces of prose (3 of which will say merely what you think the site in question wants to hear...lets be real, folks) that serve as nothing but an irrelevant an unecessary hurdle in an already ridiculous process. Bang it out...do the dog and pony, so you can look forward to the real world. 🙂

Agreed. The fact that you're feeling stuck has nothing to do with any problems on your part, and everything to do with the fact that you're having to jump through an inherently annoying hoop. I don't think there's any way to make this process less painful. Get them done and put them behind you!

 

[becomethelight]

You are deluding yourself if you think you are gonna get "inspired" or beyond minimally motivated to write 4 pieces of prose (3 of which will say merely what you think the site in question wants to hear...lets be real, folks) that serve as nothing but an irrelevant an unecessary hurdle in an already ridiculous process. Bang it out...do the dog and pony, so you can look forward to the real world. 🙂

Agreed. Make sure there are no spelling mistakes and show you're working with at least two functioning brain cells and I'm sure that's all they care about. I mean honestly if you don't have the credentials/hours/screening criteria they're looking for they're not even gonna look at the essays, so don't overthink the importance of the essays.

That being said, if I had to read a even just a fifth of the essays that some very competitive sites received, and 95% of them began "I am a student in the APA-accredited..." I would want to stab my eyeballs out with a spoon. I approached it as trying to write something that is at the very least mildly interesting to read.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

I do think the first essay is read more-thoroughly and more-frequently, and might be weighted more-heavily, than the others, so that's the one on which I'd recommend you spend your most time. Beyond that, though, don't drive yourself too crazy worrying about specific minutiae.

 

[becomethelight]

I do think the first essay is read more-thoroughly and more-frequently, and might be weighted more-heavily, than the others, so that's the one on which I'd recommend you spend your most time. Beyond that, though, don't drive yourself too crazy worrying about specific minutiae.

That's my sense too. That and the cover letter.

 

[Quynh2007]

Just wanted to drop in and say hey all, and good luck!

Re-applying (didn't match last year), but it's been a good learning process w/Phase 1 and 2. I got to get married, buy a house, and will get to live with my spouse this year, so it's not been a total loss 🙂

 

[Rivi]

You are deluding yourself if you think you are gonna get "inspired" or beyond minimally motivated to write 4 pieces of prose (3 of which will say merely what you think the site in question wants to hear...lets be real, folks) that serve as nothing but an irrelevant an unecessary hurdle in an already ridiculous process. Bang it out...do the dog and pony, so you can look forward to the real world. 🙂

This has my vote for SDN-psych forum post of the year.

 

[ADDICTED2STATS]

I thought I would repost the advice I posted last year regarding essays, cover letters, and applying in general. I didn't have faculty members read my essays, only friends. This didn't seem to matter as I matched at my 1st choice (Brown). Here is my advice:

1) Be creative with essay 1. I had a lot of sites compliment me on this essay b/c it was outside the norm. I tried to pick an interesting theme (a suggestion of one of my friends), and then reiterate and expand upon the theme throughout the essay. It seemed to work well. I shouldn't have to say it at this point in your training, but I will: 'don't over disclose in essay 1'. There's a fine line between creative and inappropriate, don't cross it.

2) The other essays are straight forward, don't be artsy or creative. Tell your story, and hope they read it. You'll be asked multiple times what your orientation is and/or what your research interests/accomplishments are, so just expect they haven't read past essay 1.

3) Follow the advice of #2 above for your cover letters. A straight forward cover letter earned me interviews, creative cover letters didn't.

4) If you’re applying for research focused sites, find a person there that matches your interests and email them. Speak briefly about your interests in their research (one or two sentences). Leave your research interests out of it. If they're interested they'll look you up, if not, you're wasting their time (my thoughts anyway). Then ask if they plan to take an intern, just like you did when applying to grad school (at some places research mentors pay part of your salary, so they are quite selective when picking an intern). My best interviews where when I did this (and incidentally I got interviews at every place where I did this). Feel free to PM me about this one if you like. I interviewed at several research places so I can speak about some of them more specifically if you want.

5) Get signed up for airline miles now if you haven't already. Try to use the same airline whenever possible. I racked up two free flights and got medallion status on Delta.

6) Get a membership/credit card for a specific hotel and try to stay at these as much as possible. I always tried to stay at La Quintas. They're cheap and always have internet so I could review info the night before my interview.

Good luck to you all!

 

[Rivi]

I have a quick question about hours. Do minimum assessment hours count towards minimum intervention hours? For example:

Minimum Number of AAPI Intervention Hours: 500
Minimum Number of AAPI Assessment Hours: 200

Does this mean that they require 700 overall hours (200 assessment + 500 therapy) or 500 overall hours, 200 of which must be assessment (i.e., 200 assessment hours + 300 therapy). Thank you!

 

[LETSGONYR]

I have a quick question about hours. Do minimum assessment hours count towards minimum intervention hours? For example:

Minimum Number of AAPI Intervention Hours: 500
Minimum Number of AAPI Assessment Hours: 200

Does this mean that they require 700 overall hours (200 assessment + 500 therapy) or 500 overall hours, 200 of which must be assessment (i.e., 200 assessment hours + 300 therapy). Thank you!

This is a big assumption on my part, but I think... it depends. Remember that the sites fill that out, based on how they interpret it. I think some sites take that seriously and use hard-and-fast cutoffs, while others have general numbers of how many combined hours they'd like to see. You can often find out more information on the site's webpage, or by emailing the director of training.

Personally, I'm not putting a lot of stock into those numbers, and applying to sites I think match my interests well. Others probably say I'm wasting my time and money, but that's what I'm comfortable with.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

I have a quick question about hours. Do minimum assessment hours count towards minimum intervention hours? For example:

Minimum Number of AAPI Intervention Hours: 500
Minimum Number of AAPI Assessment Hours: 200

Does this mean that they require 700 overall hours (200 assessment + 500 therapy) or 500 overall hours, 200 of which must be assessment (i.e., 200 assessment hours + 300 therapy). Thank you!

In general, I believe sites tend to recognize the two types of hours separately, given that gaining experience in assessment is generally not the same thing as gaining experience in intervention (and vice-versa). So in your example, I would take it to mean that the site is requiring/recommending 700 hours overall.

However, when in doubt, I would suggest just emailing the TD and asking.

 

[ClinicalABA]

Agreed. Make sure there are no spelling mistakes and show you're working with at least two functioning brain cells and I'm sure that's all they care about. I mean honestly if you don't have the credentials/hours/screening criteria they're looking for they're not even gonna look at the essays, so don't overthink the importance of the essays.

That being said, if I had to read a even just a fifth of the essays that some very competitive sites received, and 95% of them began "I am a student in the APA-accredited..." I would want to stab my eyeballs out with a spoon. I approached it as trying to write something that is at the very least mildly interesting to read.

+1- That's why a lot of faculty at internship sites don't focus too much on these. Any site with even the slightest bent toward empiricism (and why would you want to intern at any other site?) would recognize that the essay is largely irrelevant as a predictor of how you will perform as an intern. Actually, the interview is is largely irrelevant too. Oh well, I guess it's tradition, as are the essays.

 

[becomethelight]

I think the whole application process is laughably empirical, which is a shame since, ya know, one of the cornerstones of our field is the idea of actuarial judgement.

 

[futureapppsy2]

Just wanted to drop in and say hey all, and good luck!

Re-applying (didn't match last year), but it's been a good learning process w/Phase 1 and 2. I got to get married, buy a house, and will get to live with my spouse this year, so it's not been a total loss 🙂

Congrats on the marriage and house!

 

[rilo]

Does anyone know how strict internship sites are about the 500 word limit for each essay? I've seen essays from former students of my graduate program, and some of them write in the 550+ word range. The last thing I'd want, however, is to be dinged for something as simple as not following directions. Any thoughts appreciated...

 

[Member1928]

You cannot go over 500 words. You enter your essay into a text box on the online application and that text box will not let you exceed this limit. Good luck to everyone applying this cycle.

 

[PsyDHokie]

My apologies if this has already been answered, but I skimmed the thread and did not see anyone cover information on APPIC match cost - just trying to figure out how much more to budget into my loans.

From what I can tell there is a fee of $130 for affiliated universities. From what I have heard, there is a standard fee for applying to a certain amount of internship sites, and every one after that is an extra cost. Thanks!

 

[LETSGONYR]

Quick question...

Most of my sites say that during interviews, requests to meet with specific faculty members are granted (pending availability). Is it customary to mention faculty members' names in your cover letter (as in, "I have read research by Dr. Whatever and I'm very interested in the clinical work she does as well"), or do most people wait until they are offered an interview and then say, "I'd love to talk with Dr. Whatever if she is available!"?

Thanks. 🙂

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Quick question...

Most of my sites say that during interviews, requests to meet with specific faculty members are granted (pending availability). Is it customary to mention faculty members' names in your cover letter (as in, "I have read research by Dr. Whatever and I'm very interested in the clinical work she does as well"), or do most people wait until they are offered an interview and then say, "I'd love to talk with Dr. Whatever if she is available!"?

Thanks. 🙂

From what I remember about my own cover letters, I frequently mentioned particular aspects of the program that interested me (e.g., rotations that I'd want to be on), but I don't know that I mentioned specific faculty. The exception would be the more research-heavy sites that had you select a preceptor for the year; in those instances, I didn't mention a couple individual names that were doing work in line what my interests.

 

[snowy584]

Hi everyone,

Does anyone have a list/stats on the most vs. least competitive APA internship sites?

 

[sentimentalmood]

Hi everyone,

Does anyone have a list/stats on the most vs. least competitive APA internship sites?

Sure! If you go to appic.org, each site has stats on how many people applied, how many people interviewed, and how many slots they have. You can usually figure it out from there. Of course, it also depends on your background and fit to each site, so it takes some research to figure out where you personally would be most competitive. It's different for each person.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Sure! If you go to appic.org, each site has stats on how many people applied, how many people interviewed, and how many slots they have. You can usually figure it out from there. Of course, it also depends on your background and fit to each site, so it takes some research to figure out where you personally would be most competitive. It's different for each person.

That's what I was going to suggest as well. It's very possible that people kept lists of this type of information for themselves, but given how personalized each applicant's site list can be, I don't know that these types of individualized lists be particularly helpful for anyone other than the person who created it.

From what I can remember, while not all of the admissions-related information (e.g., type of degree, avg. number of assessment hours and integrated reports) is reported by all programs, the number of applications to interviews to acceptances should be up for every site.

A gross ballpark figure (that may or may not apply everywhere) that I remember from the sites to which I applied was usually about 25-50% of applicants getting interviews, and about 10% of interviewees (or ~5% of all applicants) getting acceptances.

However, keep in mind this can vary WIDELY between sites. A program with a strong reputation that's in a highly-desirable location (e.g., UCLA, San Fran VA, Boston Consortium) might receive 200+ applications and only accept 5-10 folks, while sites in less-desirable areas might receive considerably fewer applications (e.g., 50-60) and take the same number of people (i.e., 5-10)

 

[minichka2004]

Hi everyone,

I would appreciate if someone would let me know how to calculate demographics for group hours. Do we just count 1 group as a 1 unit, or do we add the number of participants providing all the demographics such as age, ethnicity, etc.?

And no, I haven't been using T2T unfortunately.

Thanks in advance!

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Hi everyone,

I would appreciate if someone would let me know how to calculate demographics for group hours. Do we just count 1 group as a 1 unit, or do we add the number of participants providing all the demographics such as age, ethnicity, etc.?

And no, I haven't been using T2T unfortunately.

Thanks in advance!

Pretty sure another poster actually corrected me on this at some point based on APPIC's guidelines: I believe that groups count as 1 unit, yes.

 

[paramour]

Pretty sure another poster actually corrected me on this at some point based on APPIC's guidelines: I believe that groups count as 1 unit, yes.

Correct. Groups are 1 unit.

And I frakkin hate T2T, especially for groups. I went back to using my spreadsheet. Just adopted my Psych Track (the new APPIC thingermajig) and I'm liking it a heck of a lot better...

 

[minichka2004]

Correct. Groups are 1 unit.

And I frakkin hate T2T, especially for groups. I went back to using my spreadsheet. Just adopted my Psych Track (the new APPIC thingermajig) and I'm liking it a heck of a lot better...

Thanks! I wonder how did you improve the spreadsheet? 🙂

 

[abiline]

do the number of rejections (places you don't get interviews) count against you in the match process/algorithm? for instance if someone applied to 10 places and got 5 interviews, would they possibly have better odds than someone who applied to 20 places and got 5 interviews? or doesn't the number of places you apply matter?

 

[TuTuPsychL]

It doesn't matter how many places you apply. What matters is how many you rank. So with your scenario, both applicants received 5 interviews. Assuming both liked all the places they interviewed and are both ranking 5 places, the total number of places applied is meaningless.

Of course if we're talking matters of emotions, the person who got 5 out of 10 interviews is probably feeling better about him/herself than the person who got 5 out of 20 interviews, but that's a WHOLE other issue.. 🙂

 

[LETSGONYR]

do the number of rejections (places you don't get interviews) count against you in the match process/algorithm? for instance if someone applied to 10 places and got 5 interviews, would they possibly have better odds than someone who applied to 20 places and got 5 interviews? or doesn't the number of places you apply matter?

No, rejections don't factor into the match process or algorithm.

The only thing is that... in general, the application/interview ratio (which is obviously higher in the 10 apps/5 interviews scenario you mentioned) tends to correlate with matching. But that's not because you were rejected from less places... just that the people that get interviews at a lot of the sites to which they applied tend to be stronger applicants, or tend to be better matches at the sites that they applied to.

Does that make sense? I haven't slept much in the past few days heh. You know it's bad when you send your advisor a part of your dissertation proposal and she tells you to "get a full night's sleep and then read what you sent [her] again."

 

[Member 9999]

Hi everyone,

I would appreciate if someone would let me know how to calculate demographics for group hours. Do we just count 1 group as a 1 unit, or do we add the number of participants providing all the demographics such as age, ethnicity, etc.?

And no, I haven't been using T2T unfortunately.

Thanks in advance!

According to APPIC Instructions, groups count as 1 unit in the section on intervention experience.

However, when inputting client demographics (in the "Additional Information about Practicum Experiences" section), the instructions under Diverse Populations state: "For families, couples, and groups, please count each individual as a separate client/patient."

 

[bmedclinic]

There's a chance I'm making a big stink about nothing. And if so, feel free to call me out on it.

As a disclaimer, I doubt Brown wanted me, but after looking into their Internship, I dont think I want them, either.

I went here and saw they have a cover letter that they want you to use which asks for you to identiffy your race. Arent we supposed to pretend we're playing fair and choosing the best applicant for the position? I'd think this violates an APPIC policy, too. Either way, consider me uninterested.

 

[Pragma]

There's a chance I'm making a big stink about nothing. And if so, feel free to call me out on it.

As a disclaimer, I doubt Brown wanted me, but after looking into their Internship, I dont think I want them, either.

I went here and saw they have a cover letter that they want you to use which asks for you to identiffy your race. Arent we supposed to pretend we're playing fair and choosing the best applicant for the position? I'd think this violates an APPIC policy, too. Either way, consider me uninterested.

Hmm, my understanding is that employment law makes it necessary for HR departments to request this information (such that they can monitor their compliance with EOE regulations), but that it is separate and optional. It shouldn't be a part of your other application materials.

 

[LETSGONYR]

Hmm, my understanding is that employment law makes it necessary for HR departments to request this information (such that they can monitor their compliance with EOE regulations), but that it is separate and optional. It shouldn't be a part of your other application materials.

Yes, but the actual AAPI already requests that information. I looked at the link the other poster provided, and in my opinion, they did not make it very clear that providing that information is optional.

Brown isn't offering an internship program that I'm interested in this year, anyway... but I agree that that rubs me the wrong way.

 

[Psych317]

Does anyone know how to report receiving a master's within your doctoral program on your CV for internship? Would you put it as a master's degree and the year when it was conferred and also put the current doctoral degree and expected graduation date or is that information not put separately on a CV? Thanks!

 

[bmedclinic]

Yes, but the actual AAPI already requests that information. I looked at the link the other poster provided, and in my opinion, they did not make it very clear that providing that information is optional.

Brown isn't offering an internship program that I'm interested in this year, anyway... but I agree that that rubs me the wrong way.

I dont recall exactly what is provided to the internship sites from their side of the AAPI portal, but IIRC from last year the training directors got a very different looking sheet than what I turned in. I'm saying this to make the point that perhaps the AAPI requests that info, but that it is not provided to the school (obviously until you show up, at which point they can discriminate against you however they want).

 

[CalFrn]

Hey all,

I see the definition of "integrated report" posted everywhere. On the APPIC website, it says "provide the number of integrated psychological testing reports you have written for adults and the number written for children and adolescents. This section of the AAPI Online is used by those internship programs who are interested in knowing the amount of psychological testing and report writing that has been completed primarily by an applicant."

This implies that they only want you to list reports that have been written "primarily" by you. I worked at a neuropsych clinic where we wrote MONSTER-long reports, and I worked very closely with a post-doc. Sometimes she and I split up different parts of the reports (like I'd write Behavioral Obs, she'd write something about family history, etc. etc.), and I'm wishing there was a more precise definition of "primarily." Does anyone else have this issue or situation? I'm thinking that the easiest thing is just to count the reports where I am *credited* as an author at the end.

My other question is -- at this same neuropsych clinic, we wrote letters to physicians before writing the full-length report. These letters were still integrated reports in the sense that they incorporated background, test scores, and interview into recommendations, but they provided a much more general overview. They were by no means duplicates of the full-length reports -- it actually took a lot of time and effort to weave all the findings into something so concise. Anyway, it obviously doesn't seem kosher to count two different documents about the same assessment as two different integrative reports (ha!), but I don't think it's quite accurate to list it all as one report writing experience. Any suggestions for how to list?

Finally, has anyone ever heard of people counting observation experience -- like observing an assessment, observing group therapy, etc. -- as contact hours? I haven't seen this question directly addressed. It seems fishy -- but I have talked to other people about it who have heard of others doing it. It's unsettling that it's not directly prohibited or addressed if some people do it! 🙁

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Hey all,

I see the definition of "integrated report" posted everywhere. On the APPIC website, it says "provide the number of integrated psychological testing reports you have written for adults and the number written for children and adolescents. This section of the AAPI Online is used by those internship programs who are interested in knowing the amount of psychological testing and report writing that has been completed primarily by an applicant."

This implies that they only want you to list reports that have been written "primarily" by you. I worked at a neuropsych clinic where we wrote MONSTER-long reports, and I worked very closely with a post-doc. Sometimes she and I split up different parts of the reports (like I'd write Behavioral Obs, she'd write something about family history, etc. etc.), and I'm wishing there was a more precise definition of "primarily." Does anyone else have this issue or situation? I'm thinking that the easiest thing is just to count the reports where I am *credited* as an author at the end.

My other question is -- at this same neuropsych clinic, we wrote letters to physicians before writing the full-length report. These letters were still integrated reports in the sense that they incorporated background, test scores, and interview into recommendations, but they provided a much more general overview. They were by no means duplicates of the full-length reports -- it actually took a lot of time and effort to weave all the findings into something so concise. Anyway, it obviously doesn't seem kosher to count two different documents about the same assessment as two different integrative reports (ha!), but I don't think it's quite accurate to list it all as one report writing experience. Any suggestions for how to list?

Finally, has anyone ever heard of people counting observation experience -- like observing an assessment, observing group therapy, etc. -- as contact hours? I haven't seen this question directly addressed. It seems fishy -- but I have talked to other people about it who have heard of others doing it. It's unsettling that it's not directly prohibited or addressed if some people do it! 🙁

For the first point, I'd say if you wrote half or more of the report, you should count it as one of your own. If not, I'd probably leave it off (but I'm highly conservative on these sorts of things).

For the second, again owing to my highly-conservative nature, I wouldn't credit myself anything extra for the letter to the physician. I'd essentially just think of it as an extended summary and conclusions section. But that's just me.

For the third, I believe someone in this thread actually mentioned a similar situation. I personally would not count observation experiences as contact hours; I'd definitely list them under supervision hours, though. Unless you're actually there as a co-leader and/or are implementing some type of intervention, it's not an intervention/contact hour.

 

[Bex223]

Hi all!
I am currently on internship, and we are counting our teaching hours toward total contact hours. I taught (independent Intro to Psych courses) throughout my doc program, but wasn't instructed to count all of those hours towards my total contact for my AAPI. How has this been handled in other programs? Obviously it doesn't matter that much for me at this point, but I'd love to pass this information to the cohorts behind me if they are missing opportunities for contact hours. Thanks!

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Hi all!
I am currently on internship, and we are counting our teaching hours toward total contact hours. I taught (independent Intro to Psych courses) throughout my doc program, but wasn't instructed to count all of those hours towards my total contact for my AAPI. How has this been handled in other programs? Obviously it doesn't matter that much for me at this point, but I'd love to pass this information to the cohorts behind me if they are missing opportunities for contact hours. Thanks!

I personally haven't ever heard of anyone counting teaching hours toward your contact/intervention hours, and don't see how that could really be justified, given that the AAPI instructions specify that these hours must occur in the presence of an identifiable client. I actually don't know if I included teaching hours anywhere on my AAPI. The only exception I could see is if that teaching was actually instruction/training of a fellow graduate student (e.g., helping to teach a new grad student how to administer a particular measure).

 

[LETSGONYR]

For the first point, I'd say if you wrote half or more of the report, you should count it as one of your own. If not, I'd probably leave it off (but I'm highly conservative on these sorts of things).

For the second, again owing to my highly-conservative nature, I wouldn't credit myself anything extra for the letter to the physician. I'd essentially just think of it as an extended summary and conclusions section. But that's just me.

For the third, I believe someone in this thread actually mentioned a similar situation. I personally would not count observation experiences as contact hours; I'd definitely list them under supervision hours, though. Unless you're actually there as a co-leader and/or are implementing some type of intervention, it's not an intervention/contact hour.

I agree with the above. I didn't count any "partial" reports that I had written, though those tended to entail background and behavioral obs, from early in my training. I'd only count the reports where you wrote the vast majority of the content, and I wouldn't count anything extra for the doctor's notes (but I might talk about that on an interview, especially if you're applying to C-L tracks).

I've heard someone say that any face-to-face time, even if you're just observing, counts as contact hours... but that seems disingenuous to me. I personally don't count it.