APPIC Interview Invitation Thread (2021)

[DietCokeSoda]

Hi everyone! I hope y’all are hanging in there - we’re almost done with this process!

Has anyone received a schedule or zoom links for interviews at University of Tennessee Professional Psychology Internship Consortium (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital)? My interview day is this Friday but I have not heard anything from the program since scheduling in December. Trying to decide whether to email the program director tomorrow....

Same as the comment above, I interviewed there last week and received the schedule/links at about noon the day before.

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[aahmed05]

If anyone attended the Open House for Momentous Institute in Dallas, Texas and feels comfortable sharing their experience - please PM me!

 

[GlenCoco1]

Would people say it's a good sign if you get a response to a thank you email? Trying not to read too much into something small like that, but I can't help it. Perhaps I'm just looking for some validation LOL...

 

[WisNeuro]

Would people say it's a good sign if you get a response to a thank you email? Trying not to read too much into something small like that, but I can't help it. Perhaps I'm just looking for some validation LOL...

Response or no to a thank you e-mail means absolutely nothing in the majority of circumstances in this process.

 

[PsychGirlN]

Montefiore sent a very serious honor statement for interviewees to print sign scan and send back to them. No screenshots, no talking about the interview. Now I’m kinda nervous about the whole thing

Montefiore at NYC? what do you mean by honor statement?

 

[hannahelizabeth]

Does anyone know why applicants (who participate and interview in Phase 1) do not match?

 

[Cam_Chai19]

Does anyone know why applicants (who participate and interview in Phase 1) do not match?

My understanding is there can be several reasons. It could be that based on someone's clinical experience and CV that they were poorer fits for a site, so although they were extended an interview, they were still ranked lower compared to other students. Or it could be that an applicant has deficient interview or interpersonal skills, so although they got interviews, sites didn't rank them highly.

I believe there is a paper that has been passed around on here that highlights some of the reasons someone might not match that could be a helpful resource.

 

[int2020]

This is why we don't interview everyone who applies. We interview enough applicants to hopefully ensure that we match/fill all of our spots. We don't invite those who would be ranked low to interview (low meaning that we wouldn't expect to match that low on our list based on results from previous years). So for example, if we have two spots that we historically had filled within our top 10, we'll invite 10 to interview. This is also why if you don't get an interview it doesn't mean your unqualified. Every year we have many more qualified applicants than we invite to interview, and it's because we don't want to waste everyone's time interviewing candidates who are very unlikely to match.

As I mentioned, I think the interviews are helpful to applicants to see if the site can meet their training goals. It can be difficult to judge that based on a website/brochure and meeting with faculty and current trainees can provide some very useful information. Anecdotally, it seems that many applicants change their rank order list after interviews. I also want to match with someone who is going to be happy at my site and I feel that the interview provides that information better than reading a description.

So if a candidate has ranked low, say #10 in your example for one position. He is already out of luck unless the other nine were not interested.

 

[str63]

So if a candidate has ranked low, say #10 in your example for one position. He is already out of luck unless the other nine were not interested.

If that candidate is ranked 10 before going into interviews, it doesn't mean he/she will still be #10 after interviews. Candidates can get shifted around (or even not ranked) so someone has the potential to shift up or down. We wouldn't waste our time or the candidates time if we truly thought they had no chance of matching with us.

 

[HelpBetter]

This might be a bit of a pretentious question, but how can one figure out how well-regarded or prestigious a particular internship site's reputation is? Estimate based on number of applicants or interview offer rate? Is there some kind of ranked list somewhere I can look at? Obviously this is not going to be the most important factor in making my decision (it's all about fit!) but when considering long-term career impact I'm curious about how different sites are perceived.

 

[nectar90]

Does anyone know much about the Children's Institute Inc? The TD there had no information regarding the interview links... seems very odd when she is the one emailing candidates.

 

[ginger13]

Has anyone interviewed at Central Regional Hosptial yet and when did you receive your schedule/links?

 

[neuropsycho12]

Has anyone interviewed at Central Regional Hosptial yet and when did you receive your schedule/links?

I interviewed at CRH on Thursday, Jan 14, and received the schedule/links on Tuesday, Jan 12.

 

[ginger13]

I interviewed at CRH on Thursday, Jan 14, and received the schedule/links on Tuesday, Jan 12.

Thank you! I was afraid with the holiday I might be missing something and wanted to make sure I shouldnt' have already received it. Best of luck!

 

[Cam_Chai19]

I'd love to get some opinions on something that came up at one of my sites. I interviewed at a VA where overall I really like the program and think it would be a good fit for my training goals. The site seems to value evidence-based practice, which is important to me, but in looking up some of the training faculty, I found that one individual is currently publishing on pseudoscientific clinical research. I found this surprising since I didn't think this type of research would be funded within the VA, and I'm concerned that it might speak to the research and clinical values at this site. However, I don't expect to be directly involved in this person's research and I don't want to penalize a site because I'm poorly aligned with one person. I'm just curious if anyone has thoughts on whether or not this likely speaks to the ethos of the site as a whole, and whether it makes sense for this to affect my rankings. I'm happy to PM about specifics, but I don't want to risk potentially identifying the site.

 

[StellaB]

I'd love to get some opinions on something that came up at one of my sites. I interviewed at a VA where overall I really like the program and think it would be a good fit for my training goals. The site seems to value evidence-based practice, which is important to me, but in looking up some of the training faculty, I found that one individual is currently publishing on pseudoscientific clinical research. I found this surprising since I didn't think this type of research would be funded within the VA, and I'm concerned that it might speak to the research and clinical values at this site. However, I don't expect to be directly involved in this person's research and I don't want to penalize a site because I'm poorly aligned with one person. I'm just curious if anyone has thoughts on whether or not this likely speaks to the ethos of the site as a whole, and whether it makes sense for this to affect my rankings. I'm happy to PM about specifics, but I don't want to risk potentially identifying the site.

I wouldn’t worry much about it from an internship ranking standpoint, especially if you wouldn’t have to work with or research with that person. Some departments are large and may have an eccentric character or two, it doesn’t mean everyone who works in the same department agrees with them.

 

[summerbabe]

I found that one individual is currently publishing on pseudoscientific clinical research. I found this surprising since I didn't think this type of research would be funded within the VA, and I'm concerned that it might speak to the research and clinical values at this site.

Is this person publishing on behalf of the VA (VA IRB, using veteran data, publishing with other VA researchers) or does it look more like personal research that they are doing on their own time? Either way, I wouldn't worry about a single data point.

Overall, it's really hard for VA clinicians to get protected time for research and the vast majority of staff are not actively involved in any research from my experience. But research that falls under the ORD (VA Office of Research and Dev) should be evidence-based and support current priorities.

If doing research while on internship is important for you, make sure to ask specifically. Some VAs have a lot of structure built in to easily support getting involved in research while it may be difficult at other sites.

 

[Cam_Chai19]

Is this person publishing on behalf of the VA (VA IRB, using veteran data, publishing with other VA researchers) or does it look more like personal research that they are doing on their own time? Either way, I wouldn't worry about a single data point.

Overall, it's really hard for VA clinicians to get protected time for research and the vast majority of staff are not actively involved in any research from my experience. But research that falls under the ORD (VA Office of Research and Dev) should be evidence-based and support current priorities.

If doing research while on internship is important for you, make sure to ask specifically. Some VAs have a lot of structure built in to easily support getting involved in research while it may be difficult at other sites.

Yes, this research was a clinical trial with a veteran population, so I assume it had to be grant-funded within the VA. That's why I found it especially surprising that it was based on pseudoscience. I don't think I'm an outlier in thinking the mechanism being researched is pseudoscientific since it has been discussed extensively as pseudoscience including in talks I've attended at ABCT.

That's helpful feedback though from you and @StellaB that it's not worth being concerned about the site based on a single person. Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[HelpBetter]

Yes, this research was a clinical trial with a veteran population, so I assume it had to be grant-funded within the VA. That's why I found it especially surprising that it was based on pseudoscience. I don't think I'm an outlier in thinking the mechanism being researched is pseudoscientific since it has been discussed extensively as pseudoscience including in talks I've attended at ABCT.

That's helpful feedback though from you and @StellaB that it's not worth being concerned about the site based on a single person. Thanks for your thoughts!

Are you talking about EMDR? The VA considers EMDR to be an evidence based treatment. Indeed there are multiple RCTs demonstrating it is effective. Yes, there are some major questions about the explanation of the underlying mechanism of bilateral stimulation, but other components of the treatment align really well with other trauma EBTs, and the fact that it works well for patients merits its continued empirical examination.

 

[HPB2015]

This might be a bit of a pretentious question, but how can one figure out how well-regarded or prestigious a particular internship site's reputation is? Estimate based on number of applicants or interview offer rate? Is there some kind of ranked list somewhere I can look at? Obviously this is not going to be the most important factor in making my decision (it's all about fit!) but when considering long-term career impact I'm curious about how different sites are perceived.

I have also been wondering about this! And I hope it's not pretentious (or, if it is, I guess whatever) but the purpose of the question is to understand how various sites may or may not open doors to future career opportunities.

On a related note, I understand that doing a VA internship can very easily lead to a VA job, but I'm curious about how a non-VA research-oriented site, like a psychiatry department or university setting, would perceive a VA internship (let's say, one that isn't one of those commonly cited as being the best like the Palo Alto VA is).

 

[Cam_Chai19]

Are you talking about EMDR? The VA considers EMDR to be an evidence based treatment. Indeed there are multiple RCTs demonstrating it is effective. Yes, there are some major questions about the explanation of the underlying mechanism of bilateral stimulation, but other components of the treatment align really well with other trauma EBTs, and the fact that it works well for patients merits its continued empirical examination.

No it's not EMDR. EMDR wouldn't be my preference based on the evidence base, but I agree there's some nuance where although there are pseudoscientific aspects, I can see how it meets similar goals as EPTs like PE. I apologize for being vague but feel free to PM me if you're interested and I'm happy to discuss it.

 

[electricopal]

For neuropsych --- generally speaking, which has a better reputation.... internship training at a VA or academic medical center? Or does it truly not matter at all?

 

[intern21]

Interview process has been interesting to say the least! A site that I LOVED on paper is my least favorite now after interviewing. I have done really well in some (so I think...), and cannot stop thinking about how much better I could have answered certain questions during other interviews... I have my ranking pretty much set, and have enjoyed the process so far! How are you guys doing?

AND I have not sent a single "thank you" email. I figured TDs are so busy, interviewing so many people, that I don't think they will remember during ranking that "this person sent a note, this one did not..." Maybe I am wrong, but I did not want to bother them with a formality that does not seem to impact their impressions of candidates based on what TDs have said here.

People are not sharing questions, but here goes some of mine:
" What do you like to do that is not related to psychology?"
"Why should we choose you?"
"Tell me your trajectory up to this point."
"What are some challenges you anticipate having during internship?"
"What is you greatest weakness?"
"How important do you consider diversity during an assessment?"
"What are your career goals?"
"What supervision style works for you?"
"What are you looking for in a supervisor?"
"What battery would you use to investigate a reading problem?"
"What would you do if you missed a deadline?"
"Tell me about a case that was successful."
"Tell me about a case that where diversity played a role and what did you learn from it?"
"Describe an assessment for X from beginning to end."
"How would you assess X..."
"What is the status of your dissertation?"
"How would you handle conflict with a team member?"

Best of luck, people!

 

[PsyNeuro37]

For neuropsych --- generally speaking, which has a better reputation.... internship training at a VA or academic medical center? Or does it truly not matter at all?

I’m an intern applicant same as you, but I can take a stab at this. I’ve been told that at the end of the day, good neuro training is good neuro training. Doesn’t matter too much if that’s happening within a VA or AMC as long as the training is quality. There might be some things that you’ll be able to get more exposure to in one setting over the other (i.e. polytrauma for VAs and epilepsy for AMCs). That’s obviously not universal for VA/AMCs, just an example, but a consideration for fit. I’ve been told that if your long-term goal is a VA, a VA internship helps. Same goes for an AMC internship if that’s the long-term goal. Definitely not impossible to start at one for internship and end up at another for fellowship and beyond. Again, this is just what I’ve been told by mentors, so those with more experience please correct any misconceptions I have.

 

[WisNeuro]

For neuropsych --- generally speaking, which has a better reputation.... internship training at a VA or academic medical center? Or does it truly not matter at all?

Depends on the site. There are institutions in both the VA and the AMC world in which I wouldn't hire the person who trained there. And on the flip sides, people I'd take on in a second if they had good recs.

 

[DietCokeSoda]

General question. If a sites brochure is outdated, wrong, or just inconsistent with the information presented at an interview, how big of a red flag is that?

I know several sites had changes related to COVID that they may not have known when they published their brochures, so I’ve been trying to keep an open mind and focusing on the information they present at the interview over the brochure information. Thoughts?

 

[foreverbull]

This might be a bit of a pretentious question, but how can one figure out how well-regarded or prestigious a particular internship site's reputation is? Estimate based on number of applicants or interview offer rate? Is there some kind of ranked list somewhere I can look at? Obviously this is not going to be the most important factor in making my decision (it's all about fit!) but when considering long-term career impact I'm curious about how different sites are perceived.

People don’t typically care about this in the field. The answer would also depend on your specialty. Our neuro people would tell you about some neuro sites that are prestigious and others in other niches would have a different set of sites that are “prestigious.”

Frankly, when getting to the postdoc stage, what can actually make a bigger difference is if the postdoc site knows your internship site/TD because their opinion will carry more weight than a TD from a place they don’t know. That was a problem I ran into when applying to postdocs that were very competitive and in places I’d never lived before—the sites didn’t know my TD at all so I was applying with folks whose TDs knew each other and worked in the same state. That did end up putting me at a disadvantage, but I also applied to a very oversaturated state and nowhere else because I knew I would be living there.

 

[foreverbull]

General question. If a sites brochure is outdated, wrong, or just inconsistent with the information presented at an interview, how big of a red flag is that?

I know several sites had changes related to COVID that they may not have known when they published their brochures, so I’ve been trying to keep an open mind and focusing on the information they present at the interview over the brochure information. Thoughts?

I went through internship years ago and multiple sites had outdated info on their brochures or even website, so it’s just one of those things you have to deal with and is pretty common—not necessarily a red flag. In a few interviews, it did make things awkward when I said “I was impressed to see this experience offered as part of training” and they had to correct me because their website was outdated and they didn’t actually offer one of the training experiences I’d looked forward to.

 

[Doctor Koala]

This might be a bit of a pretentious question, but how can one figure out how well-regarded or prestigious a particular internship site's reputation is? Estimate based on number of applicants or interview offer rate? Is there some kind of ranked list somewhere I can look at? Obviously this is not going to be the most important factor in making my decision (it's all about fit!) but when considering long-term career impact I'm curious about how different sites are perceived.

Quickest way to gauge “level of prestige” is by asking your research and clinical supervisors for their opinion about a site. Stricter application requirements (e.g., 800 direct clinical hours for Brown University’s internship) may also be an indicator.

 

[dcpsychdoc]

General question. If a sites brochure is outdated, wrong, or just inconsistent with the information presented at an interview, how big of a red flag is that?

I know several sites had changes related to COVID that they may not have known when they published their brochures, so I’ve been trying to keep an open mind and focusing on the information they present at the interview over the brochure information. Thoughts?

I can only speak for our situation. Due to COVID-19, our IT department was extremely busy with high priority tasks such as getting a telebehavioral health platform up and running. Uploading our new program brochures or editing multiple times
based on the evolution of treatment and safety considerations was not anywhere near a priority (understandably).

I would use the information as you would any other data. Look for patterns and think about what is important to you. For some people, our site’s situation could mean they are not interested in working somewhere that does not have a large IT department or other resources to prevent this type of thing from happening. For other people, that may not be a deciding factor. Best of luck with your interviews and ranking!

 

[SpinicalPsychologist]

Seeking advice from anyone who has interviewed/will interview with Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility!

My interview is on Tuesday. In the email, they stated that I should plan to be occupied for 1 hr and 15 minutes starting at 1PM. However, this week they sent a WebEx link that is timestamped to last from 8:00AM-5:00PM. They did not attach a schedule or itinerary or provide any clarification.

I am confused about when I am expected to show up. This is especially consequential also because I am in CST which is 2 hours ahead and if the interview does in fact last until 5PM PST (7PM CST), I will need to make arrangements for my husband to pick up our son at daycare which will involve him leaving work early.

My other major concern is that, of all my sites, I really need to get a clear sense of what it would look like to work in THIS setting. I have never trained in a correctional facility, it is the only correctional facility I will be interviewing at, and I have a lot of questions that I doubt could be answered in 1 hour. The brochure mentions that there will be an open house and a meet and greet with the interns, but I haven't received any communication about that. I did email the training director on Saturday, but since tomorrow is MLK day and my interview is on Tuesday, it seems unlikely I will get an answer from them before my interview.

Can anyone who has interviewed/plans to interview at this site give me more information about when you logged in to the meeting, what the events of the day were, if you had a clear sense of what training would be like there, and if you truly did end at 5:00PM PST?

 

[Unknown12345]

Hey Everyone! Hope your interviews are going well. Is there a threat or a forum in which we chat post interview? I am asking because I was chatting with another applicant and found out that this fellow applicant was told about an intern that left a site/program because the intern was not happy. This was not mentioned during my interviews. So I was hoping that somewhere on the vast internet there is a site in which the folks that interviewed can chat about certain sites specifically and anonymously. Let me know if such a site exists. Thank you!

 

[matryoshka_brain]

Hey Everyone! Hope your interviews are going well. Is there a threat or a forum in which we chat post interview? I am asking because I was chatting with another applicant and found out that this fellow applicant was told about an intern that left a site/program because the intern was not happy. This was not mentioned during my interviews. So I was hoping that somewhere on the vast internet there is a site in which the folks that interviewed can chat about certain sites specifically and anonymously. Let me know if such a site exists. Thank you!

I wish there was a thread or forum for this as well -- like a "Yelp for internship programs" where past interns could share their anonymous feedback from their training experiences and rate the site.

Have y'all noticed at the QA's when current interns look sad, miserable, exhausted, or annoyed??! Has that significantly impacted your ranking after?

 

[ccpsych16]

Hey Everyone! Hope your interviews are going well. Is there a threat or a forum in which we chat post interview? I am asking because I was chatting with another applicant and found out that this fellow applicant was told about an intern that left a site/program because the intern was not happy. This was not mentioned during my interviews. So I was hoping that somewhere on the vast internet there is a site in which the folks that interviewed can chat about certain sites specifically and anonymously. Let me know if such a site exists. Thank you!

I wish there was a thread or forum for this as well -- like a "Yelp for internship programs" where past interns could share their anonymous feedback from their training experiences and rate the site.

Have y'all noticed at the QA's when current interns look sad, miserable, exhausted, or annoyed??! Has that significantly impacted your ranking after?

There is a thread for post-interview chat in this forum. It’s on the front page for me (mobile view).

 

[SubCorNeuroGal]

Hey everyone! I have seen several of you at multiple interviews . Just wanted to say "hi" and it's great to see familiar faces. Just wish we had the oppotunity to get to know each other better, as it is very possible we could match at the same site .

 

[psyched2022]

Does anyone know much about the Children's Institute Inc? The TD there had no information regarding the interview links... seems very odd when she is the one emailing candidates.

What type of information are you interested in? My interview was last Wednesday after the open house. I believe everyone received their interview link last week (I have 2 friends interviewing tomorrow and found that out before open house)

 

[cortisolace]

Have y'all noticed at the QA's when current interns look sad, miserable, exhausted, or annoyed??! Has that significantly impacted your ranking after?

Yes, I’ve been taking note of this! It has definitely affected how I rank a site if the interns look miserable and/or say things that imply they’re overworked.

 

[WisNeuro]

Yes, I’ve been taking note of this! It has definitely affected how I rank a site if the interns look miserable and/or say things that imply they’re overworked.

Definitely see if you can talk to them, they may be tired, but not overworked from an internship perspective. Keep in mind most of them are in the midst of postdoc apps/interviewing, and a good portion may be finishing up their dissertation/prepping defense.

 

[cortisolace]

Definitely see if you can talk to them, they may be tired, but not overworked from an internship perspective. Keep in mind most of them are in the midst of postdoc apps/interviewing, and a good portion may be finishing up their dissertation/prepping defense.

I agree, I’m so appreciative of the q&a! there is one site I was thinking of, in which the interns explicitly said it was site-related things that was contributing to their overworking/burnout

 

[WisNeuro]

I agree, I’m so appreciative of the q&a! there is one site I was thinking of, in which the interns explicitly said it was site-related things that was contributing to their overworking/burnout

Definitely helps to get it from the interns firsthand. If possible, hearing from past interns can be helpful too. It's rare, but occasionally there is simply a toxic batch of interns. Colleague of mine had one year over half the intern class was put on remediation plans, something they'd never had to do in the nearly decade he had been there. So, just make sure it's not an outlier if the site otherwise has a very solid reputation.

 

[KKint]

OUHSC-OKCVA Consortium----"Although you were not on the list to be invited for an interview, we still remain interested in your application, and you are still under consideration for a position here."

I remember a few others received a similar message and I am just wondering whether I should rank them or not?

 

[neuropsycho12]

OUHSC-OKCVA Consortium----"Although you were not on the list to be invited for an interview, we still remain interested in your application, and you are still under consideration for a position here."

I remember a few others received a similar message and I am just wondering whether I should rank them or not?

I received the same and my understanding is that we can if we want to, keeping in mind that if we were to match there (even though it's unlikely), we would be committed to going there. My thought is that it's important to weigh the pros and cons of going to a site without interacting with anyone there versus the possibility of going through phase II (among several other decision points to consider).

 

[WisNeuro]

I received the same and my understanding is that we can if we want to, keeping in mind that if we were to match there (even though it's unlikely), we would be committed to going there. My thought is that it's important to weigh the pros and cons of going to a site without interacting with anyone there versus the possibility of going through phase II (among several other decision points to consider).

If the choice was Oklahoma vs the uncertainty of Phase II, I would strongly recommend ranking Oklahoma. It's a top site, particularly for neuro.

 

[psych_nerd22]

This might be a bit of a pretentious question, but how can one figure out how well-regarded or prestigious a particular internship site's reputation is? Estimate based on number of applicants or interview offer rate? Is there some kind of ranked list somewhere I can look at? Obviously this is not going to be the most important factor in making my decision (it's all about fit!) but when considering long-term career impact I'm curious about how different sites are perceived.

I was wondering about this too, but specifically in regard to forensic sites. Just curious!

 

[healthpsychenthusiast]

Would someone be able to post the url/link for the thread for post-interview chat in this forum? I can't seem to find it. Thank you

 

[healthpsychenthusiast]

There is a thread for post-interview chat in this forum. It’s on the front page for me (mobile view).

Great! I can't seem to find it. Where on the front page? Thank you

 

[healthpsychenthusiast]

Interview Experiences & Support Thread (APPIC 2021)

Not to be confused with the invite thread. Creating this as a place for questions, support & encouragement..... AND hopefully visits from our beloved @AuntSue

forums.studentdoctor.net

 

[pleaseletmematch]

Any BOP folks still waiting to schedule their CVA....lol

 

[tryingtostaypositivepsych]

Has anyone heard anything about UPenn's reputation for internship? Wondering what past interns, TD's, or other professionals and students have heard about the site and even what interns do after they complete their internship program.

 

[WisNeuro]

Has anyone heard anything about UPenn's reputation for internship? Wondering what past interns, TD's, or other professionals and students have heard about the site and even what interns do after they complete their internship program.

As to what they interns are doing, most sites collect data in initial job placement following internship in their brochures or internship webpage.