Externship for 17/18 Cancelled - HELP!

[future_dr.schoolpsych]

Hey everyone! I'm a PhD student from New York - through the psychpracticum consortium, I had accepted an offer for an externship for the the 2017/2018 academic year. However, a few days ago, I received a call stating that the training program at the site had been cancelled due to internal issues. As you can imagine, this puts me in a VERY difficult spot. As almost all of the reputable externships in NYC/Long Island are found through the psychpracticum "match," I have no idea where to go from here. This is meant to be my final externship before internship (I'll be applying for APPIC this fall for 2018/2019). I have strong experience in terms of previous externship/practicum placements, however, I don't know how to go about finding an alternative placement this late in the year.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

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[Lola917]

Hey everyone! I'm a PhD student from New York - through the psychpracticum consortium, I had accepted an offer for an externship for the the 2017/2018 academic year. However, a few days ago, I received a call stating that the training program at the site had been cancelled due to internal issues. As you can imagine, this puts me in a VERY difficult spot. As almost all of the reputable externships in NYC/Long Island are found through the psychpracticum "match," I have no idea where to go from here. This is meant to be my final externship before internship (I'll be applying for APPIC this fall for 2018/2019). I have strong experience in terms of previous externship/practicum placements, however, I don't know how to go about finding an alternative placement this late in the year.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

Sorry to hear this! This happened to me during my 3nd year externship. For externships, my program also does a small scale version of the electronic algorithm matching system used for internship, so once you match to one of your ranked choices, there is no turning back! I was relieved to match (in February) to an excellent externship (to start in July) only to find out around (March/April) that the training site will no longer have externs, also due to internal issues (primary supervisor relocating, I believe). I panicked because I knew that this late in the year, students have already matched and all slots are filled, so I immediately contacted the training director of the system where I matched and also the point-person of my PhD program who assists with the externship/internship application process. With their help with finding openings, I had to go through the entire process of submitting application materials and interviewing again, but I ended up with an even better externship placement. In your situation, I would definitely reach out to the program director of your externship placement that was cancelled to see if there are any openings within their system, even if not at that site. I would also make my program's internship/externship staff and faculty advisor aware of the situation and ask for guidance on next steps. The site being cancelled is not your fault and your doctoral program should make the necessary steps to assist you in finding another externship.

 

[dynamicdog]

This happened to me in the NYC area as well a few years back. There is generally a lot more flexibility with externships and you should still be able to find something that works for you for next year. I would recommend going through the sites on All Sites - Psychpracticum. The sites are supposed to update whether or not all positions have been filled- however this is not always the case. I would start by emailing places that may have openings. Also- your program's TD should be able to help in addition. Good luck!

 

[Member6677]

I agree with dynamicdog particularly about going to your program's TD. I'm not sure what university you attend, but my TD is a shark. She WILL find alternative placements, and I like to think that this is more widespread than my school. Do not be afraid to reach out for help, as this was completely out of your control and thus will not reflect poorly on you.