Finishing internship (early?) for postdoc

[belibala]

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Hi everyone,

I'm in a bit of a conundrum right now with my internship program and would like to seek some advice. One of the caveats of my matched post doc program is that I need to have finished all of my PhD requirements by the time I start the post doc program. My current internship site has a very late end date for the internship program, and as a result, I was unable to apply to many programs with an earlier start date. With my matched program, the internship end date is also the start date of the postdoc position. However, my internship program also has mandatory vacation days, and I will be completely done my program responsibilities 1.5 weeks in advance of the contract end date. Only since finding out about my match, has my internship program informed me that they count the 'last contract date' as my evaluation day- rather than the last day I am on-site. Their rationale is that 'something could happen' between my final day with the site and the final date of my contract which could lead me to 'failing' my internship despite very positive evaluations. I'm unsure if this is a site-specific rule or a rule of all APA accredited internships.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I can do? Is it possible to 'fail' a residency during the last 1.5 weeks if there has been good evaluations, no remediation plans, and zero client/site-contact?

Thank you

 

[Ollie123]

Unless you burn the building down and assault a patient in that time window, I can't imagine something happening.

I'd just be up front with the post-doc site about the situation. Chances are this isn't the first time its come up. I could potentially see issues if they wanted folks to start in July and you weren't done with internship until September, but we're talking about one day of overlap right?

 

[foreverbull]

That’s an interesting situation. My internship came with some vacation time that they said I could just take at the end and leave a bit early, so I left a week early, which was commonly done by interns.

I doubt this is the first time this has happened at your site or with a postdoc, but I agree that letting the postdoc know in advance is important. That said, if you’re on a good path in terms of evaluations currently, I doubt that you’ll be suddenly in a failing position at the very end, so I don’t think this would pose a huge problem right at the very end, if I’m understanding this situation correctly.

Maybe during the last few weeks of internship you could even have your TD communicate with your postdoc site and let them know that you’re on track to finish without any anticipated issues? That way you can still leave early and move to your postdoc site in time with some security that everything should go smoothly.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

It's possible to be removed from internship during the final 1.5 weeks if something egregious happens, but it's unlikely. That being said, it can be very difficult for internships to adjust their start and end dates, and internships are generally mandated to have you on-site for a full year (or two if part-time). You may be able to leave/move early, but your technical end date wouldn't be until the end date agreed upon when you matched into the position. That can put the internship in a sticky position, which is why they probably just want you on-site until the year is up.

I'd also be extra careful because this could impact licensure eligibility. Most states require a year-long, full-time internship experience (or two years part-time). If your internship end date is, say, July 30, and your postdoc start date is also July 30, that could be problematic, since you of course can't be in two places at the same time. It may also look back for the internship and postdoc (e.g., if the state asks, "how can you certify that this individual completed the stipulated training year if there is an overlap of dates with their fellowship?" and vice-versa). If there's some amount of separation, even just one day, you'd probably avoid some headaches. Odds are, the postdoc is going to potentially have more flexibility to adjust their date than the internship, although this isn't always true.

As others have said, I'd recommend being open with the fellowship and seeing if they're able to move the start date at all. If not, you could check with your internship and ask if there's any chance you could move early by using leave for the last few days, even if it means needing to go through your final evaluation remotely.

 

[summerbabe]

I'd also be extra careful because this could impact licensure eligibility. Most states require a year-long, full-time internship experience (or two years part-time). If your internship end date is, say, July 30, and your postdoc start date is also July 30, that could be problematic, since you of course can't be in two places at the same time.

Quoted for emphasis! And it’s not uncommon for a postdoc to start a few days later than the other fellows in their cohort due to unavoidable scheduling conflicts.

You’re likely just doing HR or orientation things that first day anyways so I’d kindly ask the postdoc site for some flexibility.

 

[belibala]

It's possible to be removed from internship during the final 1.5 weeks if something egregious happens, but it's unlikely. That being said, it can be very difficult for internships to adjust their start and end dates, and internships are generally mandated to have you on-site for a full year (or two if part-time). You may be able to leave/move early, but your technical end date wouldn't be until the end date agreed upon when you matched into the position. That can put the internship in a sticky position, which is why they probably just want you on-site until the year is up.

I'd also be extra careful because this could impact licensure eligibility. Most states require a year-long, full-time internship experience (or two years part-time). If your internship end date is, say, July 30, and your postdoc start date is also July 30, that could be problematic, since you of course can't be in two places at the same time. It may also look back for the internship and postdoc (e.g., if the state asks, "how can you certify that this individual completed the stipulated training year if there is an overlap of dates with their fellowship?" and vice-versa). If there's some amount of separation, even just one day, you'd probably avoid some headaches. Odds are, the postdoc is going to potentially have more flexibility to adjust their date than the internship, although this isn't always true.

As others have said, I'd recommend being open with the fellowship and seeing if they're able to move the start date at all. If not, you could check with your internship and ask if there's any chance you could move early by using leave for the last few days, even if it means needing to go through your final evaluation remotely.

Hi everyone! Just wanted to pop in and thank you all for responding to this post. This was immensely helpful (and it was what I wish I had gotten from my internship DCT). Just to provide an update, my internship was not willing to work with me at all, so I reached out to my postdoc site as suggested, and my postdoc site was willing to accommodate for the overlapping time for licensure.