Gate keeping: Who is actually doing it?

[taylortaylor164]

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@StellaB

I do a fair amount of supervision for interns, and I have to say that I have been shocked in recent years by the poor gate keeping that has been done by more than a few grad programs. Whether it's applicants for internship who do not stand a chance and are clearly unprepared for internship generally, or (far worse) actual interns who demonstrate insurmountable shortcomings in integrity (or ability / willingness to learn), it is quite disheartening. It appears that this is far more common at diploma mills, where the cohorts are so large the DCT does not really know any of the students well. Those schools also have a financial incentive to pass students along, keep taking their student loan money, and don't seem to feel any ownership over the quality of psychologists they're putting out into the field. It feels horrible to have to fail someone on internship when you know the impact this will have on their career, and even worse when you know they have hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt stacked up already. And it's infuriating when it's clear that their grad program screwed them over by just passing them along, either unaware or unbothered by the student's shortcomings. But at the end of the day, our ethical obligation is to pass interns who meet the benchmarks, and fail the ones who don't.

I am curious as to what are the issues that internship supervisors would feel compelled to fail a student? This is something I have wondered as I have gone through training (whether I am getting the best supervision due to the time constraints of my current supervisors and that this may bite me in the butt with more advanced sites i.e. internship).

 

[AcronymAllergy]

@StellaB

I am curious as to what are the issues that internship supervisors would feel compelled to fail a student? This is something I have wondered as I have gone through training (whether I am getting the best supervision due to the time constraints of my current supervisors and that this may bite me in the butt with more advanced sites i.e. internship).

I can't speak for StellaB, but I can say from my perspective, they're probably similar to in graduate school, just perhaps more clinically-focused overall. Inability to attain a basic and necessary level in professional competencies (e.g., knowledge and proficiency of/with psychotherapy and assessment) and gross unprofessionalism/problematic behavior or substantial ethical breaches come to mind. Typically there would be a probationary/remediation process involved in all but the most extreme situations; internships generally don't want to dismiss interns if at all avoidable.

 

[StellaB]

I can't speak for StellaB, but I can say from my perspective, they're probably similar to in graduate school, just perhaps more clinically-focused overall. Inability to attain a basic and necessary level in professional competencies (e.g., knowledge and proficiency of/with psychotherapy and assessment) and gross unprofessionalism/problematic behavior or substantial ethical breaches come to mind. Typically there would be a probationary/remediation process involved in all but the most extreme situations; internships generally don't want to dismiss interns if at all avoidable.

Exactly this, plus the issues persisting despite significant additional supports / tutoring / extra supervision / etc. provided through a remediation plan.

 

[WisNeuro]

The last time I had to draw up a remediation plan involved frequent scoring and reporting errors in the test results and report. To the extent that the erroneous data would have meaningfully changed the conceptualization of the diagnosis and recommendations. To this and other circumstances in the past, add in some defensiveness over the errors. If I can show you multiple instances in one report where you made major errors, do not try and rationalize the errors, you are making it worse.

 

[mdwpsyd]

3) I have only ever seen remediation plans and a removal in the VA. The VA is leagues ahead of most places in the training arena. There is actually a nice push to standardize assessment of trainee progress, as well as as provide clear, objective anchors to required APA training points. The VA is still the premier training ground for psychology.

Ah, excellent points. I agree, and I appreciate you articulating "the other side of the story".

 

[mdwpsyd]

Right, those articles mentioned were about services outside of mental health so it's a bit misleading IMO.

Fair point. I stand corrected.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

For all the issues VA has or appears to have, supporting and providing quality psychology training is generally not one of them. Not to say that every VA training site everywhere is amazing, but when speaking in averages, VA seems to do better than many, including the benefits and protections provided to trainees.

 

[thebalmofhurtminds]

I certainly had my significant criticisms of the VA, but training is not one of them compared to non-VA sites. The organization at even one of my messy VA training sites was still above most AMCs.