PhD/PsyD How to sign a report?

[JonDoh]

I need some guidance with regard to a point of discussion in my office today. We are supervising a postdoctoral fellow. This individual has completed their internship and all degree requirements. She/He is from a program that does not have a graduation date until December (internship ran over the Summer graduation date). A letter from the Dean's office at their program confirms all degree requirements are complete and that they will graduate in three months.

How should this person sign their reports and why?

Person, M.A.
Postdoctoral Fellow

or

Person, Psy.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow

One argument is that the graduation ceremony has not occurred, so Psy.D. title is premature. The counter argument is that the Psy.D title is appropriate when all degree requirements are fulfilled and designated as such, as a graduation ceremony is not the true marker of having completed the work.

I raised the issue of how bizarre it would be to read "M.A., Postdoctoral Fellow"

What say those in these positions? Is there an official APA stance?

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[Therapist4Chnge]

I'm guessing your state psych licensing board will have the finally say...or at least who's opinion I'd want to know.

Degree conferral is what I'd ask about. There will be a specific date associated with it, regardless of when graduation occurs. The transcript should have the conferral date on it somewhere.

 

[G Costanza]

Conferral date is likely what matters. Whoever is auditing their graduate work should be able to confirm the date if its not found on the school's website.

They don't have a PsyD until the conferral date. They technically shouldn't be using the title postdoc until they have been conferred.

If they have not been conferred, I'd sign with something like "MA, Staff Clinician."

 

[PsyDr]

Think about how this would play out in court. The attorney would absolutely ask "when did you graduate/what is the date in your degree?". Followed by, "so when you signed PsyD on 1/2/3, you didn't have a PsyD, correct?" Then, "can you read the definition of lie from the dictionary?/ can you read the apa ethics code about misleading/ can you read the board rules from your state?" .

 

[smalltownpsych]

Agreed with above, the date of conferral is what counts. After that, the states I have been in have statutes and/or rules clearly delineating the title that a postdoc should use and how to sign their reports. They also have a process that the postdoc needs to go through to begin that phase of their training. For the states I am familiar with, this was the application for licensure and approval of supervision arrangement.

 

[WisNeuro]

I wouldn't worry as much about how they sign their reports. Rather, I 'd have them check very closely about the hours they are accruing and when they are are accrued for licensing purposes. Some states will stipulate that the hours accrued must be accrued after conferral of their doctoral degree.