Just graduated from Masters in Clinical Psych, struggling in my current research job

[freeprozac]

Hello everyone. I'm looking for advice because I feel really stuck at this juncture in my career. I've been trying to get into Clinical Psych PhD for a few years now. First I did two years of postbac in psychology, then didn't get into PhD programs but got accepted into a Masters program. I graduated from my Masters program in May. Since then, I have been developing my own project at a tech company. This experience was amazing, a really creative and collaborative experience. Unfortunately, I can't stay there for the entire year.

I'm reapplying to PhD programs this Fall and, in an effort to boost my research experience, I just started a full time research assistant position at a hospital. I know this position will likely help with getting into a program but so far it's been disappointing because most of my time will be spent dealing with logistical and organizational issues. The only time I really enjoy is the time with participants. The rest is a dreadful, mind-numbing experience. I'm really good at being creative, coming up with ideas and brainstorming and not as good at keeping up with the details and paperwork. This leads me to worry that I just won't be as good in this role as I could be in other roles.

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[deleted656923]

What's the question

 

[singasongofjoy]

Sounds like your current job will be good practice for developing those paperwork/detail managing skills. You’ll need those in grad school.

 

[WisNeuro]

I'm reapplying to PhD programs this Fall and, in an effort to boost my research experience, I just started a full time research assistant position at a hospital. I know this position will likely help with getting into a program but so far it's been disappointing because most of my time will be spent dealing with logistical and organizational issues. The only time I really enjoy is the time with participants. The rest is a dreadful, mind-numbing experience. I'm really good at being creative, coming up with ideas and brainstorming and not as good at keeping up with the details and paperwork. This leads me to worry that I just won't be as good in this role as I could be in other roles.

Welcome to about 90% of what research is. I agree with sing above, if you have trouble with details and paperwork, grad school is going to be hella tough. Additionally, most careers in clinical psych will be rough. Details and paperwork take up a good portion of our time.

 

[boba_psych]

Is the main issue trying to get more posters and publications before applying again? If so I was in the similar boat as you. I had experience in several labs and working as a research assistant in a hospital but didnt get the experience to do work other than running particpants and low level handling of data. I ended up getting my current job through connections where I knew the environment was supportive for inquiry and had good mentorship. I ended up doing several poster presentations and have now one publication with 2 in prep and my skills have grown a lot. I also got into a program this cycle. So if you feel that this relates to your situation, I would suggest reaching out to people you know about opportunities that allow you to work on pubs and posters which have a good PI/mentor. Networking with other people in science was very important for me.

 

[smalltownpsych]

Who doesn't hate paperwork? I completely agree with what others have said that this is an opportunity to improve those skills. I would rather interact with people than anything else and that is 90% of what I do in my day to day. I am a bit burned out on pure clinical work and am excited to get back to an administrative role where my job will be providing support and training for my clinical team, planning big picture organizational issues, dealing with patient and family crises, and doing almost no paperwork at all. In fact, part of my philosophy is to eliminate as much paperwork as possible since that is not what I will want my people doing as it takes away from productivity. For example, they are not being hired for their ability to write elaborate and beautiful treatment plans so much as their ability to actually implement effective treatments.

 

[freeprozac]

Is the main issue trying to get more posters and publications before applying again? If so I was in the similar boat as you. I had experience in several labs and working as a research assistant in a hospital but didnt get the experience to do work other than running particpants and low level handling of data. I ended up getting my current job through connections where I knew the environment was supportive for inquiry and had good mentorship. I ended up doing several poster presentations and have now one publication with 2 in prep and my skills have grown a lot. I also got into a program this cycle. So if you feel that this relates to your situation, I would suggest reaching out to people you know about opportunities that allow you to work on pubs and posters which have a good PI/mentor. Networking with other people in science was very important for me.

Exactly, an environment supportive for inquiry definitely means a lot. I've been doing a lot of networking and definitely need to do more. If I stick with this position, I'll probably get posters and might even get a pub out of it but not sure how to apply my other skills. What comes most naturally to me is solution-seeking, I'm very hands on—if I see a problem, I search for ways to fix it. This came in handy when it comes to business and seems uncomfortable to a lot of people in hospital-based research.

 

[freeprozac]

What's the question

Haha, sorry about that. My main question is, do I stick it out? Or do I bail and look for a better fit.

 

[freeprozac]

Sounds like your current job will be good practice for developing those paperwork/detail managing skills. You’ll need those in grad school.

That's true.

 

[boba_psych]

Exactly, an environment supportive for inquiry definitely means a lot. I've been doing a lot of networking and definitely need to do more. If I stick with this position, I'll probably get posters and might even get a pub out of it but not sure how to apply my other skills. What comes most naturally to me is solution-seeking, I'm very hands on—if I see a problem, I search for ways to fix it. This came in handy when it comes to business and seems uncomfortable to a lot of people in hospital-based research.

If you do have the opportunity for posters and pubs, then maybe you can still get what you want out of the job. Have you let your PI know about what types of work you find stimulating and asked for opportunities to do those things? Maybe it could even just be about participating in team meetings about the progress of the study and practicing problem solving for issues that are bound to come up for the study. (I.e. slowing of participant recruitment, attrition rates, logistics of research in the clinical setting...)

 

[Ollie123]

Agree with others that this is to some extent the nature of the beast right now. I think its killing the field and certainly has me eyeing the job market at times, but it is the nature of the beast. Take the opportunity to work on your skills in this area because believe me, they will be (extremely) necessary in graduate school. Therapy skills are obviously important, but not writing your progress notes is probably more likely to get you kicked out than being a mediocre therapist would.

What comes most naturally to me is solution-seeking, I'm very hands on—if I see a problem, I search for ways to fix it. This came in handy when it comes to business and seems uncomfortable to a lot of people in hospital-based research.

Depends what you mean. If you are picking through computer code, developing tools to ensure data integrity or discussing with the PI strategies for bolster recruitment it is great. If you are driving to participant's homes to pick them up because they have transportation issues, deviating from protocol because it makes it easier for you or the participant, etc...that is not about making anyone "uncomfortable." That is about it creating infitely more problems than it solves and you not necessarily realizing all of those problems by nature of being relatively inexperienced. The latter case can be an utter nightmare for a PI. I've had a few over the years. On the other hand, if you are just trying to proactively address issues and communicating proposed solutions...I imagine most PIs would appreciate it. My favorite RAs over the years were the ones who went above and beyond to discover problems and then come to me with proposed solutions.

 

[freeprozac]

Who doesn't hate paperwork? I completely agree with what others have said that this is an opportunity to improve those skills. I would rather interact with people than anything else and that is 90% of what I do in my day to day. I am a bit burned out on pure clinical work and am excited to get back to an administrative role where my job will be providing support and training for my clinical team, planning big picture organizational issues, dealing with patient and family crises, and doing almost no paperwork at all. In fact, part of my philosophy is to eliminate as much paperwork as possible since that is not what I will want my people doing as it takes away from productivity. For example, they are not being hired for their ability to write elaborate and beautiful treatment plans so much as their ability to actually implement effective treatments.

Your philosophy is sound.

Agree with others that this is to some extent the nature of the beast right now. I think its killing the field and certainly has me eyeing the job market at times, but it is the nature of the beast. Take the opportunity to work on your skills in this area because believe me, they will be (extremely) necessary in graduate school. Therapy skills are obviously important, but not writing your progress notes is probably more likely to get you kicked out than being a mediocre therapist would.


Depends what you mean. If you are picking through computer code, developing tools to ensure data integrity or discussing with the PI strategies for bolster recruitment it is great. If you are driving to participant's homes to pick them up because they have transportation issues, deviating from protocol because it makes it easier for you or the participant, etc...that is not about making anyone "uncomfortable." That is about it creating infitely more problems than it solves and you not necessarily realizing all of those problems by nature of being relatively inexperienced. The latter case can be an utter nightmare for a PI. I've had a few over the years. On the other hand, if you are just trying to proactively address issues and communicating proposed solutions...I imagine most PIs would appreciate it. My favorite RAs over the years were the ones who went above and beyond to discover problems and then come to me with proposed solutions.

I think an inherent conflict in research is that it values most a method that's evidence-based. Something that has been done many times and proven to work in previous research. But that comes into conflict when it comes to innovating. Why create a new method that might fail when you have a reliable old one?
Other than that, thank you for the points. I'll try to apply my understanding towards recruitment and data.