Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Thinking about Leaving PhD to Reapply

[inneedofadvice2018]

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Your two cents would be greatly appreciated, and I thank you in advance for weighing in. Here are the facts:

1. I am currently enrolled in an APA-accredited clinical psychology PhD program in Year 2.
2. I am self-funded. No tuition remission, and I work part-time to pay the bills. There are few opportunities for funding in the future.
3. Most, not all, courses have been incredibly subpar. I do not want to get into specifics here since this is a throwaway, but I could not believe the extent to which faculty members got away with not imparting much knowledge for an entire semester or not updating their syllabi/readings for decades.
4. My research advisor is nearing retirement and therefore does not have a lab or any active research. His research interests are not aligned with mine at all. He is also rarely on campus. The program I am in is not a faculty-match program; you are first accepted to the program and then paired with a faculty member based on availability and interests.
5. There are no other clinical faculty members researching my broad area of interest (or anything close to it). Because he is tenured, the junior faculty are unwilling to ruffle feathers and take me on as an advisee. I have tried, tried, and tried again.
6. I am currently doing research at another institution in a productive lab; this is how I began to realize that my experience was lacking. The PI in the lab has been an excellent mentor. My advisor is not happy that I am seeking out external opportunities for research.
7. My externship supervisors have been incredibly sympathetic to my situation at school. They planted the seed in my head about considering dropping out and reapplying. They said that they see so much potential and that they feel that the potential is being wasted. The PI told me the same thing and stated that if I am open to reapplying, she would want to get me presenting and publishing. I feel so grateful that people are willing to help me when they have nothing to gain from doing so. But to be completely frank, this all sounds so frightening to me. Transferring programs does not seem to be an option based on the preliminary research we have done; sure maybe some credits would transfer over but I would essentially be starting at Year 1 in what would be Year 4 for me. Programs seem to be very particular about how their students are trained. Looks like reapplication would be the path I would have to take.
Note: I have missed the deadline for Fall 2018 entry, so this would mean beefing up my CV and reapplying for Fall 2019 with no guarantees that I would get accepted into a program. I am not a spring chicken and am 7 years out of undergrad.

 

[PsyDr]

I did something similar and would not recommend it.

edit: if you are trying to academia, have you considered doing a research post doc? If you are wanting a more clinically oriented career, suck it up, take it, and do what you want when you get to internship in another year.

 

[Pragma]

At this point you already have invested time and money. Sounds like a bad situation, but to hit reset at year 4 seems rough financially and comes with its own set of questions.

I’m curious what the selling point was for your program?

 

[inneedofadvice2018]

I did something similar and would not recommend it.

edit: if you are trying to academia, have you considered doing a research post doc? If you are wanting a more clinically oriented career, suck it up, take it, and do what you want when you get to internship in another year.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read and respond. I'm pursuing a clinically-oriented career. I'd love to hear more about your experience in doing this if you have the time to go into it.

 

[inneedofadvice2018]

At this point you already have invested time and money. Sounds like a bad situation, but to hit reset at year 4 seems rough financially and comes with its own set of questions.

I’m curious what the selling point was for your program?

It was the only program I got into. I had gotten interviews at a few other places and was waitlisted; all cited my lack of research experience. I was a career change (worked in special education and never imagined I'd go back to school for psychology). At the time, I had no friends/acquaintances in the field, so I reached out to PhDs in the area and the few that responded told me that these spots are highly coveted and that funding is not always guaranteed anyway. They suggested I go for it. I also felt pressured by my age at the time. My family could not believe I was going back to school and for a doctorate no less. At the time, I did not want to take one or two additional years to gain research experience and re-apply (which I know is what I'm considering now...ha). It was really hard to say no to the one acceptance I received, so I took it. I'm taking out loans now for my tuition and it would almost seem worth it if I was receiving a decent education and/or had a mentor supporting me in the program. But that's not the case.

Pragma, thanks for taking the time out of your busy day to share your two cents and help me out.

 

[Kadhir]

Sorry to hear that. I'd boil down the problems down to lack of funding, subpar coursework, and no in-house research, correct? The first you probably knew about when you entered, and little can be done. Unfortunately many folks have to pay their way through unless they specifically avoid these programs. The second might be more common a problem than you think- right or wrong, coursework is typically the least important part of these programs. The third is a big issue, but sounds like you have a viable (if not ideal) workaround. Your adviser may not be happy, but he is not paying you, and seems pretty checked out anyways.

It really sucks not feeling supported by your program and as though you're throwing away money, especially when you hear of others with antithetical experiences, but you'd want to make sure you're not digging a deeper hole for yourself. So I'd agree. It's an unfortunate situation, but your best option is to finish asap and get what you want. Grad school had many dark days. Life after (internship+post-doc) has been phenomenal, comparatively.

 

[inneedofadvice2018]

Sorry to hear that. I'd boil down the problems down to lack of funding, subpar coursework, and no in-house research, correct? The first you probably knew about when you entered, and little can be done. Unfortunately many folks have to pay their way through unless they specifically avoid these programs. The second might be more common a problem than you think- right or wrong, coursework is typically the least important part of these programs. The third is a big issue, but sounds like you have a viable (if not ideal) workaround. Your adviser may not be happy, but he is not paying you, and seems pretty checked out anyways.

It really sucks not feeling supported by your program and as though you're throwing away money, especially when you hear of others with antithetical experiences, but you'd want to make sure you're not digging a deeper hole for yourself. So I'd agree. It's an unfortunate situation, but your best option is to finish asap and get what you want. Grad school had many dark days. Life after (internship+post-doc) has been phenomenal, comparatively.

Kadhir, you have hit the nail on the head. As a second-year student, this has been my first externship experience at a site with other externs from different programs. It seems that the lack of funding is an anomaly in this area (five externs in five different PhD programs, all are funded) and when I told them and my supervisors about the quality of courses, they were appalled. I did not realize the extent of my situation until Year 2 when I began doing research and gaining clinical experience outside of my institution. Of course I wish I could have had this knowledge in Year 1 or at least before applications were due for this upcoming cycle.

I really appreciate you weighing in. I have gotten so much support and have been shown a lot of kindness from those outside of my program and now on this forum. I'm grateful for it.

 

[bcliff]

The only scenario where I could see leaving potentially making sense is if you could leave with a master’s degree (unless you already had one when you started the program? in special ed?) and feel like you would be more confident this time around applying to programs -- is the PI in your external lab taking a student or part of a PhD program?

 

[inneedofadvice2018]

The only scenario where I could see leaving potentially making sense is if you could leave with a master’s degree (unless you already had one when you started the program? in special ed?) and feel like you would be more confident this time around applying to programs -- is the PI in your external lab taking a student or part of a PhD program?

Hi Briarcliff! Thanks so, so much for your response. If I stuck around and finished up my 3rd year, I would get a Master's degree in Psychology. (The delay in getting started on my research precludes me from getting my Master's this year). However, if I left right now, I would not leave with a terminal Master's degree. I already have a Master's degree in education, but it unfortunately hasn't helped me much (did not have an empirical thesis and won't allow me to work as a psychology associate to accrue clinical hours in my gap year/s if I do decide to reapply).

PI at external lab is a part of the PhD program, but not clinical (developmental). The school it is housed in, though, has a clinical program. I'm meeting with the DCT of this program next week to discuss my situation and get his thoughts as well.

 

[bcliff]

Hi Briarcliff! Thanks so, so much for your response. If I stuck around and finished up my 3rd year, I would get a Master's degree in Psychology. (The delay in getting started on my research precludes me from getting my Master's this year). However, if I left right now, I would not leave with a terminal Master's degree. I already have a Master's degree in education, but it unfortunately hasn't helped me much (did not have an empirical thesis and won't allow me to work as a psychology associate to accrue clinical hours in my gap year/s if I do decide to reapply).

PI at external lab is a part of the PhD program, but not clinical (developmental). The school it is housed in, though, has a clinical program. I'm meeting with the DCT of this program next week to discuss my situation and get his thoughts as well.

Sounds like a good plan. It’s not unheard of for faculty to mentor students across departments, but that’s obviously going to vary school by school. Would it be possible for you to take a leave of absence to continue working on research-related milestones required to earn your MA without having to continue hemorrhaging cash? That’s assuming that you have met all of the other MA requirements (e.g., coursework, clinical training).

 

[DSMX]

You've done a great thing by trying to receive that missing research experience in an outside research lab. Stick with that as much as you can. Present and publish data from that lab. Also, ideally utilize the lab as a source for your dissertation data. I'm confused by this statement, though: "The PI told me the same thing and stated that if I am open to reapplying, she would want to get me presenting and publishing." Is the PI not allowing you to present or publish for some reason? If you're a member of that lab now, you have every right to present and publish.

 

[inneedofadvice2018]

You've done a great thing by trying to receive that missing research experience in an outside research lab. Stick with that as much as you can. Present and publish data from that lab. Also, ideally utilize the lab as a source for your dissertation data. I'm confused by this statement, though: "The PI told me the same thing and stated that if I am open to reapplying, she would want to get me presenting and publishing." Is the PI not allowing you to present or publish for some reason? If you're a member of that lab now, you have every right to present and publish.

Thanks, DSMX. Sorry for the confusion; I realize I wasn't very clear at all. Yes, the PI is very open to me utilizing the lab's data. However, my current advisor wants to have a say in how I use it. He, for example, does not want me using it for a Master's thesis or dissertation and is unsupportive of it because the lab is not a part of my school/program. Because my PI knows how territorial my advisor is over me and how particular he is about how theses/dissertations are written, she has let my advisor take the lead and just goes with the flow of my advisor. She doesn't want to step on his toes. But if I were to leave my program, she wants to take more of a hands-on approach in mentoring me by including me on posters, sending me to conferences, having me work on manuscripts. (My current advisor has not done any of this.) I hope this makes more sense!

 

[DSMX]

s, DSMX. Sorry for the confusion; I realize I wasn't very clear at all. Yes, the PI is very open to me utilizing the lab's data. However, my current advisor wants to have a say in how I use it. He, for example, does not want me using it for a Master's thesis or dissertation and is unsupportive of it because the lab is not a part of my school/program. Because my PI knows how territorial my advisor is over me and how particular he is about how theses/dissertations are written, she has let my advisor take the lead and just goes with the flow of my advisor. She doesn't want to step on his toes. But if I were to leave my program, she wants to take more of a hands-on approach in mentoring me by including me on posters, sending me to conferences, having me work on manuscripts. (My current advisor has not done any of this.) I hope this makes more sense!

Ah, yes. You are definitely in that unenviable space between a rock and a hard place. Here's my suggestion:

1) Try to make it work still with your current program. Try again to talk to a higher up at your school who can facilitate your switch to another advisor. Ideally all three of you are in that meeting, either trying to come to a conclusion of making your current situation work, or all agreeing to go to another advisor.

2) Don't at all leave your current program unless you have an offer from another program. If nothing I recommended in #1 works out, going to another program seems to be your only choice. But, you want to be sure that it's funded. This is the most difficult path to take though, as you are basically doing so without letting your program know, and there's no guarantee you will get an offer from another program. The ideal of this scenario is that you do get another offer, and can make a (relatively) quick transition to that new program so that you can defer any loans you have from your current program while you are at the new program.

 

[inneedofadvice2018]

Ah, yes. You are definitely in that unenviable space between a rock and a hard place. Here's my suggestion:

1) Try to make it work still with your current program. Try again to talk to a higher up at your school who can facilitate your switch to another advisor. Ideally all three of you are in that meeting, either trying to come to a conclusion of making your current situation work, or all agreeing to go to another advisor.

2) Don't at all leave your current program unless you have an offer from another program. If nothing I recommended in #1 works out, going to another program seems to be your only choice. But, you want to be sure that it's funded. This is the most difficult path to take though, as you are basically doing so without letting your program know, and there's no guarantee you will get an offer from another program. The ideal of this scenario is that you do get another offer, and can make a (relatively) quick transition to that new program so that you can defer any loans you have from your current program while you are at the new program.

DSMX, thank you so much for taking the time to provide some guidance to a complete internet stranger! I'm very grateful and I'm still trying to see what my options are and what the wisest decision would be. I am hoping the answer will become clearer in this upcoming month as I hope to see doors either open or close (though hopefully open) so that I can decide what my next steps should be. Thank you once again!

 

[deleted343839]

Given the situation you've described, it is possible, perhaps likely, that this will be your only viable shot at a PhD. If you can make the best of your circumstances and perhaps eke out a couple of publications through your external research assistantship, you might have a chance of matching to an APA-approved internship. What is your program's match rate?

 

[inneedofadvice2018]

Given the situation you've described, it is possible, perhaps likely, that this will be your only viable shot at a PhD. If you can make the best of your circumstances and perhaps eke out a couple of publications through your external research assistantship, you might have a chance of matching to an APA-approved internship. What is your program's match rate?

Hi @MamaPhD! Great question - 80% in 2016 according to AAPIC. And 74% over the past 5 years.

 

[DynamicDidactic]

Tough situation. I think you need to weigh the cost of leaving with the cost of staying. Both current monetary costs to attend the program and the long term financial costs of graduating from this program. I don't envy you and I think this is another example (in a long line) of the pitfalls of attending unfunded programs.

If you can leave after your masters and have an outstanding CV with publications and research activity, I would give it a shot. If you feel that your chances of acceptance are not dramatically increased then stick it out. It appears that you are geographical restricted due to family? If yes, I'd stick it out or get out completely.

 

[Ambivalicia]

Your two cents would be greatly appreciated, and I thank you in advance for weighing in. Here are the facts:

1. I am currently enrolled in an APA-accredited clinical psychology PhD program in Year 2.
2. I am self-funded. No tuition remission, and I work part-time to pay the bills. There are few opportunities for funding in the future.
3. Most, not all, courses have been incredibly subpar. I do not want to get into specifics here since this is a throwaway, but I could not believe the extent to which faculty members got away with not imparting much knowledge for an entire semester or not updating their syllabi/readings for decades.
4. My research advisor is nearing retirement and therefore does not have a lab or any active research. His research interests are not aligned with mine at all. He is also rarely on campus. The program I am in is not a faculty-match program; you are first accepted to the program and then paired with a faculty member based on availability and interests.
5. There are no other clinical faculty members researching my broad area of interest (or anything close to it). Because he is tenured, the junior faculty are unwilling to ruffle feathers and take me on as an advisee. I have tried, tried, and tried again.
6. I am currently doing research at another institution in a productive lab; this is how I began to realize that my experience was lacking. The PI in the lab has been an excellent mentor. My advisor is not happy that I am seeking out external opportunities for research.
7. My externship supervisors have been incredibly sympathetic to my situation at school. They planted the seed in my head about considering dropping out and reapplying. They said that they see so much potential and that they feel that the potential is being wasted. The PI told me the same thing and stated that if I am open to reapplying, she would want to get me presenting and publishing. I feel so grateful that people are willing to help me when they have nothing to gain from doing so. But to be completely frank, this all sounds so frightening to me. Transferring programs does not seem to be an option based on the preliminary research we have done; sure maybe some credits would transfer over but I would essentially be starting at Year 1 in what would be Year 4 for me. Programs seem to be very particular about how their students are trained. Looks like reapplication would be the path I would have to take.
Note: I have missed the deadline for Fall 2018 entry, so this would mean beefing up my CV and reapplying for Fall 2019 with no guarantees that I would get accepted into a program. I am not a spring chicken and am 7 years out of undergrad.

So, I am approaching this from the perspective of a supervisor and internship selection committee member at a relatively well-known internship program at a VA. We would see the transcripts that you sent from the 2 different programs that you attended. The fact that you left one and went to another would raise some red flags, especially because you won’t have the opportunity to explain the situation. Even if you did explain it in your cover letter or your extraneous materials, it might not read well. I would avoid leaving your program because it could have implications with respect to what others have mentioned, but also for internship placement going forward

 

[dynamicdog]

Your two cents would be greatly appreciated, and I thank you in advance for weighing in. Here are the facts:

1. I am currently enrolled in an APA-accredited clinical psychology PhD program in Year 2.
2. I am self-funded. No tuition remission, and I work part-time to pay the bills. There are few opportunities for funding in the future.
3. Most, not all, courses have been incredibly subpar. I do not want to get into specifics here since this is a throwaway, but I could not believe the extent to which faculty members got away with not imparting much knowledge for an entire semester or not updating their syllabi/readings for decades.
4. My research advisor is nearing retirement and therefore does not have a lab or any active research. His research interests are not aligned with mine at all. He is also rarely on campus. The program I am in is not a faculty-match program; you are first accepted to the program and then paired with a faculty member based on availability and interests.
5. There are no other clinical faculty members researching my broad area of interest (or anything close to it). Because he is tenured, the junior faculty are unwilling to ruffle feathers and take me on as an advisee. I have tried, tried, and tried again.
6. I am currently doing research at another institution in a productive lab; this is how I began to realize that my experience was lacking. The PI in the lab has been an excellent mentor. My advisor is not happy that I am seeking out external opportunities for research.
7. My externship supervisors have been incredibly sympathetic to my situation at school. They planted the seed in my head about considering dropping out and reapplying. They said that they see so much potential and that they feel that the potential is being wasted. The PI told me the same thing and stated that if I am open to reapplying, she would want to get me presenting and publishing. I feel so grateful that people are willing to help me when they have nothing to gain from doing so. But to be completely frank, this all sounds so frightening to me. Transferring programs does not seem to be an option based on the preliminary research we have done; sure maybe some credits would transfer over but I would essentially be starting at Year 1 in what would be Year 4 for me. Programs seem to be very particular about how their students are trained. Looks like reapplication would be the path I would have to take.
Note: I have missed the deadline for Fall 2018 entry, so this would mean beefing up my CV and reapplying for Fall 2019 with no guarantees that I would get accepted into a program. I am not a spring chicken and am 7 years out of undergrad.

I feel for you. I attended a program that was not a great fit, both in terms of theoretical orientation and research opportunities. I'm really a psychodynamic qual person but realized too late (completely my own fault). In retrospect I probably should have applied to/attended a counseling psych program. I also was "not a spring chicken," when I started. Since my research was less of a priority to me I worked with a prof who I liked personally on a topic I had some interest in and then sought out clinical experiences and mentors that better aligned with my career goals. It sounds like there are outside opportunities for you as well and I think that is the better route to go. You have many more hurdles ahead of you (internship, dissertation, post doc, EPPP, etc.) I would try to make the best of it. Outside mentors really helped me along the way, both emotionally and logistically. Good luck!

 

[foreverbull]

I feel for you. I attended a program that was not a great fit, both in terms of theoretical orientation and research opportunities. I'm really a psychodynamic qual person but realized too late (completely my own fault). In retrospect I probably should have applied to/attended a counseling psych program. I also was "not a spring chicken," when I started. Since my research was less of a priority to me I worked with a prof who I liked personally on a topic I had some interest in and then sought out clinical experiences and mentors that better aligned with my career goals. It sounds like there are outside opportunities for you as well and I think that is the better route to go. You have many more hurdles ahead of you (internship, dissertation, post doc, EPPP, etc.) I would try to make the best of it. Outside mentors really helped me along the way, both emotionally and logistically. Good luck!

What do you think would make you a better fit for a counseling program than clinical psychology, out of curiosity?

 

[futureapppsy2]

What do you think would make you a better fit for a counseling program than clinical psychology, out of curiosity?

FWIW, I've seen more qual researchers in counseling psych programs than clinical psych programs. Like everything else with clinical v. counseling psych, it's not a perfect split, of course.

Why is everyone saying that the OP only has one more year when they are in year two? They have the rest of this year plus two more before internship.

Doing research outside of the department or university is definitely a viable option (and good for you for taking that initiative, OP!). Even though my advisor was good (we've published several articles together), I did a lot of research with people outside of my university, to the extent that my primary mentor on my dissertation was actually not at my university, as my dissertation was a three article format based on data that I had collected with that outside collaborator. I also knew someone at an FSPS who did their dissertation with a collaborator at an academic medical center and their FSPS-affiliated advisor was pretty much their advisor in name only.

 

[psych.meout]

FWIW, I've seen more qual researchers in counseling psych programs than clinical psych programs. Like everything else with clinical v. counseling psych, it's not a perfect split, of course.

Why is everyone saying that the OP only has one more year when they are in year two? They have the rest of this year plus two more before internship.

Because OP missed the deadlines to start at a new program for Fall 2018. The earliest they could start at a new program would be Fall 2019, which would be the beginning of their fourth and final year in their current program if they chose to stay. At most of the programs I've seen, they might get some credits and possibly their master's thesis transferred in, but they'd still have to mostly start over.

 

[futureapppsy2]

Because OP missed the deadlines to start at a new program for Fall 2018. The earliest they could start at a new program would be Fall 2019, which would be the beginning of their fourth and final year in their current program if they chose to stay. At most of the programs I've seen, they might get some credits and possibly their master's thesis transferred in, but they'd still have to mostly start over.

Yes, but the OP doesn't have to "stick it out for one more year" before internship. They have to stick it out for 2.5.

 

[psych.meout]

Yes, but the OP doesn't have to "stick it out for one more year" before internship. They have to stick it out for 2.5.

Right, but whether they decide to leave immediately at the end of this semester or wait until they get admitted to a new program, which would be at least another year, they're likely looking at an additional four years in the new program before internship. Even if they could get a good amount of courses and their thesis transferred over, they would still need to take other courses to meet the minimum in-program credit hours requirement to achieve doctoral-candidate status.

 

[dynamicdog]

What do you think would make you a better fit for a counseling program than clinical psychology, out of curiosity?

My background and just innate interests are in anthropology and cultural studies, which counseling programs seem to incorporate more into their programs and focus more on in terms of research. In my particular program I felt a bit like the weird person for bringing more cultural or societal aspects to the table. When I've spoken to people from counseling programs- it seems students and profs are more receptive to bringing this type of stuff into the mix. Not saying this doesn't happen in clinical programs, but it seems more the norm in counseling programs.

 

[mlwg1]

If you were pursuing a research career making a switch would make more sense, so that you could add relevant publications to your CV.

Since you want to be a clinician, I don’t really see the point of switching. In the end your degree would be put to the same use, based on the choices you have presented. I didn’t like my graduate school experience for several reasons, but it’s over now. From what you’ve presented, there’s not much upside to adding several years to your training IMO.

 

[inneedofadvice2018]

I want to thank every single individual in this thread who provided their two cents to an Internet stranger. I thought I'd provide a follow-up post for anyone who was interested since this thread has helped me immensely. After much thought and consideration, I've decided to try reapplying to other programs in the area (I'm geographically restricted for a number of reasons) that are a better in fit and higher in quality than my current program. I'm still going to continue at my current program and meet all milestones, in case I don't get in elsewhere. If I do get in, I'll at least have options and can make an informed decision once I get a sense of what my timeline will look like in the new program (i.e., how many credits will transfer, if my thesis will be accepted/waived, etc.) Thanks again for all of your help and encouragement. Really grateful for this resource and for all who shared your own personal stories, triumphs, and struggles with me.

 

[inneedofadvice2018]

In case another graduate student stumbles upon this post from 3 years ago, I wanted to provide an update for whatever it is worth! I am so grateful for the advice from this thread. Because of the advice I received, I reapplied and was accepted into 3 clinical psychology doctoral programs (this time around, I was much more selective and strategic about who I applied to work with), including my top choice. After 3 years in my previous program, I was able to waive courses and carry over my clinical hours into my new program. I just finished up my third year at my new program, and because of the incredible support of my mentor, I was able to complete a master's thesis, pass my comprehensive exams, and propose my dissertation in time for the internship application deadline. I knew it was a long shot, but I submitted only a handful of applications (that were within a geographic region due to my partner's job/license). I figured if I didn't get in this time around, I could apply in Year 4 with the rest of my cohort. I ended matching for internship and defending my dissertation 2 weeks ago. The rest of my cohort from my previous program will now be starting their post-doctoral fellowships this fall, but only 1 has successfully defended their dissertation. I know everyone's PhD experience is unique, so what I will say about my journey is that I wish I had known was how a supportive mentor can be the main difference between not being able to complete a master's thesis in 3 years and completing an entire doctoral program in that same time frame. I wish that I could warn other prospective students about the cons of my previous program, but I worry about how to do this diplomatically and hope for everyone's sake that the program can improve and do better by their students and the field. If any doctoral student finds themselves in my shoes, please feel free to DM me, and I'd be happy to pass along whatever information might be helpful to you!

 

[smalltownpsych]

Sounds like you made a good choice and congrats on dissertation defense! That is the obstacle that I was concerned about if you had stayed in the other program as I have seen this delayed all too often with weaker programs and being ABD in our field typically really sucks as you can’t really do clinical work and get paid.

 

[cara susanna]

How do you think your clinical training is (not the coursework, but actual clinical training)? If it's adequate, then I would probably stick it out and keep working with the outside lab. Yeah your advisor isn't happy, but what are they gonna do? I probably wouldn't leave for another program unless you think your actual clinical training is not up to stnuff and/or you are no longer able to work with that outside lab