Supervisor problem

[ResearchCat]

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Hi everyone,
I've been reading this forum for awhile and found it to be helpful on a variety of questions. I registered to post a question for a friend of mine who is dealing with an issue with her post doc supervisor. The supervisor has a long history of being problematic with students, and he is not signing off on my friend's paperwork for licensure transfer to another state. He's not saying that he won't sign off on the paperwork, but he's just not answering the repeated requests to do it. There were a lot of issues at the site including this supervisor being accused of sexual harassment by another student while she was there, and it's led to a breakdown in their relationship. Does she have recourse? Like through the licensing board? Is he required to fill out the paperwork or do supervisors just get to do whatever they want in these situations? He already signed off on her licensing paperwork for the state she lives in, but a lot of the issues happened after she left post doc and was contacted to give her perspective on what happened there, etc.
Thanks

 

[LisaLisa86]

Hi everyone,
I've been reading this forum for awhile and found it to be helpful on a variety of questions. I registered to post a question for a friend of mine who is dealing with an issue with her post doc supervisor. The supervisor has a long history of being problematic with students, and he is not signing off on my friend's paperwork for licensure transfer to another state. He's not saying that he won't sign off on the paperwork, but he's just not answering the repeated requests to do it. There were a lot of issues at the site including this supervisor being accused of sexual harassment by another student while she was there, and it's led to a breakdown in their relationship. Does she have recourse? Like through the licensing board? Is he required to fill out the paperwork or do supervisors just get to do whatever they want in these situations? He already signed off on her licensing paperwork for the state she lives in, but a lot of the issues happened after she left post doc and was contacted to give her perspective on what happened there, etc.
Thanks

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=1022781

 

[ResearchCat]

oh wow thanks. I never thought such a situation would happen more than once so didn't think to do a search. Sad that it has happened more than once though. There should be some supervisor accountability so that they don't get absolute power over their supervisees.

 

[PHD12]

oh wow thanks. I never thought such a situation would happen more than once so didn't think to do a search. Sad that it has happened more than once though. There should be some supervisor accountability so that they don't get absolute power over their supervisees.

I don't know if this was mentioned earlier, but I would call the training director of the program and explain that the situation and urgency. Most sites have a director of training who is responsible for the postdoc overall. You don't have to have your actual supervisor sign off on the hours. In my state, the board accepts the director of training as the primary supervisor. Alternatively, this could be the clinical director/chief of the setting. After this experience, she should get credentialed with the national register. I wouldn't risk it again.

I've heard this happening before. It's really unfortunate that the Board requires the original documents from the primary supervisor. It happens quite frequently that supervisors are MIA, pass away, or move to another location/job. There should be a way for the psychologist to have a copy of her hours and for the board to just verify their authenticity by contacting the training director of the program. It would be nice to have our own copies of the materials as a back-up!

 

[VeryHopeful2010]

Agreed, I would contact the supervisor's boss or head of the organization directly.

 

[deleted106747]

I'm confused by the National Register. Does it store documents or does it provide the credentialing to the different states? I looked at their site and it seemed like they have their own paperwork to document, but would the various licensing boards accept that?

 

[VeryHopeful2010]

The National Register has its own paperwork. That paperwork is used for applications in certain states - not all. The list of states is on their website.

 

[deleted106747]

Interesting. I'm torn - sounds like it might be useful, but it also might not be. Expense is pretty high.