widener internship

[szf105]

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Apparently if you are accepted into Widener's PsyD program you automatically get an APA paid internship in your 4th and 5th years....does anyone know of any downfalls to this because it seems too amazing?

 

[73BARMYPgsp]

Apparently if you are accepted into Widener's PsyD program you automatically get an APA paid internship in your 4th and 5th years....does anyone know of any downfalls to this because it seems too amazing?

That would be a violation of APPIC and NMS matching standards/ethics. You might want to check it out further. Even active duty military (HPSP) can't "guarantee" an internship, and that program is a close as it gets.

 

[deleted176373]

That would be a violation of APPIC and NMS matching standards/ethics. You might want to check it out further. Even active duty military (HPSP) can't "guarantee" an internship, and that program is a close as it gets.

What they may be doing is offering a practicum placement that is at an APA approved facility as part of the practicum experience in the program, which is different than getting an APA internship after graduation from the program.

Mark

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

I know some programs have a site affiliated with the school that only takes apps from that school.....so although it isn't guaranteed, they can place a certain # there.

 

[73BARMYPgsp]

I know some programs have a site affiliated with the school that only takes apps from that school.....so although it isn't guaranteed, they can place a certain # there.

Thats interesting. How do they get away with that? If the military said "only HPSP and USUHS can apply here" they would be in trouble.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Thats interesting. How do they get away with that? If the military said "only HPSP and USUHS can apply here" they would be in trouble.

Not sure....but I remember when I was reviewing sites on the APPIC Directory they had some that said, "Only ABC school applicants may apply" or something to that effect.

 

[docma]

Schools can establish affiliated or "captive" internships that are only open to their students. Both Widener and University of Denver have this available for their students. To qualify for APA accreditation (as they both have for some time), they must meet all the same criteria as any other site--and probably some additional proof that they are providing enough diversity of experience and gate-keeping. I saw a presentation on the Widener program and it seems very well thought out. Obviously students miss the useful experience of training with a cohort the comes from varied schools/philosophies--but they do have an internship placement guaranteed--at least at Widener. (Though they may not get their most preferred assignment). And they don't go through the national Match. UD students do not necessarily stay there (many do participate in the national Match) nor is a placement in their programs guaranteed--but for those who want to remain locally it is a valuable option.

 

[73BARMYPgsp]

Schools can establish affiliated or "captive" internships that are only open to their students. Both Widener and University of Denver have this available for their students. To qualify for APA accreditation (as they both have for some time), they must meet all the same criteria as any other site--and probably some additional proof that they are providing enough diversity of experience and gate-keeping. I saw a presentation on the Widener program and it seems very well thought out. Obviously students miss the useful experience of training with a cohort the comes from varied schools/philosophies--but they do have an internship placement guaranteed--at least at Widener. (Though they may not get their most preferred assignment). And they don't go through the national Match. UD students do not necessarily stay there (many do participate in the national Match) nor is a placement in their programs guaranteed--but for those who want to remain locally it is a valuable option.

I guess if you don't participate in the match, that would be different. But it still sounds weird.

 

[psych00]

One downfall to that is having part-time class or practicum, and part-time internship for two years, instead of finishing school your 4th year and then going on for internship 5th year. Besides the idea that the sites they provide are probably a limited variety, also I think the sites may be a good distance away from the school so there would be no way to stay close to both school and "work"/internship. That's just what I remember, from information last year.

 

[NeuroPhD]

While internships don't pay well, they at least pay you. My understanding is that Widener students continue to pay tuition during the captive internship.

 

[FirstGenDoc]

The paid internships are actually in your first two years and the money goes straight to your 4th and 5th year tuition 🙄

 

[ilikeeepsycheee]

its not a myth...they have their own set of approved sites that are exclusive to their students...you go through what is basically an internal match in that there is still ranking and such, but everyone in the program is guaranteed to get placed at one of their apa approved sites. downfall is that you can only do their sites and cant apply outside (although they do have many many manyyy sites and it seems like a great system)

 

[Psych1212]

It's actually one of the biggest strengths of their program, along with the depth and breadth of the clinical training that you receive. Not only are you guaranteed an APA accredited internship, but you won't have to worry about moving to a new location for a year. This is particularly attractive for students with families.

The downside, of course, is the cost of tuition....

 

[djstout]

I think that a few people have already corrected the misinformation earlier in this thread, but here's a summary from my perspective:

Yes, this is a "weird" setup if you mean it's unusual. It's also, as has been mentioned, a HUGE benefit for us. We don't have to go through the national match process, and you don't have to run the risk of moving halfway across the country. The internship slots are in the same geographic region as the practicum slots. Not participating in APPIC doesn't make it any less APA-approved.

If you're skeptical of its legitimacy, Widener's internship director, Dr. Linda K. Knauss, ABPP, is on the APA Commission on Accreditation. http://www.apa.org/ed/accreditation/coalist.html

As for the down side, it is an expensive program. While you do get paid for the two years of internship, you do continue to pay tuition during your 4th and 5th years.

 

[psychmama]

I'd like to see more captive internship programs like Widener's. I think the large professional schools like Argosy and Alliant should be required to do more to provide adequate means of finding internships for their students outside of the APPIC match system. This alone would take a lot of the pressure off of the system, and the match rate would hopefully go up for all of us.

 

[NeuropsychPhD]

One downfall to that is having part-time class or practicum, and part-time internship for two years, instead of finishing school your 4th year and then going on for internship 5th year. Besides the idea that the sites they provide are probably a limited variety, also I think the sites may be a good distance away from the school so there would be no way to stay close to both school and "work"/internship. That's just what I remember, from information last year.

If you're interested in finding a program with a captive internship, you might look at UT Southwestern. All students finish both school and internship in 4 years (4 years!) -- I don't see this as a "downfall." The internship is part-time for your third and fourth year, and the sites are all located near the school (some even AT the school's affiliated hospitals).

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

If you're interested in finding a program with a captive internship, you might look at UT Southwestern. All students finish both school and internship in 4 years (4 years!) -- I don't see this as a "downfall." The internship is part-time for your third and fourth year, and the sites are all located near the school (some even AT the school's affiliated hospitals).

The downfall is that they can't possibly learn as much as people who go 4+1 or 5+1. The goal shouldn't be to get out quickly, but instead to learn as much during your time in school.

 

[deleted176373]

I think that a few people have already corrected the misinformation earlier in this thread, but here's a summary from my perspective:

Yes, this is a "weird" setup if you mean it's unusual. It's also, as has been mentioned, a HUGE benefit for us. We don't have to go through the national match process, and you don't have to run the risk of moving halfway across the country. The internship slots are in the same geographic region as the practicum slots. Not participating in APPIC doesn't make it any less APA-approved.

If you're skeptical of its legitimacy, Widener's internship director, Dr. Linda K. Knauss, ABPP, is on the APA Commission on Accreditation. http://www.apa.org/ed/accreditation/coalist.html

As for the down side, it is an expensive program. While you do get paid for the two years of internship, you do continue to pay tuition during your 4th and 5th years.

Navy is doing something similar as well, they are creating a non-APPIC APA approved internship for the Navy HPSP and USUHS students and retaining the APPIC sites at Bethesda and San Diego.

So you can have a private non-APPIC APA approved internship site that guarantees your students placement. This would relieve the system if more schools did this. The Navy wants to set aside slots for HPSP students because they have money invested in them, but fear that legitimate competition for slots could find them not able to match. This was never really a problem with USUHS grads since the argument that we were especially well qualified for the slots is an easy one to make. However for graduates of other programs, that is not so easy, it's unlikely that a civilian HPSP student would have specialized in Military Clinical Psychology.

So what Widener is doing should be emulated by more programs, since the number of available slots is low. I will admit, it's nice to know that you don't have to compete through APPIC for an APA accredited slot. We've competed enough to get there in the first place.

Mark