Practicum Practice Tutorial Comprehensive Clinical Exam Assessment Portfolio Internship Practicum Sites Curriculum Vitae Outline Psychological Service Provision by Students Student Professional Identification Statement

Supervised Experience, Practicum PSI 997

Types of Sites

Training in the Place of Employment
Types of Practicum

Hour Requirements

Transfer of Practicum Credit

First Year Practicum

Leave During Practicum

Supervision

Required Additional Learning

Prerequisites for First Practicum

Compensation

Student Liability Insurance
Registration with State Board

Students Posessing Licensure or Professional Certifications

Practicum Monitoring
Practicum Forms
Practicum Grading
Practicum Site Matching Decision Rules

Curriculum Vitae Outline

A practicum is supervised, field based training. During practicum students develop their competencies through direct client contact, supervision by experienced psychologists and other clinicians, and consultation with an array of health service providers and client collaterals. Students are exposed to the management and administration of mental health delivery systems. Additionally, practicum provides the opportunity for students to develop the professional and personal attitudes important to the identity of a professional psychologist.

Types of Sites

To ensure broad exposure to theoretical models, clinical skills, and professional roles, SOPP has established training relationship with sites throughout the southwestern and central Ohio region. These external sites include a range of public and private community agencies that provide mental health services.

The SOPP also has internal training sites and administers two general training/service centers: the Ellis Institute for Human Development, located just west of downtown Dayton, in the Wright-Dunbar neighborhood, and the Counseling and Wellness Services (CWS), the WSU counseling center. The Ellis Institute houses the General Practice Clinic (GPC), the Responsible Young Ladies and Men Program (RYLM), the Preventing Abuse in the Home Program (PATH), the Assessment Clinic (ASC), the Memory Clinic, and several grant and contract funded training/service projects.

Practicum supervisors include SOPP faculty and community psychologists. All training sites sign a three year training agreement with SOPP.

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Training in the Place of Employment

Clinical training may not be done in the student's place of employment. This restriction recognizes that training most optimally occurs in settings uncomplicated by dual relationships, employment pressures, and financial demands. Students also profit from training in diverse organizational "cultures" or structures.

Occasionally, the interpretation of what constitutes "place of employment is unclear. For example, a large corporation may own several smaller corporations which operate at different sites, managed by different supervisors, serving different populations. A students may request the opportunity to train at a subsidiary of the parent organization in which the student works. Students are required to consult with the Associate Dean for Clinical Training, any may be required to submit a formal proposal for review. In order to identify what constitutes a student's "place of employment", the Office of Clinical Training has developed the following guidelines.

1. Dual Relationships: The field training supervisor periodically evaluates the student's progress in training and submits reports to the Associate Dean of Clinical Training. These reports must be objective, fair, and candid. Therefore, someone who is a co-worker, work supervisor, or employer should not evaluate the student. The Clinical Training Committee will evaluate the student's training request to ensure that no dual relationship exists. Multiple Identities: A student should enter a training site with a single identity: a professional-in-training. Students attempting to train in their place of employment continue to be identified as an employee. This identity can place competing demands on a student and thus compromise the training that a student receives.
2. Multiple Identities: A student should enter a training site with a single identity: a professional-in-training. Students attempting to train in their place of employment continue to be identified as employees. This identity can place competing demands on students and thus compromise the training that they receive.
3. Financial Relationships: Students enter a clinical field placement as a student, not as an employee, private practitioner, or independent contractor. Ideally, financial matters do not impinge upon clinical training/education. All students receive a modest stipend to support involvement in clinical field training. A student may not receive a "salary" as this identifies the student as an employee, rather than a professional-in-training. The educative and training mission of the clinical practicum should not be compromised by financial considerations, such as compensation based on "productivity" or "collections".
4. Geographical Relationships: Occasionally, health organizations, like other corporations, merge with or acquire other companies that are at some geographical distance from one another. In these circumstances, the corporations continue to operate independently of one another and are united "in name only". Under these circumstances, a student may train at the separate corporation, so long as the other criteria are met.
5. Power in Relationships: Students enter training programs to be the recipients of educative, professional training experiences. This arrangement places students in a role in which they depend upon their supervisors and the agency for successful training experiences. Students may not hire their supervisors, not pay the agency for their training experiences. Such arrangements remove the professional-in-training form the student role and elevate the student to the status of business partner in the training process.

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Types of Practicum

There are two types of practicum: Required Supervised Experience and Elective Practicum. 

Required supervised experience consists of any practicum to which students are assigned by SOPP and for which they are registered for “Supervised Experience” (PSI 997).

Elective Practicum consists of clinical work that is above and beyond the required supervised experience.  To be approved for elective practicum, a site must meet the following criteria:

• The site is approved by the OCT as an official practicum site and has signed an Affiliation Agreement with SOPP.
• Students are doing the same work as assigned practicum students.
• Students are receiving the same level of training supervision as assigned practicum students.

Students must receive written documentation from the OCT that the site is approved for Elective Practicum.  Students may register for Elective Practicum (PSI 992 ) during multiple quarters.  Students must register for 1 credit of elective practicum per quarter, regardless of the number of hours to be worked. Prior to beginning the Elective Practicum, students must also work with their supervisors to complete a Field Placement Description form (see below) that specifies the supervisory arrangements, agreed upon number of hours to be worked, when those hours will be worked,  and all agreed upon expectations of the student.  Except for hour requirements, all policies that apply to required Supervised Experience also apply to Elective Practicum.  Students must complete all forms required for Supervised Experience for Elective Practicum. 

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Hour Requirements

Students register for 24 credit hours of Supervised Experience (6 hours per quarter) each year, beginning in their 2nd year in the program. Time on practicum is minimally 16 hours per week, typically scheduled over 2 days. All practica are for 12 months, beginning from July 1st and continuing through June 30th . Practicum days are Mondays and Thursdays or Tuesdays and Fridays, depending upon the student's year in the SOPP program. Some sites require evening hours. Wednesdays are generally reserved for on campus seminars, colloquia, committee, and other meetings. A target of 30% of a trainee's time should be spent in direct service to clients. SOPP requires that students serve at least 700 hours of training and supervision each practicum year. SOPP Students must have a minimum of 2000 hours of supervised experience in order to start internship. Students must have a minimum of 1400 hours of practicum at the time of the faculty review in order to be certified to apply for internship. Students are encouraged to take maximum advantage of their practicum experience in order to enhance their professional development, best prepare for the Clinical Comprehensive Examination, and be competitive in their applications for internship.

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Transfer of Practicum Credit

Policies under review.

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First Year Practicum

Policies under review.

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Leave During Practicum

Each site should make clear with the trainee policies and procedures for approved leave. Since trainees are on site for a full year, four days (2 weeks) of personal leave and two days (1 week) of professional leave time are recommended.

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Supervision

Supervision is an intervention provided by a more senior member of a profession to a more junior member or members of that same profession. The relationship is evaluative, extends over time, and has the simultaneous purposes of enhancing the professional functioning of the more junior person(s), monitoring the quality of professional services offered to the clients that she, he, or they see, and serving as a gatekeeper for those who are to enter the particular profession. (page 8) Bernard, J. M. & Goodyear, R. K. (2004) Fundamentals of Clinical Supervision (3rd ed). Boston: Pearson and Allyn and Bacon.

In accordance with the Ohio Administrative Code, for each trainee there must be a clearly identifiable licensed psychologist who serves as the primary supervisor, with clear availability to the trainee's clients/patients and responsibility for the cases being supervised. That psychologist/supervisor is directly responsible for the integrity and quality of the training experience, and specifies training objectives in terms of the competencies expected of the trainee.

On average, weekly face-to-face supervision devoted to the trainee's cases shall be provided at a ratio of no less than one hour per ten hours on site and no less than one hour per week.  No less than fifty per cent of the supervision required shall be individual supervision provided by the designated supervisor described in the previous paragraph.  The remaining face-to-face supervision may be individual or group supervision provided by a psychologist, or provided by licensed allied mental health professionals as deemed appropriate by the general supervisor (such as but not limited to psychiatrists, professional clinical counselors, or clinical social workers) or, individual supervision provided by a pre-doctoral intern or postdoctoral trainee eligible for licensure as a psychologist and conducting supervision of the trainee under an umbrella supervision arrangement with a licensed psychologist.

For example, if a student is assigned to a practicum for 16 hours per week, s/he must receive, on average, 1.6 hours per week of face-to-face supervision.  Of those 1.6 hours per week, one hour must be individual supervision with a primary supervisor who is a licensed psychologist.  The remaining 0.6 hours can be provided by a licensed psychologist or allied mental health professional in an individual or group format, or by an umbrella supervisor in an individual format.  If the student is placed on practicum for 20 hours per week, s/he must receive, on average, 2 hours per week of face-to-face supervision.  Of those 2 hours per week, one hour must be individual supervision with a primary supervisor who is a licensed psychologist.  The remaining hour can be provided by a licensed psychologist or allied mental health professional in an individual or group format, or umbrella supervisor in an individual format. 

The amount of supervision noted above is the minimum required.  Supplemental individual or group supervision in excess of the minimum ratio required is encouraged.

Supervisors may use methods and styles suited for the context of their organizational setting, clinical populations, psychological orientation, and accepted standards of supervisory practice in the field of clinical psychology. The regular use of audio or video taping or live observation of student work should be an integral part of practicum supervision. It is expected that each quarter's supervisory evaluation will include data from at least one of these supervisory methods in addition to the student's verbal report.

The clinical supervisor should also coordinate any consultation from other clinical personnel required by the unique needs of a client or due to special training needs which the supervisor cannot provide Consultation enables greater richness in training for a student and allows for exposure to areas where the clinical consultant has greater depth of expertise or experience than does the clinical supervisor. Consultation is by definition time limited. Clinical responsibility for the case always remains with the general supervisor.

The responsible use of secure technologies such as telephone, internet, or web-based video is allowable as a supplemental training and consultation aid and for supervision in excess of the minimum ratio required, although it may not replace the minimum weekly face-to-face individual supervision requirement.

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Required Additional Learning

In addition to supervision, there shall be, on average, at least one additional hour per week in learning activities, such as additional face-to-face individual supervision, group supervision, case conferences or grand rounds, didactic consultations with psychologists or other appropriate licensed mental health professionals, guided professional readings, seminars, or co-therapy with a licensed psychologist or other appropriate professional.  For students registered for Practice Tutorial (PT), those hours will count toward the required additional learning requirement.

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Prerequisites for the First Practicum

All students must pass the following courses with a grade of A or B before they may begin their initial practicum at SOPP:

May be taken as a co-requisite with some prior graduate level coursework in diversity

by entering students who receive transfer credit for the remaining prerequisite courses.

Any student who receives an unsatisfactory grade in any of the above prerequisite courses must remediate that course before beginning practicum.

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Compensation 

While a stipend is not guaranteed, every effort will be made to compensate students on practicum.  Payment of stipends is contracted through the SOPP Business Office.

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Student Liability Insurance

All students are required to purchase liability insurance before the beginning of each academic year. Students must carry liability insurance from the time they enter SOPP until they complete internship. The School recommends that students join the American Psychological Association (APA) as student affiliate members (www.apa.org/membership ) and then purchase liability insurance at the reduced student rate through the APA Insurance Trust (APAIT) (www.apa.org/apait ). Required levels of coverage are $1,000,000 each incident/$3,000,000 annual aggregate. Currently this coverage cost $35. Student malpractice insurance is designed to cover clinical activities that are a required part of a student's curriculum, e.g., practicum and internship, other direct service course requirements.

When a student performs psychological services at a site or position that is not formally affiliated with SOPP as part of its training curriculum, student malpractice insurance does not apply. This includes paid employment and volunteer work. In cases where the student is working under a license in another discipline, such as social work or nursing, that work is also not covered by student psychological insurance or psychological supervision. Students who are providing psychological services outside of the SOPP setting, as an employee or as a volunteer, should consult with their agency, supervisor, and the State Board to ensure that they have appropriate supervision and liability coverage.

Please Note: Proof of liability insurance coverage must be submitted to the SOPP OCT on or before July 1 of each year. Proof of insurance coverage should also be given to the practicum site during the first July week of training. The acceptable form of proof is a copy of the "face sheet" or Declaration Page. This page states the type and levels of the student's coverage. Students are also responsible for providing proof of insurance renewal as applicable. A copy of the student's Declaration Page will be kept in the OCT. As the insured, the student is responsible for getting copies to the practicum site. Students will not be allowed to begin practicum unless a copy of this proof of liability is on file in the OCT by July 1. Students buying liability insurance for the first time need to make their purchase in time to allow for coverage to begin by July 1.

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Registration with the State Board

The Ohio State Board of Psychology requires that students who perform psychological work under the supervision of licensed psychologists register with the State Board. For those practicum students who are supervised by Fully Affiliated, Continuing Faculty or as part of an SOPP Non-Continuing or Adjunct Faculty Contract, this process is coordinated by the OCT. Each student signs a completed Supervisee Registration Form (SRF) which is filed with the State Board along with a statement of responsibility for individual supervision signed by all affected faculty. Community site supervisors file the SRF for their SOPP supervisees independently.

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Students Posessing Licensure or Professional Certifications

To keep SOPP informed about students’ other professional qualifications, students must keep a current copy of their mental health related licenses and/or certificates on file with the OCT.

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Practicum Monitoring

The OCT uses the following forms and procedures to monitor supervised experience. Copies of all training forms can be downloaded using the following link. Clinical Training Practicum Forms

Please Note: All students considering early leave from practicum for internship should make sure that all required forms are completed in a timely manner. Failure to bring closure to the monitoring and evaluation process will negatively impact the practicum grade and, consequently, eligibility to begin internship. The internship site will be so notified.

The Practicum Site Liaison staff person conducts site visits with all new training placements and with continuing programs. New visits typically include a tour of the facility, review of forms and sample reports, meeting with the general supervisor and agency administrative personnel, and review of SOPP practicum requirements prior to the signing of a training agreement. These visits seek to ensure that new sites offer needed training that is in concert with the SOPP mission. Visits to continuing sites are planned to include the supervisor and/or trainees to review recent appraisals of the student and training site. Telephone and e-mail contact with supervisors are part of the ongoing monitoring process. Student questions and concerns regarding their practicum training should be directed to the Practicum Site Liaison.

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Practicum Forms

The Field Placement Description specifies the tasks and responsibilities of the trainee and supervisor, the amount of time, as a percentage of the training week, for each task, vacation/leave time, and the identity of the primary and any secondary clinical supervisors. This form helps the student and practicum supervisor(s) reach consensus about the nature of the training experience. The field placement description is due in to the OCT by October 10th. Field Placement Description

The Training Activities Report (TAR) is the instrument used to determine the type and quantity of clinical activity and supervisory experiences students receive. On the TAR, students report hours and numbers of these activities. Each practicum trainee submits a TAR, each month, beginning in October, and information from the TAR is entered into a database each month for tracking purposes. TAR information is also required for internship, so students should keep copies of all TARs submitted for their own records. The trainee and the supervisor both review and sign each month's TAR, which is due to the OCT by the 10th of each month, except during the last month of each quarter, when TARs are due by the last day of final exams. Training Activities Report (TAR)

The Quarterly Progress Report (QPR) is used to evaluate the performance and progress of trainees while on practicum. As such, it is the primary tool supporting assigned grades for Supervised Experience. Supervisors rate students in the six core competency areas (relationship, assessment, intervention, research/evaluation, supervision/education, consultation /management), as well as professional behavior and development. Supervisors also provide narrative comment on each student's strengths and areas in need of growth. Students may also add written comment about their training experience. Supervisors and the students must both sign this form. A student's signature acknowledges that she or he has reviewed the QPR. Students are responsible for supplying supervisors with QPRs in time to have the completed and signed form turned in to the OCT by the last day of final exams each quarter. Students will not be assigned grades for practicum until the QPR has been received by the OCT. Quarterly Progress Report (QPR)

Evaluation of General Supervision, 6 months and 12 months, are the documents that help to inform the OCT about the student's experience of supervision. The focus is on impact of the supervisor's style, methods, focus, and quality of the training relationship. Students numerically rate these areas and provide elaborating qualitative comments. A general supervision evaluation is done twice each year-before the end of fall quarter exams in November (6 Month) and before the end of spring quarter exams in June (12 Month). After a student completes the 6 month evaluation form, it is discussed with the supervisor, who signs the form prior to the student submitting it to the OCT. This evaluation must be completed before the end of fall quarter exams in November. The 12 month evaluation is done differently in that the student completes and signs the 12 month form without the supervisor's review or signature. Thus, this end of the year evaluation process is similar to student evaluations in other SOPP courses. This evaluation must be completed before the end of spring quarter exams in June. Evaluation of General Supervision 6 months

Evaluation of General Supervision 12 months (Not available online, Contact OCT)

The OCT uses data on evaluation of supervisors in aggregate form to provide feedback to supervisors. The OCT will contact students for discussion when specific evaluations suggest focused follow-up.   However, students should not wait for official evaluation times to discuss the supervision process with their supervisors. 

Rather, students should discuss positive feedback and concerns with their supervisors as they occur and seek consultation from the OCT, their Practice Tutorial Instructor, or advisor, in a timely manner, on any unresolved issues. It is considered part of the professional development aspect of practicum for the OCT and faculty to both provide support and modeling for the student in addressing concerns about supervision (and any other element of the supervised experience). The General Evaluation of Supervision form is designed as a summary tool and should not be used as the initial outlet for significant positive or negative feedback.

On the Student's Evaluation of Field Training form, students provide numerical ratings and narrative comment on the type and quality of practicum experiences they have received and perceived support of a site for supervised clinical training. This report is used by the OCT to assist in assessing the continued fit of sites for the training mission of the School. It is completed and submitted to the OCT in May or June, but no later than the end of exams for spring quarter. Evaluation of Field Training

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Practicum Grading

Supervised Experience is graded on a Pass (P)/Unsatisfactory (U) basis. The OCT assigns practicum grades based on consideration of the QPR ratings and comments, any other written communication from the supervisor or site, and student adherence to reporting guidelines for practicum forms. All rules and procedures outlined in the General Grading and Remediation Policies section in the Student Handbook apply to the evaluation of Supervised Experience.

Early identification and communication of performance and behavior concerns among the supervisor, student, and OCT are essential for effective intervention and evaluation. Supervisors and trainees are advised to contact the OCT at any time if performance, interpersonal, or organizational problems arise. Specific practicum evaluation criteria are as follows:

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Practicum Site Matching Decision Rules

Parameters In Order of Weighting:

Need for placement at an SOPP Program.

Student's need for either additional assessment or intervention experience.

Student experience with clients culturally or ethnically different from him or herself.

Faculty appraisal of the student's clinical training needs and priorities.

Student's level in the program (i.e., 4th years' needs addressed first, then typically 3rd, 2nd, etc.

Rating by potential sites following interviews.

Filling of available training slots for the year.

Student's own appraisal of his or her needs and priorities.

Student site ranking.

Matching Decision Rules:

Students are asked to fill out a Student Practicum Profile Survey (SPPS), giving an overview of their clinical practice activities thus far through SOPP. Students should review descriptions of practica options for the upcoming year; review their career goals and perceived needs with their advisors; and then submit the SPPS, signed by the advisor, to the OCT. Thoughtful completion of the SPPS, along with the vita are very important guides for the placement process.

The overriding priority in placement matching is that each student is afforded a balanced training experience over the course of his/her clinical training. This balance is achieved, in part, through a yearly review of each student's training needs and progress by the faculty. This balance is also practically achieved, in part, by applying the first four priorities listed in the above section on weighting of placement decisions. If a student hasn't been at a designated internal program, for example, then such a site will become a priority for that student. If a student has had strong intervention experience but little formal assessment work, then a strong assessment site is a priority. If a student has worked mainly with clients matching his or her own culture or ethnicity, then a site exposing the student to clients who are culturally or ethnically different from the student is a priority.

The OCT will then review the Practicum Profile Surveys and vitae of all students and then work with the Training Committee to select up to three sites for each student to interview. The needs of the most advanced students in the program will be addressed first. An effort will be made not to overwhelm any site with candidates, and to spread candidates as evenly as possible across sites. Therefore, as successive class levels of students are addressed, some sites will become unavailable to newer students in the program, and other sites from the list appropriate to their needs will then be selected for them.

Students will be given their lists of up to three sites at which to interview, and they will be given three weeks to interview at those sites. Failure to complete assigned interviews may result in removal from the practicum process for the year. Following these interviews, each site will rank the student's interviewed for placement at their sites.

Again, the most advanced class of students are matched first, because this is their last chance to complete their training needs and preferences in practicum before going on to internship. Once again, an attempt will be made to distribute all students evenly across available sites. The students newest to the program are thus less likely to fulfill all of their expressed needs, but due consideration will be offered to these newer students' prior experience and appraised training needs in assigning their placements. Newer students will gain priority as they progress through the program.

Students newest to the program are placed based upon a review of any prior experience and a faculty appraisal of their training needs. Those with less prior experience and/or who have greater needs for closer supervision are more likely to be placed in one of SOPP's internal programs.

The student(s) preliminarily matched with each site will be shared with each site to be assured that there is no match judged as inappropriate, or too challenging for the assigned student. This time also allows for discussion with sites as to exactly how the students were assigned to their site, and why some students judged acceptable by the site may have been assigned elsewhere.

Finally, each student is informed of his or her practicum site, and the sites are informed of their assigned student(s) for the following year. Students are then directed to contact the assigned site and make arrangements for the following year.

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 Curriculum Vitae Outline

These are typical sections and order. You may have additional sections (e.g., teaching, research team experience) to reflect your unique experiences. Use reverse chronological order, i.e., most recent first.

Identifying Information

• Name. Do not include Bachelor's degree designations after your name. Do include graduate and professional degrees, e.g., MS, M.Ed., and JD.
• Address
• Telephone
• E-mail, fax if personal number available

Education (if no degree, indicate dates of attendance)

• Start with WSU, SOPP. You are now a Candidate for the PsyD degree in Clinical Psychology SOPP is an APA accredited program.
• List other degrees/ schools in reverse order. Include all education since Bachelor's degree
• Mention any honors associated with degree, e.g., graduated cum laude
• You may list your dissertation with your SOPP education

Military Experience (active or retired, rank)

Licenses (for independent practice, e.g., LPC, LCSW, RN)

Practicum Training (Include Master's level clinical practica, but not Bachelor's work)

• Clinical training associated with degree program. Briefly describe clinical work, populations seen, diagnoses, etc.
• Label Master's vs. SOPP practica
• Include dates of participation
• Include name of supervisor and degree, total hours served. Any other hour information is included on application form
• Do not include Practice Tutorial. This is a course.

Employment (paid work experience)

• Clinical work
• Other substantial work experience, especially if you are a change of career person
• Generally cover graduate/professional work experience here, not e.g., high school or undergraduate work. SOPP students have substantial experience associated with this program.

Volunteer Clinical Experience

• Unpaid clinically related work including WSU additional experience like PATH or MRP that was not practicum.

Teaching Experience

• e.g., adjunct in the Department of Psychology
• SOPP TA

Research Experience (as applicable)

School and Community Service

• SOPP service, e.g., SGA, faculty-student committees
• Community Service, e.g., Hospice of Dayton, Relay for Life cancer fundraiser

Publications/Presentations (can be separate sections if you have several in each category)

• If a poster or paper carrying the same title was presented at more than one place, list the poster or paper once and beneath the tile, list where and when presented
• Use APA format.

Professional Memberships (e.g., APA, OPA, ABCT, etc.)

• Civic organizations like, NAACP or Lions Club belong in a separate section under School and Community Service
• Indicate your status, e.g., student affiliate, associate member

Awards (not mentioned under Education, e.g., school fellowships, work commendations)

Special Competencies/Interests (e.g., second language, unique hobby)

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