Supervisors will submit a semi-annual formal evaluation of the intern’s progress. The evaluations will be required after completion of six months of the internship and again just prior to the completion of the internship. The Director of Training will provide an evaluation form to the supervising psychologist. The supervisor will complete the form, which will be discussed with the intern. Both the supervisor and the intern will sign the evaluation form. Interns will be given the opportunity to respond to any comments made by the supervisor with which they disagree and those responses will be made part of the evaluation. Evaluations should be based on an accurate appraisal of the student’s work. Supervisors are encouraged to observe patient contacts on a regular basis. There should be on going communication between the intern and his/her supervisor throughout the year addressing the intern’s strengths and weaknesses. The results of the semi-annual evaluation should represent the feedback the student has been receiving throughout the year.

The Director of Training will review the evaluations. If the evaluation reveals that an intern is having minor difficulties at the internship site, the Director of Training may; (a) obtain more information from the supervisor, (b) meet with the Director of Behavioral Medicine to discuss the nature of the difficulties, and/or (c) discuss the difficulties with the intern. If an intern appears to have significant difficulties, the following process will be initiated:

1. The evaluation will be presented to the clinical staff of the Behavioral Medicine Department. A preliminary determination will be made as to whether the difficulty appears to be of a long-standing nature or specific to this particular internship site. Contacting the intern’s University Clinical Director may be an option in attempting to determine the scope of the problem, especially if it is suspected that it is of a long-standing nature.

2. Based on the recommendation of the clinical staff, the Director of Training and the student may be required to develop a remediation plan to address the specific area(s) of difficulty and submit such plan to the clinical staff for review and monitoring. The school’s clinical director will be notified of the areas of difficulty and the proposed remedial plan.

3. Failure to successfully resolve the area(s) of difficulty could result in an unsatisfactory completion of the internship and/or termination of the internship.

4. If the Intern fails to complete the internship successfully and termination from the internship is recommended, the Intern can initiate the grievance procedure.

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LGH Professional Psychology Internship

Intern Competencies Evaluation

 

Intern Name: _______________________________                       Date of Evaluation: ____________________________________

Supervisor: __________________________________                    Agency: ______________________________________________

Term (Circle one):     Fall - Winter               Spring - Summer        Other _____________________      

Year: 20_______                                                                                Dates of Internship    Begin:                                  End:                

Describing Levels of Competence

One of the most widely used schemes for describing the development of competence is that of Dreyfus and Dreyfus (1986), who define five stages, from Novice to Advanced Beginner to Competent to Proficient to Expert. When discussing competence, keeping the terms straight is a challenge, since similar-sounding terms refer to different concepts. In particular, note that “competency” refers to a skill domain (e.g., assessment), “level of competence” refers to the level of skill an individual has acquired (e.g., intermediate level of competence in assessment), and “competent” is a description of a particular level of skill (e.g., this psychologist is competent in neuropsychological assessment). The attached document utilizes the following categories in describing the level of competence expected at the conclusion of the clinical. Please note that in some areas, substantial competence is expected, while in others, just the beginning of understanding is expected – an intern, or any psychologist for that matter, may be expert in some areas and a novice in others. 

Novice (N) (Value = 1): Novices have limited knowledge and understanding of (a) how to analyze problems and of (b) intervention skills and the processes and techniques of implementing them.

Intermediate (I) (Value = 2): Psychology interns at the intermediate level of competence have coped with enough real situations to recognize some important recurring meaningful situational components, based on prior experience in actual situations. Generalization of diagnostic and intervention skills to new situations and patients is limited, and support is needed to guide performance.

Advanced (A) (Value = 3):  At this level, the intern can see his or her actions in terms of long-range goals or plans of which he or she is consciously aware. At this level, the psychologist is less flexible in these areas than the proficient psychologist [the next level of competence] but does have a feeling of mastery and the ability to cope with and manage many contingencies of clinical work.

Proficient (P) (Value = 4): The proficient psychologist perceives situations as wholes rather than in terms of chopped up parts or aspects. Proficient psychologists understand a situation as a whole because they perceive its meaning in terms of longer-term goals. The proficient psychologist learns from experience what typical events to expect in a given situation and how plans need to be modified in response to these events.

Expert (E)  (Value = 5): The expert no longer relies on an analytic principle (rule, guideline, maxim) to connect her or his understanding of the situation to an appropriate action. The expert psychologist, with an enormous background of experience, now has an intuitive grasp of each situation and zeroes in on the accurate region of the problem without wasteful consideration of a large range of unfruitful, alternative diagnoses and solutions. The expert operates from a deep understanding of the total situation.

*  Adapted from: The Association of Directors of Psychology Training Clinics (ADPTC) Practicum Competencies Workgroup, Robert L. Hatcher, Ph.D. & Kim Dudley Lassiter, Ph.D.  Modifications based on discussion by the Council of Chairs of Training Councils (CCTC) Practicum Competencies Workgroup and by members of the CCTC at its meeting  on March 25, 2004 in Washington, DC, & discussion by 42 Clinic Directors at the Midwinter Meeting of the ADPTC, Miami FL, February 27, 2004. Nadja Fouad, Ph.D.  and Barbara Cubic, Ph.D. provided specific wording for some categories. Revision Date: May 20, 2004

 

Description of Skills Leading to Competencies that are  Developed During the Clinical Experience Competence Level expected by the completion of clinical is indicated in the column on the right. See introduction for definition of these levels.   N = Novice   I = Intermediate    A = Advanced    P = Proficient     E = Expert     NBJ= No Basis to Judge
1. Relationship/Interpersonal Skills	Expected Rating	Supervisor Rating
a)      With patients/clients/families:
i)        Ability to take a respectful, helpful professional approach to patients/clients/families.	P
ii)       Ability to form a working alliance.	P
iii)     Ability to deal with conflict, negotiate differences.	P
iv)     Ability to understand and maintain appropriate professional boundaries.	P
b)      With colleagues:
i)        Ability to work collegially with fellow professionals.	P
ii)       Ability to support others and their work and to gain support for one’s own work.	P
iii)     Ability to provide helpful feedback to peers and receive such feedback non-defensively from peers.	P
c)      With supervisors, the ability to make effective use of supervision, including:
i)        Ability to work collaboratively with the supervisor.	P
ii)       Ability to prepare for supervision.	P
iii)     Ability/willingness to accept supervisory input, including direction; ability to follow through on recommendations; ability to negotiate needs for autonomy from and dependency on supervisors.	P
iv)     Ability to self-reflect and self-evaluate regarding clinical skills and use of supervision, including using good judgment as to when supervisory input is necessary.	P
d)      Ability to be respectful of support staff roles and persons.	P
e)      With teams at clinic:
i)        Ability to participate fully in team’s work.	P
ii)       Ability to understand and observe team’s operating procedures.	P
f)       With community professionals:
i)        Ability to communicate professionally and work collaboratively with community professionals.	P
g)      For the clinical site itself:
i)        Ability to understand and observe agency’s operating procedures.	P
ii)       Ability to participate in furthering the work and mission of the clinical site.	P
iii)     Ability to contribute in ways that will enrich the site as a clinical experience for future students.	P
Supervisor Comments:   Trainee Comments:
2. Assessment/Diagnosis/Case Conceptualization:	Expected Rating	Supervisor Rating
a)      Ability to select and implement multiple methods and means of evaluation in ways that are responsive to and respectful of diverse individuals, couples, families and groups.	A
b)      Ability to utilize systematic approaches to gathering data to inform clinical decision making.	A
c)      Knowledge of psychometric issues and bases of assessment methods.	A
d)      Knowledge of issues related to integration of different data sources.	A
e)      Ability to integrate assessment data from different sources for diagnostic purposes.	A
f)       Ability to formulate and apply diagnoses; to understand the strengths and limitations of current diagnostic approaches.	A
g)      Capacity for effective use of supervision to implement and enhance skills.	A
h)      Demonstrates knowledge of at least 2 case conceptualization models and uses case conceptualization in treatment planning.	A
Supervisor Comments:     Trainee Comments:
3.  Intervention Skills	Expected Rating	Supervisor Rating
a)      Ability to formulate and conceptualize cases.	P
b)      Ability to plan treatments.	P
c)      Ability to implement intervention skills, covering a wide range of developmental, preventive and “remedial” interventions, including psychoeducational interventions, crisis management and psychological/psychiatric emergency situations, depending on the focus and scope of the clinical site.	A
d)      Knowledge regarding the concept of empirically supported practice.	P