Requirements to Complete the Internship

Requirements for Completion of Internship  

   

The AU/MCG-Charlie Norwood VAMC Psychology Internship requires that the following standards be met by the completion of the Internship:

1. Completion of 2080 hours of training. Georgia requires 2000 hours of internship training and the VA requires 2080 hours of internship training; we routinely provide 2100 or more. Required rotations are expected to be completed with no more than one week of vacation and one week of sick time per 4 months. If an intern misses more than two weeks of a 4-month rotation block, the amount of time must be made up. The internship will be a minimum of 48 weeks. The Intern is required to complete the full one-year tour of duty in which leave does not exceed allowable leave hours/days. Stipends will be paid to the end of the internship year.  If makeup time is needed, it will be completed without remuneration.
2. A minimum of 800 hours of direct clinical services. Direct clinical services includes all patient-specific clinical activities which encompasses individual, family, and group psychotherapy, consultations and on-site liaison activities, psychological assessments (including test report writing), and therapy/ assessment documentation.

3. By the end of the training year the intern must be rated by the supervisors as having demonstrated all of the competency milestones targeted for the completion of internship – Level 3 or higher, which generally represents that the Intern is “competent to implement clinical skills independently.”

4. Consultation and Therapy Logs. In order to increase the empirical vigilance of interns in their consultation and treatment efforts, they are required to maintain consultation and therapy logs that record the overall success of their consultation and therapy endeavors in meeting identified patient goals.

5. Interns are required to participate in at least one Outreach Educational and Prevention Team designed to provide mental health education for consumers and providers in mental health and medically underserved areas in the region.

6. Competency-based evaluations demonstrating proficiency in the Diagnostic Intake Assessment and the Cognitive Behavioral therapy Assessment (See “Evaluations” section above for details).

7. Competency-based evaluations indicating that the Intern’s performance in the Diagnostic/Treatment, Psychotherapy Process, and Professional Issues Seminars are rated as having demonstrated a Level 3 or higher, which generally represents that the Intern is “competent to implement clinical skills independently*” for all competencies targeted by the seminars by the completion of the internship date.

8. Interns will demonstrate proficiency in psychological testing assessments by accurately completing a minimum of three assessments in which the intern: (1) demonstrates well-reasoned selection of the tests to be administered; (2) administers the tests adhering to standardized testing procedures; (3) effectively interprets and integrates the test data; and (4) produces an integrated report that accurately communicates the key findings and relevant recommendations requiring only minimal corrections by the clinical supervisor. To fulfill the minimum assessment requirement Interns must most also demonstrate proficiency in at least a neurocognitive screening instrument, one broadband psychological test, and symptom specific instruments that can be used for screening and/or treatment progress monitoring.

9. Interns must demonstrate they can work comfortably and professionally as a member of at least three interdisciplinary teams. Interns will demonstrate proficiency in consultation assessment/treatment strategies by completing a minimum of three consultations in a medical setting.

10. Must complete at least one research-scholarly project in which there is a written product authored or co-authored by the intern that is publishable. 

11. Must have appropriately completed all medical record documentation.

12. Must complete all One45 evaluations of training experiences, supervisors, and self-evaluations.

 

Successful Completion of the internship training requirements is documented in the end of the year Intern Performance Milestones Tracking form and stored in the One45 electronic documentation system. In addition, at the end of the training year the Training Director composes a letter that is sent to the intern’s respective graduate school training director verifying the successful completion of the internship. 

Diplomas are awarded after all requirements are met.