Diagnostic Intake Assessment. During the first rotation, interns are required to proficiency in performing a Diagnostic Intake Assessment. Each intern presents (live or via video) a new patient assessment to a supervisor who rates the Intern across a number of different domains. The Diagnostic/Treatment Seminar provides didactics in objective personality assessment and diagnostic interview examinations and prepares the Interns for the Diagnostic Intake Assessment. This assessment provides a measuring stick for the Interns’ basic skills in performing a diagnostic interview examination, presenting findings in an organized and meaningful way, and exhibiting fundamental case conceptualization. More than an assessment, however, this exercise is an opportunity for Interns to receive instruction and feedback regarding these fundamental skills. Growth areas identified in the DIA are then integrated into the intern’s training plan and goals.
Psychiatry Grand Rounds. Psychiatry Grand Rounds represent a department-wide grand rounds that features guest speakers of prominence from the region and nation providing continuing education reviews of important clinical topics.
Diversity Training Experiences. Diversity is a critical area of competence for psychologists. One of the main goals of our psychology internship is preparing professional psychologists who aspire to greater cultural awareness and humility in their practice. The internship works toward ensuring a supportive and encouraging learning environment for training diverse individuals and providing training opportunities by emphasizing the importance of diversity in the very first week of the internship when self-assessment of cultural competencies is addressed by the intern’s Overall Supervisor. Throughout the training year, the internship embeds cultural diversity in all of its training activities. This is done overtly in seminar topics (i.e., race/ethnicity, LGBT, religion, class, age, political party, region, and military/veteran status), patient populations (e.g., transgender patients, HIV-positive patients, veterans, adolescents and children, patients with serious mental illness, forensic patients), and supervision. Intended outcomes are measured by the interns’ successful completion of the following: (A) Clinical practicum experiences involving inpatient and/or outpatient care of racial/ethnic/sexual orientation/gender identity minority status patients as indicated by their supervisors’ ratings of “competent to implement clinical skills independently with supervision and review” by the completion of each of the rotations; (B) Seminars and workshops devoted to sensitivity to and understanding of diversity and cultural differences and the implications of these differences in clinical assessment and treatment; (C) Review of a diagnostic interview and case conceptualization that directly addresses the pertinent cultural/diversity data and the impact of this data in guiding the conceptualization of the case and the development of the treatment plan.
Training Experiences with Underserved Populations. A point of emphasis in our internship’s training experiences is having opportunities to serve individuals from underserved populations. Throughout the training year, these opportunities are available through many clinics/services that care for children and their families, for individuals who live in federally designated underserved counties, for individuals living with HIV/AIDS, and/or for those individuals that represent racial/ethnic/sexual minorities that are often underserved in addressing their health care needs.
The Augusta University Health’s Equality Clinic of Augusta – AU Health’s Equality Clinic of Augusta is an all-volunteer clinic that provides integrated primary care services to uninsured/under-insured LGBTQ individuals from the CSRA and surrounding regions. Interns volunteer to participate in this experience and function as part of a large interdisciplinary primary care team, training and practicing alongside physicians, fellows, medical students, dental students, and occupational therapy students. In this setting, interns will gain skills in consultation to physicians and patients, rapid assessment, crisis intervention, motivational interviewing and behavioral interventions. Services are provided on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.