Goals, Objectives and Competencies

The overall goals of the internship are to prepare the intern for entry-level practice in the field of pediatric psychology and/or for advanced fellowship training in pediatric psychology or pediatric neuropsychology. From this overall goal follow nine specific goals, each with specific objectives. We have organized these goals according to the competency-based model of professional education which is becoming more widespread throughout the field of professional psychology. We have listed goals, objectives and specific competencies which the intern must display to graduate from the internship. We have referenced the types of evaluation instruments we use and the thresholds for successful performance that we require.

Goal #1: Develop competency in assessment.

Objective(s) for Goal #1:

Demonstrate intermediate to advanced skills in selecting, administering, scoring, and interpreting the following types of psychological tests/ measures: intelligence, visual-motor skills, attention, adaptive behavior, empirical measures of child behavior problems, and measures of health behavior.
Demonstrate beginning to intermediate skills in selecting, administering, scoring and interpreting tests of neuropsychological abilities: verbal and visual memory, receptive language, expressive language, problem solving, processing efficiency, and manual motor tests.
Exhibit intermediate to advanced interviewing skills gathering a psycho-social history, conducting a differential diagnostic interview, formulating a case, making an appropriate DSM-IV and/or DSM-PC diagnosis, assessing health and risk behaviors and health outcomes, and assessing family interaction.

Competencies Expected: Given an assessment question, the intern selects the correct tests or questionnaires, establishes rapport, administers the test/ measures according the instructions in the manual, accurately scores the test/measures, correctly interpret the results, provides feedback to the parents and child, and composes a well-written report. Given a referral question asking whether a child has a DSM-IV TR disorder or a DSM-PC disorder, the intern conducts an accurate and thorough differential diagnostic interview. The intern reviews the DSM-IV TR and/or DSM-PC criteria for all relevant disorders, takes careful psychosocial, medical, and developmental histories, reaches a conclusion, and clearly presents it to both the supervisor and afterwards the parents. Then, the intern composes a well-written report.

Evaluation Forms Used for Expected Competencies:

Three, Six, Nine & Twelve Month Performance Evaluations
Competency Checklists.

Minimum Thresholds for Achievement for Expected Competencies: Ratings of 3 or higher on all relevant items of the Six & 12 Month Performance Evaluation. Greater than 80% on the Competency Checklists.

Goal #2: To develop competency in psychotherapy, completing a minimum of 100 direct contact therapy hours by the end of the internship.

Objective(s) for Goal #2:

Display intermediate to advanced skills in empirically supported interventions, including child, adolescent, and pediatric individual therapies.
Demonstrate intermediate to advanced skills in empirically supported, evidence-based family therapy, including parent training, strategic/ structural interventions, and behavioral family therapy.

Competencies Expected: For children presenting with Anxiety Disorders, Mood Disorders, AD/HD, ODD, CD, parent-child relationship problems, or any chronic illnesses, the intern:

establishes rapport with the child and parents
collects information regarding the presenting problem, antecedents, consequences, history, and all other relevant circumstances,
consults with any relevant school or medical personnel
conceptualizes the case
selects an empirically- supported individual or family therapy approach for treating the problem
reads the manual and tailors the approach to the particular child's circumstances
implements the manualized intervention
evaluates the effectiveness of the intervention, making adjustments as needed.

Evaluation Forms Used for Expected Competencies:

Three, Six, Nine & Twelve Month Performance Evaluations.
Competency Checklists- intern submits tapes of therapy sessions for the supervisor to review, using these checklists.

Minimum Thresholds for Achievement for Expected Competencies: Ratings of 3 or higher on all relevant items of the Six & 12 Month Performance Evaluation. Greater than 80% on the Therapy Competency Checklist.

Goal #3: To develop intermediate understanding of and intervention skills for the treatment and prevention of chronic illness in children and adolescents.

Objective(s) for Goal #3:

Develop familiarity with models of coping with chronic illness and psycho-social issues related to chronic illness.
Demonstrate a thorough understanding of at least three specific illnesses, along with a general understanding of other major chronic illnesses.
Assess a child and family's coping with chronic illness, related school, peer, and family problems, and the health behaviors necessary to treat and/or prevent problems related to the illness.
Intervene to encourage appropriate illness management, illness prevention, effective illness coping, and resolution of associated school, peer, and family problems.
Document the assessment and intervention in a succinct, well-written note.

Competencies Expected: The intern describes the challenges of coping with a chronic illness and the relevant psycho-social issues. The intern describes in depth the medical and psychological aspects of at least three specific chronic illnesses. Given a child with chronic illness and his/her family, the intern succinctly interviews them regarding their adherence to the required illness management routine, associated stressors, associated school, peer, and family issues. Given deficits in any of the areas covered by this interview, the intern provides brief, evidence-based family and individual interventions to improve illness management, school functioning, peer relationships, and family interactions. The intern then writes a brief note clearly and accurately documenting the assessment and the interventions.

Evaluation Forms Used for Expected Competencies:

Three, Six, Nine, & Twelve Month Performance Evaluations.
Competency Checklists.

Minimum Thresholds for Achievement for Expected Competencies: 3 or higher on relevant items of the Six & Twelve Month Performance Evaluation and 80% or higher on the relevant Competency Checklists.

Goal #4: To develop intermediate to advanced skills in working with multi disciplinary teams in a family-centered care model.

Objectives for Goal 4:

Demonstrate respect for opinions and information provided by other disciplines, such as medicine, social work, dieticians and nursing staff.
Demonstrate the ability to seek out information from family and team members and integrate it into assessment and treatment plans.
Demonstrate the ability to provide feedback to family and team members in a constructive manner.

Competencies Expected: Intern exchanges information and interacts with all other members of multi-disciplinary teams in a polite, respectful, and genuinely interested manner. During team meetings the intern describes the results of assessment/ interventions with the child and family to the other members of the team in concise, precise terms, integrating it with other team members' comments. The intern asks other team members relevant questions and integrates the answers into the summaries of the patient interactions given to the family, at the team meetings, and in the intern's written clinic notes.

Evaluation Forms Used for Expected Competencies:

Three, Six, Nine, & Twelve Month Performance Evaluation.
Intern Competency Checklists.

Minimum Thresholds for Achievement for Expected Competencies: 3 or higher on relevant items of the Six & Twelve Month Performance Evaluation and 80% or higher on all Competency Checklists.

Goal #5: To identify appropriate assessment/ treatment methods and techniques for diverse populations and different types of psychopathology, incorporating cultural and individual diversity in this process.

Objectives for Goal 5:

Develop knowledge about, an appreciation for and sensitivity to diversity and cultural factors in clinical work, using the ADDRESSING Framework (Hays, 2008): Age/ generational, Developmental Disabilities/ Disabilities Acquired, Religion and Spirituality, Ethnic and racial identity, Socioeconomic status, Sexual orientation, Indigenous heritage, National origin, and Gender.
Take the ADDRESSING Framework into account when conducting assessments, therapy, and consultations.

Competencies Expected: Intern describes how people of diverse backgrounds according to the ADDRESSING Framework view mental health services. Intern establishes a strong therapeutic alliance with a range of patients with diverse backgrounds. Intern conducts assessment with sensitivity to diversity/ individual differences. Intern conducts therapy with sensitivity to diversity/ individual differences. Intern conducts consultation with sensitivity to diversity/ individual differences. Intern describes the impact of the interaction between his/her own cultural/ ethnic background and that of the patient on the goals and process of therapy and consultation.

Evaluation Forms Used for Expected Competencies:

Three, Six, Nine, & Twelve Month Performance Evaluations
Relevant items of the Competency Checklists

Minimum Thresholds for Achievement for Expected Competencies: 3 or higher on relevant items of the Six & Twelve Month Performance Evaluation.

Goal #6: To develop consultation- liaison skills.

Objectives for Goal 6:

Demonstrate ability to review inpatient medical charts and obtain information about the consult request from medical, nursing, and other allied health professionals.
Demonstrate ability to interview children and families efficiently, formulating a working diagnosis and treatment plan.
Communicate diagnostic information and findings to other professionals and parents in a sensitive, respectful, timely, and clear manner.

Competencies Expected: Given an inpatient consultation request, the intern talks to the referring medical staff and reviews the chart to clarify the consult questions. The intern interviews and child and the family, then formulates a case conceptualization and reviews it with the supervisor. The intern makes verbal and written recommendations to the patient, family and referring medical staff. If appropriate, the intern carries out a brief therapeutic intervention with the patient. The intern conducts the consultation within 24 hours of receiving it.

Evaluation Forms Used for Expected Competencies:

Three, Six, Nine, & Twelve Month Performance Evaluations.

Minimum Thresholds for Achievement for Expected Competencies: 3 or higher on relevant items of the Six & Twelve Month Performance Evaluation.

Goal #7: Develop an understanding of the administrative roles, duties, and functions that psychologists serve in the health care field, including managed care issues, supervision, evaluation, continuous quality improvement, and program/ policy development, along with the theories and methods underlying each.

Objectives for Goal 7:

Compete clinical forms in a timely and thorough manner.
Maintain professional relationships with medical staff, supervisors, peers, support staff, & patients.
Demonstrate flexibility required in a medical setting.
Understand methods of supervision.
Understand methods of program evaluation and quality improvement.

Competencies Expected: Intern writes reports, intakes, treatment plans, progress notes, discharges, and other clinical paperwork thoroughly and within time frame specified by each supervisor. Intern interacts appropriately with medical staff, supervisors, peers, support staff, and patients. Intern describes methods of supervision of psychology trainees. Intern describes methods of mental health program evaluation.

Minimum Thresholds for Achievement for Expected Competencies: 3 or higher on relevant items of the Six & Twelve Month Performance Evaluation.

Goal #8: Develop an understanding of and commitment to ethical codes and laws/ regulations/ standards governing the practice of psychology.

Objectives for Goal 8:

Apply relevant sections of the APA ethics as relevant to particular therapeutic and consultative issues that arise.
Act in accordance with HIPPA. ( C) Act in accordance with other relevant laws such as the child abuse reporting laws.

Competencies Expected: Given an ethical dilemma with a particular clinical situation, the intern locates and summarizes the relevant portion of the APA ethics, discusses it with the supervisor, and acts in accordance with it. The intern summarizes the major features of HIPPA and the child abuse reporting laws and acts in accordance with them.

Evaluation Forms Used for Expected Competencies:

Three, Six, Nine, & Twelve Month Performance Evaluations and intern discussion of ethical and legal issues during case conferences.

Minimum Thresholds for Achievement for Expected Competencies: 3 or higher on relevant items of the Six & Twelve Month Performance Evaluation.

Goal #9: Understand strategies of scholarly inquiry and the relationship between science and practice.

Objectives for Goal 9:

Demonstrate knowledge of empirically/ evidence- based interventions.
When presented with a novel clinical problem, search the literature for an evidence-based assessment/ intervention approach to the clinical problem.
Integrate scientific research with clinical cases in presentations to peers, supervisors, and colleagues.

Competencies Expected: Intern locates manuals for evidence based interventions for major child/ adolescent/ pediatric presenting problems and summarizes the manuals. Intern describes how to determine whether a given intervention is evidence-based. Intern reviews relevant research and provides references to it during case presentations in seminars and/or in front of the entire Department.

Evaluation Forms Used for Expected Competencies:

Three, Six, Nine, & Twelve Month Performance Evaluations

Minimum Thresholds for Achievement for Expected Competencies: 3 or higher on relevant items of the 6 & Twelve Month Performance Evaluation