Educational Experiences for Interns and Fellows

Orientation 

Psychology interns and fellows become oriented to the hospital and training program during a one- to two-week-long orientation. The orientation meetings occur at the beginning of the training year acquaint the trainees with the components of the training experience as well as each of their supervisors, seminar leaders, and instructors. Trainees are given tours of the major hospital locations and clinics that they will have an opportunity to train. Much of the orientation to the hospital’s policies and procedures pertaining to infection control, safety, immunizations and employee health, cultural diversity and ethnicity are completed on-line prior to arrival. Training on use of the electronic medical record occurs the first week. Each month during the training meetings, topics discussed during the initial orientation will be revisited and reviewed.

Didactics 

The didactic presentations are scheduled to occur on a weekly basis, with presentations by medical and psychological staff from our department and from invited speakers outside of the department. The Didactic Seminars for trainees are a vehicle whereby staff psychologists, psychiatrists, and other professionals from within and outside our division (our hospital, other institutions, or from the private sector) acquaint the trainees with a broad variety of theoretical orientations, assessment techniques, and interventions.

Examples of the topics covered include: Empirically validated treatments, assessment, conversion disorder, psychopharmacology, functional behavioral analysis, management of chronic pain, and biofeedback.

Professional issues 

This seminar is scheduled on a monthly basis to help prepare the trainees for starting their careers, with the discussion led by staff from within our division and from outside of Children's Mercy. Examples of topics include the following: Preparing and revising your CV, preparing for post-doc and job interviews, preparing to take the EPPP, taking care of yourself, insurance/billing, and preparing (early in your career) for promotion within a hospital setting.

Clinical supervision 

The trainees receive supervision in the refinement of existing professional psychological competencies and in the mastery of new skills, methods, and procedures. This includes assessment, diagnosis, psychotherapy, consultation, research and evaluation. Regularly scheduled supervisory sessions are held for all training activities. In addition to direct supervision on clinical cases, Supervision Seminar is also scheduled on a monthly basis. This seminar discusses supervision from both the supervisor and supervisee perspective, and is an excellent forum to discuss burgeoning skills as a supervisor.

DEI/Advocacy Seminar

Trainees participate in a newly developed monthly DEI/Advocacy seminar which provides a designated space for a deep dive of DEI/Advocacy discussions related to various aspects of professional work. There are opportunities for an experiential learning component (e.g., attending local or state legislative advocacy events; volunteering in community events) with a goal to allow for flexibility for each training class to prioritize what areas they most would like to focus on over the training year.

Research 

While the primary focus of our program remains training in clinical practice, a significant number of faculty conduct rigorous research, allowing us to expand our research mission and to involve interns in research in meaningful ways. Our goal is to produce psychologists who use scientific methodology in their practice-decisions and work with clients using scientifically valid methods, tools, and techniques.

An optional yearlong research experience with an ongoing project at Children's Mercy with a focus on integrating research and clinical practice can be incorporated into a trainee’s schedule (e.g., one half day per week). This will replace a half day of administrative time. Mark Connelly, PhD, is the Director of Research for the Division of Developmental and Behavioral Sciences and oversees all research experiences for trainees, but the trainee's direct research supervisor will depend on the research experience chosen.

Cultural and individual differences 

Consideration for cultural and individual differences and diversity are incorporated across all training experiences. Our program is committed to training diverse trainees and works with each trainee to develop skills and show profession-wide competencies through a range of experiences. Throughout our educational and clinical experiences we integrate and consider cultural and individual differences and diversity, which includes (but is not limited to) language spoken, national origin, ethnicity and culture, race, family constellation, disability (e.g. physical limitations), gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, and socioeconomic status.

In addition to the experiences gained with individual patients and didactics, trainees are encouraged to participate in diversity activities through Children’s Mercy and/or the community. The following are examples of experiences at Children's Mercy that occur throughout the year are available to trainees for observation and participation: Equity & Diversity Forum; Cultural Competency Workshop; Spanish Bilingual Assistant Course; Qualified Bilingual Staff; Lisa Barth Chapel Offers area for prayer and meditation; Gender Pathway Services Clinic (GPS).