We have scheduled the conference programming in our monthly webinar schedule beginning with our first presentation on Friday, March 26th at 1P PST/3P CST/4P EST – We invite you to join Drs. Allison Aosved, Amy Silberbogen, Wayne Siegel, and Elizabeth McQuaid who will present: Postdoctoral Psychology Program and Applicant Information: How can TDs apply this Data?

For more details about the program, please see below. You may access the Conference Webinar Series and other APPIC events on our calendar webpage.

Continuing Education credit will be available to registered participants at the live webinar only. Participants must register for CE no later than March 25th Registration now closed.

Webinars are available to membership on our APPIC YouTube Channel.

Presentation Abstract:

In recent years, postdoctoral training in health service psychology has received increased focus due to shifts towards specialization and advanced competency development. Given that more formalized postdoctoral training positions are available, attracting diverse applicants with a wide variety of personal and professional goals, it is critical for program administrators and mentors to understand applicants’ perceptions of desirable training experiences. This presentation has five primary aims: 1) to describe the postdoctoral opportunities listed in the Universal Psychology Postdoctoral Directory(UPPD) in 2018-2019, 2) to describe those factors that applicants consider when applying for postdoctoral positions during the 2018-2019 recruitment season, 3) assist Postdoc TDs in applying this information to one's own program, public materials, recruitment efforts, programming, etc., 4) assist Internship TDs in in applying this information to educating and mentoring their interns; and, 5) provide a sneak peek at the 2020-2021 postdoctoral UPPD and applicant survey data(collection is currently in progress). The Association for Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC) has data to address these aims – from the publicly available UPPD to the anonymous data collected from potential postdoctoral program applicants who completed a post-recruitment period survey (n = 1,214). Results indicated that 82%(n = 998) of those surveyed applied to at least one postdoctoral program, with 1,184 postdoctoral programs being listed in the UPPD. Reasons given for applying for postdoctoral positions, in order of endorsement frequency, were obtaining hours for licensure; increasing competitiveness for future employment; obtaining advanced competency; and obtaining additional professional mentorship. Factors that survey respondents deemed important in determining ranking of program preferences included clinical training opportunities; perceived training quality; geographic location; work-life balance; pay/benefits; and employment prospects. Implications for recruitments and retention of diverse trainees will be discussed. Small group discussions will focus on how this information can best be used by mentors of prospective postdoctoral applicants to more effectively advise program selection, and by postdoctoral program administrators to further innovate recruitment and selection strategies as well as development of desirable postdoctoral training experiences that will prepare trainees with advanced competencies for early careers in health service psychology.

Learning Objectives:

Learning Objective #1* Participants will be able to list two characteristics of post-internship experiences posted in the UPPD​
Learning Objective #2* Participants will be able to list three of the top five reasons applicants gave for applying to postdoctoral positions​
Learning Objective #3* Participants will be able to identify one strategy for improvement for recruitment and selection in their postdoctoral program​
Learning Objective #4* Participants will be able to identify one strategy to utilize for mentoring interns who are considering applying to postdoctoral programs​

References:

· Bodin, D., Schmidt, J. P., Lemle, R. B., Roper, B. L., Goldberg, R. W., Hill, K. R., … Siegel, W. (2018). Recruitment and selection in health service psychology postdoctoral training: A review of the history and current issues. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 12(2), 74–81. https://doi.org/10.1037/tep0000181
· Kaslow, N. J., Bangasser, D. A., Grus, C. L., McCutcheon, S. R., & Fowler, G. A. (2018). Facilitating pipeline progress from doctoral degree to first job. American Psychologist, 73(1), 47–62. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000120
· Silberbogen, A. K., Aosved, A. C., Cross, W. F., Cox, D. R., & Felleman, B. I. (2018). Postdoctoral training in Health Service Psychology: Current perspectives in an evolving profession. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 12(2), 66-73. https://doi.org/10.1037/tep0000182