Evaluation, Required Minimum Levels of Achievement, Due Process and Grievance Procedures, and Exit Criteria

Evaluation and Feedback

Interns are encouraged to provide ongoing verbal and written feedback throughout the training year. There are several venues for ongoing feedback:

Weekly clinical supervision allows for supervisor and intern to engage in an ongoing feedback process.
Formal written evaluations occur twice a year between intern and supervisor.
Interns provide weekly evaluations of didactic presenters.
Interns meet weekly with the Training Director and provide verbal feedback of their training experience.
Interns complete quarter seminar evaluations.
Interns complete our Post-Internship Survey at the end of their internship.
The Training Director conducts exit interviews with each intern at the end of their internship.

It is expected that supervisors provide ongoing feedback to interns as well. Formal written evaluations occur twice a year. Clinical supervisors complete an Evaluation of Intern Competency Form midyear and end of year. The ongoing evaluation process provides regular feedback and evaluation of goals set for the training year. Supervisors gather feedback from other training staff to include in evaluations.

Profession Wide Competencies

Interns are evaluated on the following Profession Wide Competencies and related elements:

1. Ethics and Legal Matters

Intern demonstrates competence with their knowledge and acts in accordance with APA ethical principles and code of conduct, CA laws, regulations, rules, and policies governing health service psychology at the organizational, local, state, regional, and federal levels, and relevant professional standards and guidelines.
Intern demonstrates competence in their understanding and adherence to CAPS clinical and administrative policies.
Intern demonstrates competence in the ability to recognize ethical dilemmas as they arise and apply ethical decision-making processes in order to resolve the dilemmas.
Intern demonstrates competence in conducting self in an ethical manner in all professional activities.

2. Working with Individual and Cultural Diversity

Intern demonstrates competence in understanding how their own personal/cultural history, attitudes, and biases may affect how they understand and interact with those who are different from themselves.
Intern demonstrates competence in their knowledge of the current theoretical and empirical knowledge base as it relates to addressing diversity in all professional activities including research, training, supervision/consultation, and direct clinical service.
Intern demonstrates competence in the ability to integrate knowledge and understanding of diversity and culture into assessment, case formulation, treatment planning, and interventions.
Intern demonstrates competence in the ability to integrate awareness and knowledge of individual and cultural differences in the conduct of all professional roles.
Intern demonstrates competence in the ability to apply a framework for working effectively with areas of individual and cultural diversity not previously encountered over the course of their careers.
Intern demonstrates competence the ability to independently apply their knowledge and approach in working effectively with the range of diverse individuals and groups encountered during internship.
Intern demonstrates competence in the ability to engage in diversity dialogues professionally and respectfully with others.
Intern demonstrates commitment to the ongoing development of multicultural and diversity competence by engaging in self-examination to increase awareness of beliefs, attitudes, and biases that may impact their professional work.

3. Professional Values, Attitudes and Behavior

Intern demonstrates competence in behaving in ways that reflect the values and attitudes of psychology, including integrity, deportment, professional identity, accountability, lifelong learning, and concern for the welfare of others.
Intern demonstrates competence in the ability to engage in reflective practice regarding one’s personal and professional functioning; engage in activities to maintain and improve performance, well-being, and professional effectiveness.
Intern demonstrates competence in actively seeking and demonstrates openness and responsiveness to interpersonal feedback and supervision.
Intern demonstrates competence in responding professionally to increasingly complex situations with greater degree of independence.
Intern demonstrates competence in the ability to connect with other interns and to be an integrated member of the internship.
Intern demonstrates competence in time management skills.
Intern demonstrates competence in accurately evaluating own level of clinical judgment and competency.
Intern demonstrates competence in the ability to maintain good working relationships with professional and support staff.
Intern demonstrates competence in utilizing positive coping strategies with personal and professional stressors and challenges and is able to minimize their impact on clinical care.
Intern demonstrates competence in the ability to provide constructive feedback to supervisor and training staff.

4. Communication and Interpersonal Skills

Intern demonstrates competence in developing and maintaining effective relationships with a wide range of individuals, including colleagues, communities, organizations, supervisors, supervisees, and those receiving professional services.
Intern demonstrates competence in producing and comprehending oral, nonverbal, and written communications that are informative and well-integrated and demonstrates a thorough grasp of professional language and concepts.
Intern demonstrates competence in effective interpersonal skills and the ability to manage difficult communication well.
Intern demonstrates competence in handling differences openly, tactfully, professionally, and effectively.
Intern demonstrates competence in the ability to navigate family professionally and effectively, social, academic, medical, and/or other environmental support systems for the benefit of the client.

5. Assessment Skills

Intern demonstrates competence in the use of current knowledge of diagnostic classification systems, functional and dysfunctional behaviors, including consideration of client’s strengths and psychopathology.
Intern demonstrates competence in understanding human behavior within its context (e.g., family, social, societal, and cultural).
Intern demonstrates competence in the ability to apply the knowledge of functional and dysfunctional behaviors including context to the assessment and/or diagnostic process.
Intern demonstrates competence in the ability to select and apply assessment methods that draw from the best available empirical literature and that reflect the science of measurement and psychometrics; collect relevant data using multiple sources and methods appropriate to the identified goals and questions of the assessment as well as relevant diversity characteristics of the service recipient.
Intern demonstrates competence in the interpretation of assessment results, following current research and professional standards and guidelines to inform case conceptualization, classification, and recommendations, while guarding against decision-making biases, distinguishing the aspects of assessment that are subjective from those that are objective.
Intern demonstrates competence in the oral communication and in written documentation of findings and implications of the assessment in an accurate and effective manner sensitive to a range of audiences.
Intern demonstrates competence in the ability to assess for a range of safety issues, including but not limited to child abuse, danger to self, danger to others, grave disability, and self-harm.

6. Intervention Skills

Intern demonstrates competence in the ability to establish and maintain effective relationships with recipients of psychological services.
Intern demonstrates competence in the ability to develop evidence based intervention plans specific to the service delivery goals.
Intern demonstrates competence in their ability to implement interventions informed by the current scientific literature, assessment finding, diversity characteristics, and contextual variables.
Intern demonstrates competence in the ability to apply the relevant research literature to clinical decision making.
Intern demonstrates competence in the ability to modify and adapt evidence-based approaches effectively when a clear evidence-base is lacking.
Intern demonstrates competence in the ability to evaluate intervention effectiveness and adapt intervention goals and methods consistent with ongoing evaluation.
Intern demonstrates competence in the ability to provide services in a variety of modalities which may include brief, long-term, individual, couples, group, crisis intervention, and outreach programming.
Intern demonstrates competence in the ability to work with a range of presentations from developmental issues to more acute psychiatric conditions.
Intern demonstrates competence in the ability effectively manage the termination phase of therapy.
Intern demonstrates competence in the ability to utilize resources and facilitate referrals.
Intern demonstrates competence the ability to direct care, when appropriate, to a higher level of care.

7. Consultation Interprofessional Interdisciplinary Skills

Intern demonstrates competence in their ability to apply knowledge of consultation models and practices with individuals, other healthcare professionals, interprofessional groups or systems related to health and behavior.
Intern demonstrates competence in understanding the difference between their clinical and consultative roles
Intern demonstrates competence in knowing when consultation/collaboration with others may be appropriate and/or needed.
Intern demonstrates competence in responding in a timely fashion to phone, email, or in person requests for consultation.
Intern demonstrates competence and respect in working with psychiatrists, clinical social workers, marriage and family therapists, case managers, other medical staff at Vaden Student Health Center and Stanford Medical Center.
Intern demonstrates competence in the ability to actively seek consultation when treating complex cases or working with unfamiliar symptoms, presenting concerns, crisis situations, and populations.
Intern demonstrates competence in actively participating in discussion of consultation related topics during team meetings and in case conference.
Intern demonstrates competence in effectively managing confidentiality issues during consultation.
Intern demonstrates competence in working collaboratively and communicating effectively with the consultee.

8. Research Skills

Intern demonstrates competence in the ability to critically evaluate and disseminate research or other scholarly activities at the local (seminars, case conference, supervision) or national level.
Intern develops and executes a program evaluation project (Social Justice Project) that assesses a specific need or service on campus and presents findings at a staff meeting.
Intern demonstrates competence in the ability to discuss how psychological theory and research apply to clinical practice in supervision.

9. Supervision

Intern demonstrates competence in their knowledge of supervision models and practices.
Intern demonstrates competence in their ability to apply knowledge of supervision models and practice through roles plays or peer supervision in case conference.

Required Minimum Level of Achievement

The following scale is used to rate interns’ level of achievement mid-year and end-of-year. It is expected that an intern will receive a minimum rating of 3 (Emerging Competence) on all elements of competence mid-year and a minimum rating of 4 (Competence) on all elements at the end of the year for successful completion of internship.

7 Mastery: The intern demonstrates an exceptional strength in this area. The knowledge, awareness or skill is consistently incorporated and evident in daily professional practice as an emerging psychologist.
6 Significant Strength: The intern demonstrates a significant strength well above their developmental level. The knowledge, awareness or skill is frequently applied to their practice with minimum structured assistance.
5 Strength: The intern demonstrates a strength pertaining to the knowledge, awareness or skill being evaluated and is slightly above their developmental level.
4 Competence: The intern demonstrates a level of competence appropriate for entry-level practice in health service psychology and is actively working to further enhance competence in the knowledge, awareness or skill area being evaluated. *This is the expected level of competence at completion of the training program.
3 Emerging Competence: While still a growth area, the intern demonstrates a basic foundation in the knowledge, awareness, and skill and is approaching a developmentally appropriate level of competency. *This is a common rating at mid-year of the internship.
2 Significant Growth Area: The knowledge, awareness or skill should be a major focus of development for the intern. Specialized attention should be provided in supervision and remedial work may be required for the intern to achieve competence. (If a rating of 2 is given on any element in any competency area of the final evaluation, the intern does not successfully complete their internship).
1 Remedial: The intern lacks understanding and demonstrates minimal evidence of the knowledge, awareness, or skill. A specific remediation plan is required with increased supervision and careful monitoring to help intern achieve competence. (If a rating of 1 is given on any element in any competency area of the final evaluation, the intern does not successfully complete their internship).
NA-Not applicable
U-Unable to Evaluate (Supervisor has not been able to assess this competency)

Written evaluations are reviewed by the Training Director and shared with appropriate training staff at our weekly Training Committee Meetings and monthly Supervisors meetings. Mid-year and end of year evaluations are shared with Intern’s Director of Clinical Training from their doctoral program. Throughout the year, staff is able to review and assess interns’ feedback. The information is utilized to make any necessary changes to the training program that support intern’s professional development and maintains the effectiveness in achieving our goals and objectives. All evaluation forms may be found in the Internship Orientation Binder.

Due Process and Grievance Procedures

CAPS adheres to the written procedures outlined by our Due Process guidelines for the effective resolution of problems, disputed evaluations, and problematic behavior. All Interns are informed of these procedures during orientation and receive a copy in their Internship Orientation Binder. The Training Director may consult with Stanford University Human Resources as needed.

Most problems that arise during an internship are a normal part of the training process and will be handled informally during supervisory sessions. The discussion and resolution of these problems are seen as opportunities for each intern’s professional growth. Similarly, grievance procedures and due process are envisioned as opportunities to collaborate in the remediation and/or resolution of problems or concerns regarding an intern’s competence or progress.

The Psychology Internship Training Program will provide all interns with information relevant to professional standards, legal and ethical regulations, and guidelines, and offer opportunities to discuss the implementation of such standards.

Criteria for the Successful Completion of Internship

In order to successfully complete the internship, each intern must meet the following criteria:

Successful completion of 2000 hours of Supervised Professional Experience (SPE) over a 12-month period. Interns are responsible for completing administrative paperwork and tracking their accrued hours.
No significant ethical violations committed by the intern.
Supervisor evaluations indicate the intern’s performance is consistent with the expected minimum level achievement required by end of year.
All clinical documentation is completed and co-signed by their supervisor(s).
All required evaluations of supervisors, training director, and training program are completed.
The intern has received evaluations from all supervisors and has completed the exit interview with the Director of Training

Interns who successfully complete their Internship with CAPS are awarded a Certificate of Completion reflecting their accomplishment.