Barriers to Finding Psychology Postdoctoral Training Opportunities in Intensive Care Settings

Rehabil Psychol, 2024 · DOI: 10.1037/rep0000524 · Published: February 1, 2024

Simple Explanation

This study addresses the limited availability and identification of psychology training opportunities within intensive care settings. The researchers aimed to identify existing programs and the difficulties in finding these opportunities using standard search methods. The study highlights the need for improved search features and program descriptions to better reflect training opportunities in intensive care.

Study Duration

Not specified

Participants

22 psychology postdoctoral training programs

Evidence Level

Not specified

Key Findings

1
Few psychology training programs offer formal training in intensive care settings.
2
Standard search processes are limited in identifying specialty setting opportunities.
3
Specific training opportunities within intensive care settings often lack detailed descriptions.

Research Summary

This report identifies and describes (a) existing psychology predoctoral internship and postdoctoral residency programs that offer training in intensive care settings. The APPIC directory produced unusable results when searching for critical care experiences in predoctoral internship programs. Few program descriptions provided details about the intensive care setting or what percentage of training time would take place in intensive care versus other settings.

Practical Implications

Improved Directory Search Features

The study emphasizes the need for advanced search features in directories like APPIC/UPPD to help trainees find specialty training opportunities.

Comprehensive Program Descriptions

Programs should provide detailed descriptions of their training opportunities, including the specific intensive care settings and the percentage of training time spent in each setting.

Increased Psychology Workforce

Addressing the barriers to training in intensive care settings can help increase the number of psychologists available to practice in these settings, improving patient outcomes.

Study Limitations

1
The study's results may not offer a comprehensive list of programs due to barriers encountered during the search process.
2
The APPIC search method precludes the ability to find predoctoral training opportunities.
3
The relatively small sample and few training sites limit representativeness and generalization.

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