This program gives trainees an opportunity to develop skills in providing psychological services and consultation to pediatric medical patients, often those with traumatic burn and related injuries.
Practicum students in psychology gain experience on the inpatient unit as well as in the outpatient clinic. Students have the opportunity to utilize a wide range of therapeutic modalities within a very specific patient population. The primary approach to psychological care at Shriners Children's is pediatric behavioral medicine with an emphasis on CBT, ACT, DBT and TF-CBT evidence-based interventions. Practicum students also gain experience working as part of a multidisciplinary team and consult to medical staff, care management, child life and rehabilitation therapy. Students work with a widely diverse cultural ethnic and linguistic population and often work closely with certified medical interpreters. Supervision is provided by staff psychologists and psychiatrists. One psychological practicum student is selected for Shriners Children's Boston each year and works closely with social work students where they also gain peer support.
This is an Advanced Practicum experience and students must at least be in their 3rd year of training in an accredited Ph.D. or Psy.D. program in clinical psychology. Previous therapy experience with children, adolescents and/or families is required, and knowledge of typical and atypical child development is preferred. Applications will be reviewed to determine if this is an appropriate setting for the applicant based on prior training and experience as well as future interests. Applicants must also be confident that they will be comfortable working in a critical care environment where they will be witness to children with severe and often disfiguring injuries. Potential candidates will be invited to interview in person with Director of Psychological Services and Training, Ellen O'Donnell, Ph.D., and to meet our psychiatry faculty and tour the hospital.
Students are expected to attend morning rounds on days they are at practicum. They are also expected to participate in one hour per week psychiatry rounds and one hour per week hospital-wide multidisciplinary rounds. They have two hours each week of supervision with Dr. O'Donnell (one hour of 1:1 and a minimum of one hour in vivo). Students conduct psychological assessment as well as individual short-term and long-term interventions with patients based on referral by medical staff and care coordination. Such interventions can be done independently or conjointly with the supervisor. In addition, interns are responsible for writing notes in medical charts pertaining to all patient contacts and submission of written reports related to discharge plans and referrals for outpatient services following discharge. Interns will also attend treatment team meetings. If scheduling allows, interns can attend a child psychology seminar offered one hour a week at Massachusetts General Hospital. Average face-to-face clinical contact hours per week are 15. Students are expected to be on site on Mondays to attend weekly psychiatry rounds and to be present for a day when Dr. O’Donnell is on-site. Other preferred days are Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Students are given the opportunity to do their doctoral project or smaller research projects on some aspect of their work that is of particular interest. There is a strong research program at Shriners Children's Boston that students may participate in as their schedule allows with clinical work being first priority. Students are also expected to come to supervision prepared to offer and learn about evidence-based interventions appropriate for our patient population. Trainees are encouraged to develop research and clinical interests into presentations for local (e.g., other providers from other disciplines in the hospital) and national audiences (e.g., the American Burn Association annual conference or the Society of Pediatric Psychology annual conference). Often, research projects are around intervention or resource development.
The Advanced Practicum at Shriners Children's Boston adheres to the deadlines and guidelines determined by the Massachusetts Practicum Training Collaborative (PTC). Interested applicants should send a cover letter, CV, and a minimum of two letters of reference to Dr. Ellen O'Donnell at eodonnell@shrinenet.org by January 11, 2022.
