Practicum Placement 4 PG (6316.5)

Required texts

Required texts

Students are expected to be familiar with and act in accordance with, the APS Code of Ethics and the Psychology Board of Australia/AHPRA registration standards at all times, as well as other legislative requirements. Texts used in coursework units can be used for this unit to assist with clinical practice. The placement organisation may also require certain readings to be undertaken or training to be completed prior to or as part of the placement. Students are encouraged to discuss with their supervisor suggested readings evaluating the assessment and treatment of relevance to the placement client population.

• American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5-TR ed.). Author.
• Australian Psychological Society. (2007). APS code of ethics. Author.

Additional books that might be useful depending on your placement. 

• Barlow, D. H. (2021). Clinical Handbook of Psychological Disorders: A step-by-step approach (6th ed). Guildford.
• Ramnero, J., & Torneke, N. (2008). The ABCs of Human Behavior: Behavioral Principles for the Practicing Clinician. New Harbinger. 
• Simmons, J. & Griffiths, R. (2017). CBT for Beginners (3rd ed.) Sage.

Submission of assessment items

Special assessment requirements

An ungraded pass is achieved by demonstrating competency overall for the clinical placement through a passing grade.  This is achieved through students completing all placement hours, being deemed to meet competency standards at the requisite Stage across all domains at the final placement review and given a pass grade by their supervisor, and submission of all placement documentation in line with requirements to the External Placement Coordinator. If a student is identified as having difficulties on placement, their supervisor will meet with the student to discuss these concerns and develop a plan outlining activities and deadlines designed to address these.  Depending on when these concerns are raised, a placement may need to be extended in order to support the student's development in reaching appropriate competence.  However, if progress is not made or does not reach the required Stage within an appropriate timeframe, a fail grade will be applied.  In these circumstances the supervisor and student will be required to identify specific learning needs and activities to address the concerns raised.  Students will be encouraged to take a break from clinical placements for at least one teaching period in which to address the concerns raised.  Approval to enrol in a clinical placement will be required, pending appropriate demonstration of activities which addressed the issues raised.  All concerns raised by supervisors and plans will be discussed and reviewed with the supervisor, Unit Convenor, Clinical Program Director and clinical team to ensure appropriate moderation of student performance evaluations.  See information in 6i outlining fail grades.

Supplementary assessment

Not offered

Academic integrity

Students have a responsibility to uphold University standards on ethical scholarship. Good scholarship involves building on the work of others and use of others' work must be acknowledged with proper attribution made. Cheating, plagiarism, and falsification of data are dishonest practices that contravene academic values. Refer to the University's Student Charter for more information.

To enhance understanding of academic integrity, all students are expected to complete the Academic Integrity Module (AIM) at least once during their course of study. You can access this module within UCLearn (Canvas) through the 'Academic Integrity and Avoiding Plagiarism' link in the Study Help site.

Use of Text-Matching Software

The University of Canberra uses text-matching software to help students and staff reduce plagiarism and improve understanding of academic integrity. The software matches submitted text in student assignments against material from various sources: the internet, published books and journals, and previously submitted student texts.

Supervision Contracts and Log Books

Students must prepare a placement contract in consultation with their supervisor.  This should outline the following (a template is available on the Canvas site) and must be completed within two weeks of commencement on placement:

• Student, supervisor and placement details
• Days and dates of placement, including commencement and expected completion, mid-placement review and final placement review.
• Expectations and responsibilities of Provisional Psychologist
• Expectations and responsibilities of Supervisor
• Provisional Psychologist's goals and objectives for the placement and competencies to be addressed, including models by which this will be assessed (see template on Canvas site)
• Formal supervision arrangements and methods

Students should prepare their supervision contract in reference to the specific activities involved in practice at the site (including clinical psychology specific, and other role relevant tasks), and discuss these with their supervisor to ensure clinical competencies are reached within the placement activities.  Students should also utilise learnings and development needs from their prior placement to help set learning goals with their supervisor.

Log Books are a mandatory requirement of placement. The Professional Practice Log Book should provide evidence of all hours spent on placement (contact and non-contact) and should also include a log of supervision hours. Students are required to complete satisfactorily a minimum of 1000 hours of supervised practice over all four clinical placements in the Master of Clinical Psychology degree. Of these 1000 hours, at least 400 hours (over the four clinical placements) should be direct client contact and required supervision hours per placement met. Please see details in the Placement Handbook on counting placement hours.

The Supervision Log Book must document all supervision sessions completed (individual and group) throughout the duration of the placement, including a summary of the topics discussed, reflection, and future research or tasks related to the supervision content.

Every single entry must be signed by student and supervisor.

Any problems with the placement or meeting the requirements should be flagged by the student with their placement supervisor and the unit convener as soon as possible so they can be rectified early. Delaying notification of problems (e.g. in relation to supervision or the completion of work) may result in the placement being extended.

MANDATORY

Please note that all client notes including progress notes and reports, log books, contracts, assignments and placement reviews must be signed by both the student and supervisor before a student can be passed on their placement.  It is the student’s responsibility to ensure ALL client-related work is signed by the primary supervisor. A student will not be passed on the placement if there are any documents left unsigned.

Learner engagement

An extension may be granted beyond the end of semester as placements often go beyond the semester period.

Students need to negotiate this with their external placement supervisor as each placement has unique requirements

Participation requirements

Students are expected to attend their placement on all agreed upon days for the duration of placement.  Should absence be required for any reason, your placement supervisor must be advised by telephone as soon as possible.

Students are required to engage with their placement site as they would a professional workplace.

Required IT skills

None

Work placement, internships or practicums

This unit involves clinical placement with an external clinical setting, and therefore, additional student responsibilities are required with strict adherence to professional practice principles and ethics. Students are expected to adhere to the APS Code of Conduct and Ethical Guidelines, and to consult with their individual supervisor if they are concerned about any practice issues in the course of their placements. Importantly, client confidentiality must always be maintained in accordance with clinic procedures. If a student is found to have breached the APS Code of Ethics during placement, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) may be advised, which could affect provisional registration and completion of practicum placements. Any breaches in professional conduct during placement will result in suspension of placement and referral to the Associate Dean Education for investigation. The professional nature of this unit also requires participation in individual and group supervision for the successful completion of the unit. If attendance requirements cannot be satisfied (e.g., due to outside employment), it is recommended that you meet with your Course Convenor to schedule this unit for a future semester. 

Additional information

Students are expected to see clients under supervision and complete the usual tasks involved in practicing in the placement setting. They are expected to attend weekly individual supervision and group supervision as arranged. Individual supervision sessions are usually one hour in duration. Clinical supervision will begin at the commencement of your placement at a time agreed upon with your individual supervisor. There is a requirement for one hour of supervision for every 15 placement hours. A minimum of 50% of the supervision hours must be individual supervision. 

The trainee is required to aim toward a target of 250 hours of placement activity per placement. Of these 250 hours, a minimum of 100 hours should be direct client contact. However, if a student is deemed to be competent in all domains but they have not reached 100 client contact hours (student must have 80 hours of client contact or more), they may receive an ungraded pass. This can only occur under the provision they have attained the required total number of placement hours (including placement activity, direct client contact and supervision) for the Course. In the circumstances that this occurs, an agreement will be made between the student and their supervisor, which will be documented and recorded in their placement folder. 

Please note that important announcements will be made via Canvas.

Submission of Placement Folder 

Students will initially submit their placement folder to their individual supervisor, prior to the External Placement Coordinator for final approval. An electonic (scanned) copy of the placement folder is required for submission. If the placement folder is incomplete, the student will need to re-submit in order to pass.

Fail Result

In the event a student fails the placement, consultation with the External Placement Coordinator and the Convenor of the Master of Clinical Psychology course is required to discuss options before re-enrolment.

A second fail grade will result in the Discipline recommendation to the university that the student fail the MCP program. 

Requests for Leave

Please refer to the Course Handbook for additional details on student leave policy.

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