Assessment strategy and rationale

The assessment strategy for this unit allows the assessment of the student against the minimum standards for psychological practice and competence in psychological skills as determined by the Psychology Board of Australia and the Australian Psychological Accreditation Council and the expected trajectory of attainment of clinical competencies. Supervisors will evaluate competence levels of trainees at both mid- and end-placement using a structured assessment tool relevant to the stage of training and program of study (for example, the Clinical Psychology Practicum Competencies Rating Scale).

The Mid-Practicum Review is designed to assess students’ practical performance in a real-life work setting. This review of performance is intended to identify student strengths and areas for growth as provisional psychologists. If through this process concerns are raised regarding the student’s progress towards competence relative to their stage of training, a remediation plan will be developed to address these areas of concern in regards to clinical competence. This remediation plan will include the scheduling of an additional review meeting to assess progress towards improving performance in the areas of concern identified, and is intended to ensure that students are able to progress towards participating in an End-of-Practicum Review. The Mid-Practicum Review may be waived by the Placement Coordinator, with the student proceeding straight to the End-of-Practicum Review, in cases when extenuating circumstances impact the nature or duration of the placement. Students will need to demonstrate a higher level of competence at the End-of-Practicum Review due to increased expectations of their developing skills and independence across time. Students will not be offered the opportunity to repeat the End-of-Practicum review. Failure of an End-of-Practicum review will result in a failure of the unit overall. Unless negotiated in the Placement Contract established at the commencement of the placement, this End-of-Practicum Review should be completed within six months of commencing the placement. Any variation is this timeline or remediation process would need to be approved by the Psychology Clinical Governance Committee whose deliberations would include careful consideration of the resource implications of any extensions. 

The practicum log book is designed to assess students’ ability to develop the skills to maintain appropriate record keeping practices consistent with ethical and professional standards. Log books must be submitted within two weeks of concluding the practicum. If required, students will be given feedback to ensure that the logbooks meet registration standards. Required changes must be submitted within two weeks of the feedback being received in order to meet the requirements of this hurdle. The case presentation is designed to develop the students’ ability to present their clinical thinking in a concise professional manner to their peers, similar to a clinical case review meeting in the field. The case conference report is designed to assess students’ ability to critically evaluate and integrate information gathered during assessment procedures to develop a case formulation and treatment plan consistent with the empirical research literature. This written report requires students’ to critically reflect on their case presentation and incorporate relevant feedback from their peers. Students will be given one opportunity to resubmit this task in response to feedback provided by their case conference facilitator. Students must complete all applicable hurdle tasks successfully and achieve a pass grade in all Pass/Fail tasks to pass this unit, as a failure in any of these assessment tasks is likely to translate to an unacceptable level of risk to clients the student will come into contact with on subsequent practicums. Learning outcomes will be assessed at multiple time points in order to ensure that student progression in developing confidence in the application of psychological practice skills is adequately assessed..