Why is it a problem to prolong Your 4+2/5+1 psychology internship? Part 1 of 2 part series
The AHPRA guidelines suggest that the 4+2 and 5+1 can be completed within 44 weeks or 88 weeks respectively but little is said about how hard it would be to complete it within those timeframes. In addition, on the pathway to becoming a psychologist little is described on public resources about how to be strategic around getting over the line and how to troubleshoot challenges in getting through the final stretch.
Completing your client direct and client-related hours is a significant achievement, but there are lots of other tasks to complete and failing to finalise your internship can have consequences. While work-life balance is essential, an extended internship period can lead to several challenges worth being aware of. You may still decide that you’re in no rush to finish the psych internship but this article is important in having some perspective around your planning
Reasons for Extended Internships:
Heavy Workload: Balancing client work, paperwork, and supervision sessions, along with meeting the expectations of employers and supervisors, can be overwhelming. Managing client satisfaction and employer demands, in addition to completing logbooks and tasks, is a daunting task.
Challenging AHPRA Tasks: Preparing for the National Psychology Exam or completing Case Reports can be time-consuming and stressful, contributing to delays in internship completion. The case reports are 2500 words (+- 10%) so they can be burdensome to work through. It is important to realise that failing these could delay your internship.
Work-Life Balance: The pressure to complete internship tasks can significantly reduce time for social activities, exercise, and relaxation. Social arrangements, social media, hobbies and interests are all necessary and important to your well-being, and should be managed in your scheduling ideally.
Personal Life Interferences: Unforeseen personal events or issues can hinder task completion efficiency.
Note: It's important not to view an extended internship duration as a failure. Each individual's circumstances are unique, and progress towards becoming a registered psychologist is still being made.
Consequences of an Extended Internship: Delayed Registration: Prolonging your internship can postpone your completion date, affecting your ability to become registered and impacting your career progression.
Additional Requirements: A longer internship may result in extra logbooks, observations, progress reports, and supervision sessions, leading to a sense of professional stagnation and disrupting life plans.
Fatigue: The internship becomes very tiring and the more it is prolonged the more effort it takes to get it all done and the more burnt out you may feel.
Moving Forward:
It's essential to focus on completing your internship efficiently. Stay tuned for strategies to help you successfully navigate the final stages of your internship journey. You can do this, you’re nearly there, but you need to be goal centred to wrap things up.