Program-sanctioned hours
Program sanctioned hours are usually undertaken for the following reasons:
1. The student and/or program identifies a gap in the student’s training that needs to be filled;
2. Through unpaid or paid work, or through clinical research endeavors, the student is involved in
supervised clinical experiences that are not part of practicum experiences (i.e., these experiences
are not an official/required part of the clinical training offered by the program);
3. The student seeks to strengthen his/her credentials in preparation for internship applications or
future employment.
The APPIC internship application allows ‘program-sanctioned hours’ to be added to official
practicum hours in a student’s application. These hours accrue in a variety of contexts: research,
agency, clinic, private practice, hospital, schools, etc., and may be paid or unpaid.
A minimum number of hours is not required, and students may work any amount of time (e.g., 2week block of full-time work, 1 day a week for 4 months, etc.) that is consistent with university
and funding policies and does not interfere with their ability to progress as expected toward
completion of their MSc and PhD. The maximum amount of time, therefore, is normally not to
exceed the regular number of hours for a one-term practicum placement—120 hours per term. If
the number of hours is expected to exceed this limit, the student needs to specifically discuss the
reasons as to why this is the case, and justify the experience in terms of their thesis work
progression with the Director of Clinical Training (DCT). In addition, students at the MSc1 level
would not typically be approved for program-sanctioned hours through experiences at clinics
(although program-sanctioned hours accrued during research in the student’s lab can still be
claimed) given the necessary focus on courses and thesis work at that early stage in their graduate
career. As part of the APPIC application process, the DCT must confirm in writing that the
student has completed the number of hours reported in his/her application.
Criteria for program-sanctioned hours include:
1. The activity must be a valid clinical experience providing Psychological Service(s) as defined
by the College of Psychologists of Ontario (CPO) standards of practice:
“Psychological Services refer to services of a psychological nature that are provided by or under
the direction of a member. Psychological services include, but are not limited to, one or more of
the following:
a. Evaluation, diagnosis and assessment of individuals and groups
b. Interventions with individuals and groups
c. Consultation
d. Program development and evaluation
e. Supervision
f. Research” (page 3, The CPO Standards of Professional Conduct document,
see: http://www.capda.ca/docs/resources/on-cpo-standards-of-professional-conduct.pdf?sfvrsn=4)
Please note that for point f above (“Research”), the Clinical Program at Queen’s University
supports clinical interviews and administration of tests (even repeated administration of tests) and
assessment tools and their subsequent scoring and interpretation as program-sanctioned hours.
2. The activity must be supervised by a licensed/registered psychologist who assumes
professional responsibility for the work completed by the student. The amount of supervision will
depend on experience level of the student and the nature of the work, but should approximate that
of an official Practicum. The Supervisor will complete and sign a brief evaluation form to
confirm the number of hours worked by the student, and to indicate that the work was
satisfactory.
3. The activity should be approved in advance by the DCT, whenever possible, using the
Advanced Approval of Potential Program-Sanctioned Hours form, see below. Final number of
hours worked and evaluation must then be submitted when the work is completed, using the
Program-Sanctioned Hours Approval form. With implementation of this form, activities in
progress may be approved using the Advanced Approval of Potential Program-Sanctioned Hours
form.
4. Hours should be documented in detail as per APPIC categories.
Please note that if you are working as a Clinical Assistant at the Psychology Clinic under the
supervision of Dr. Kevin Parker or Dr. Susan Meyers, or working at the Psychology Clinic under
the supervision of Dr. Chris Bowie, Dr. Kate Harkness, or Dr. Caroline Pukall, these hours are
already program-sanctioned and do not need to be pre-approved. Please email the DCT for
approval once these hours are completed (please document them in detail as per APPIC
categories). In addition, if you already received approval for program-sanctioned hours by the
DCT before this form was implemented online (December 2013), please consider them as already
approved (i.e., there is no need to seek approval retroactively).
Please also note that not all requests for program-sanctioned hours will be approved, and that
sometimes, only partial hours will be approved. The DCT uses the CPO definition of
Psychological Services as a guide, in conjunction with the proportion of hours in service and
supervision, and quality of the exposure in terms of breadth in order to make this decision. If you
feel, however, that the decision made in your case is not fair in some way, please feel free to
discuss this issue directly with the DCT, the Clinic Director, or the Graduate Program
Coordinator.
Advanced Approval of Potential Program-Sanctioned Hours Form
Date:
Name of Student:
Program Level (e.g., MSc2):
Reason for Additional Clinical Experience:
Name and Address of Clinical Activity Site:
Projected Number of Total Clinical Hours to be Completed:
Paid [ ] or Unpaid [ ] Experience
Name of Registered Clinical/Research Supervisor:
Frequency and Nature of Supervision (e.g., face to face, individual):
Population seen in Clinical Activity Site (e.g., adult, children, families):
Checklist to be Reviewed by Clinical/Research Supervisor and Student
YES
NO
Is the activity a valid clinical experience in Psychological Service(s) as
defined in the CPO Standards of Practice?
Is the activity supervised by a CPO-registered (or other Registered or
Licensed Clinical Psychologist, please specify ____________________)
who assumes professional responsibility for the work?
Does the ratio of planned supervision to direct clinical hours approximate
what is required during an official practicum?
Will the Supervisor complete and sign a brief form that confirms the number
of clinical hours and indicates that the work was satisfactory?
We have reviewed the criteria for program-sanctioned hours, believe that the clinical experiences
will meet the criteria, and commit to fulfilling these criteria throughout the period of clinical
experiences. By the student signing, s/he is acknowledging that her/his commitment to this
clinical work has been discussed with her/his Research Supervisor and approved.
________________________________
Student
____________________________
Date
________________________________
Psychologist Supervisor
____________________________
Date
______________________________________________________________________
Decision by DCT
[ ] approved
[ ]partial approval: details
[ ] rejected-reason:
________________________________
Director of Clinical Training
____________________________
Date
Program-Sanctioned Hours Approval Form (to be filled out and submitted upon completion)
Date:
Name of Student:
Name and Address of Clinical Activity Site:
Name of Registered Clinical/Research Supervisor:
Start Date of Clinical Activity: __________________ End date: _____________________
Table: Hours Completed
Activity
Number of Hours
Face to face patient/research participant contact hours in:
Assessment
-Intake
-Test administration
-Feedback sessions
Therapy
Other, please specify
Supervision
Support (reports, scoring, meetings, etc.)
TOTAL NUMBER OF HOURS
* Please append a one page summary of type of assessments/therapy etc. completed.
Student Statement
I hereby confirm that the information on this document is an accurate representation of my
clinical experience.
________________________________
Student
____________________________
Date
Clinical/Research Supervisor Statement
I hereby confirm that ______________________ completed the stated number of clinical hours at
the above-named setting under my supervision, and that the work completed was satisfactory.
________________________________
Psychologist Supervisor
____________________________
Date
______________________________________________________________________
Decision by DCT
[ ] approved
[ ]partial approval: details
[ ] rejected-reason:
________________________________
Director of Clinical Training
____________________________
Date