The number of psychology students who matched with internships in Phase I of the Match sponsored by the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC) has increased for a third consecutive year. According to APPIC, 3,239 students — or 76 percent of all applicants — matched to internship positionsopens in new window in Phase I of the process on Feb. 20.
Last year, 73 percent of applicants matched. Eighty percent of this year's matches were to APA- or Canadian Psychological Association-accredited internships, a 2 percent increase over last year.
Although more still needs to be done to get better match rates, students, APA and APAGS leaders say they welcome the latest match statistics.
"APA, the training community, APAGS and many others have been putting in a lot of thoughtful and dedicated work toward easing this crisis, and we're starting to see the fruits of our labors," says Emily Voelkel, PhD, APAGS chair and a postdoctoral fellow at the Boston VA Healthcare System. "Something that's changed is that all of the groups involved are trying to find collaborative ways to work together, rather than doing things in silos."
Their collaborative efforts have helped to improve the balance between the number of internship positions and the number of applicants. This year, the number of available positions increased by 5 percent to 3,684 positions, while registered applicants decreased by 2 percent to 4,247 applicants.
In addition, nearly half of all applicants who found a position matched to their first choice, more than two-thirds received one of their top two choices and some four in five matched to one of their top three choices. Four hundred and forty-five positions did not fill in Phase 1 of the Match.
In all, 3,928 applicants completed the process for 3,684 available positions.
"In terms of the increase in positions, I think it's probably due to a number of factors, including the efforts of multiple professional organizations as well as an improving economic picture. While it is exciting to see this trend, it's important to keep in mind that we have a long way to go, particularly when it comes to the shortage of accredited positions," says Greg Keilin, PhD, APPIC vice chair and match coordinator.
In response, both APA and APAGS will continue efforts to improve this imbalance, using remaining funds from the $3 million grant APA established for a stimulus program to increase funded positions and find innovative ways to close the gap, Voelkel says. (Shanda Wells, PsyD, and colleagues summarized the crisis and efforts to ease it in a May 2014 article in Training and Education in Professional Psychologyopens in new window.)
"We still have a long way to go, but I'm cautiously optimistic," says Nabil El-Ghoroury, PhD, APAGS associate executive director. "This suggests that the APA stimulus program is starting to have some effect. I anticipate there are more programs in the pipeline waiting to get accredited, so we might see a better number next year."
APA and APAGS have developed a toolkit for training programs and leaders of state psychological associations to advocate for Medicaid reimbursement for intern services, which would also help create new positions.
Among other efforts, APAGS is encouraging counseling centers and psychology training clinics with nonaccredited internships to get APA accreditation and is encouraging school psychology programs to develop programs that would meet APA accreditation standards, says El-Ghoroury.
"We can provide tools and technical assistance, but this is something states have to take on that can create a more sustainable funding stream for internships," he says.