Further Information Related to PBA Endorsement

Following a few questions that have been received, I thought it would be worth highlighting what is likely the most helpful PBA document concerning the registrar program (click here: Guidelines on Areas of Practice Endorsements). This is not a new document, but it is possible that some students may have overlooked it when searching the PBA website (you may have noticed that I linked the document to the blog I wrote earlier today).

Important details in the document (which is likely to assist students who have emailed me) include:

1)A list of specific forms that need to be submitted in order to start (and complete) the registrar program

2)An outline of the core competencies that need to be addressed (both general competencies and competencies specific to obtaining the “Clinical Neuropsychologist” title –see attachment B)

3)An Important definition of ‘psychological practice’ (i.e. the type of work that counts towards the registrar program). NOTE: the work does not necessarily have to be paid; and is not limited to direct clinical care and can, in some circumstances, include such things as administration, education and research and advisory work.

4)The amount of hours a one-year (1540 hours of practice) and two-year (3080 hours of practice) full-time registrar program must consists of. Importantly, the document clearly details how these hours can be spread (i.e. over a maximum of five years. Though, as outlined in the document, there are minimum requirements per year that must be maintained).

5)Information on ‘board-approved’ supervisors, including the distinction between a ‘primary’ and ‘secondary’ supervisor. As the title suggests, both must be board-approved (the ‘secondary’ supervisor does not have to be endorsed in the approved area).

Importantly, the transitional arrangements are not coved in the document. Several PBA documents are available regarding transition arrangements, such as page 5 and 9 of the FAQ.

More detailed information regarding Transitional arrangements are available in the Fact sheet (Transition and grandparentingarrangements for area of practice endorsements). Students who had commenced and was undertaking an APAC accredited higher degree on 30 June 2010 or was a recent graduate on 30 June 2010 are examples of individuals who can apply for an area of practice endorsement under the transition rules.

There are important deadlines specified by the PBA – in some instances to be covered under the transition rule, the registrar program must be completed and the application for area of practice endorsement must be lodged prior to 30 June 2013 (i.e. applicants must submit the application for approval of a registrar program before 30 June 2012 to start the one-year registrar program) (see page 7).

CCN2012 Conference: Expression of Interest to Attend Social Events

The College of Clinical Neuropsychology Conference Committee is currently planning the social programme for this year's CCN2012 Conference in Launceston (22nd-25th November).

A number of great social activities have been planned throughout the conference including a 5km fun run up the Cataract Gorge, a Cocktail party, a student function and a Tamar Valley Vineyard tour.

You can assist the committee by indicating your interest in attending a number of events planned for the conference on a doodle poll that they have set up:

http://www.doodle.com/4ziigmx7mp57g5we

This poll takes less than a minute to complete and is anonymous - only the conference committee will see the names. Please tick the events you're likely to attend, as this will help the committee work out the budget in the coming weeks. It will be assumed that if you tick any one of the events, you're very likely to be attending the conference.

PBA, AHPRA, APS, APS-CCN: Introduction to Key Organisations (and lots of links!)

There seems to be some confusion related to registrar requirements and it seems that some of this might be based on students viewing the PBA endorsement requirements and the APS-CCN Membership requirements and being puzzled that they do not completely correspond.
It is important to emphasise that, while there are many similarities, the Psychology Board of Australia (PBA) requirements for endorsement (i.e. getting the ‘Clinical Neuropsychologist’ Title) is separate to the Australian Psychological Society (APS) requirements for Full Membership for the College of Clinical Neuropsychologists (CCN). Some students may not even fully realise that the PBA and APS are completely distinct organisations.

So I thought I would briefly detail what the PBA and APS are and how they are different.

The Psychology Board of Australia (PBA) is the national board for the psychology profession in Australia - the PBA regulates registration and ultimately the title of “Psychologist” and "Clinical Neuropsychologist.' The PBA is a part of the broader Australia Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). AHPRA also includes other national boards, such as the Medical Board and Dental Board.

The PBA is a fairly new entity. Before the PBA, the profession of psychology was regulated by separate state psychology boards (e.g., a NSW Psychology Board, a VIC Psychology Board etc.), some with slightly different registration requirements, making it a bit confusing if psychologists wanted to practice interstate.

As the PBA regulates the requirements to gain the title of Provisional Psychologist, General Psychologist and finally Clinical Neuropsychologist, to get the title of Clinical Neuropsychologist, students would ultimately want to primarily take note of the PBA requirements for endorsement. Probably the most helpful document pertaining to the PBA registrar program can be found here

The Australian Psychological Society (APS), does not regulate the registration of psychologists or the specialist titles, however it is the largest professional organisation that represents psychologists in Australia. More specifically the Australian Psychological Society College of Clinical Neuropsychologists (APS-CCN) is the section of the APS that represents the specialist area of Clinical Neuropsychology.

APS membership and APS-CCN membership are separate things. One can become a Full Member of the APS without being a Full Member of the more specific APS-CCN (though if an individual is a Full Member of the APS-CCN they are necessarily a Full Member of the more general APS). To become a Full Member of the APS one need to have completed six years of study in Psychology (i.e. be fully registered as a psychologist). To become a Full Member of the APS-CCN one needs to complete additional training similar, but not identical, to the PBA registrar program involving supervised practice. Probably the most helpful link pertaining to the APS-CCN Full Membership requirements can be found here

CCN conference - submissions close Monday 18th June

It's very exciting to see the number of submissions steadily increasing leading up to our deadline.

In case you're a student who'd like to present at the conference, but don't yet have data to report, have you considered submitting a presentation based on your literature review under our "Neuropsychological Controversies" section?

This  presentation type is intended to be an opportunity for students and recent graduates (or anyone, really) to present the most up-to-date information and controversies that they've identified in their research. We figure that students are immersed in the most recent research in a whole range of areas across the lifespan. They're often even more up-to-date than their supervisors. Giving students (and recent graduates) the opportunity to present a controversies and recent developments that they have identified in their research will update the knowledge of those of us who studied long, or not so long, ago, and will also allow discussion and sharing of ideas and references related to the field of study. Research findings could then be shared in the poster session, potentially allowing the student two abstracts in the conference proceedings.

Just as presenting research findings at conferences can help students in preparing their theses, this session may even help in preparation of literature reviews for publication as stand-alone articles...

Have a look at presentation ideas at  http://ccn2012.blogspot.com There's a post on student initiatives that we hope will have you feeling enthused about coming. And sitting down this weekend to write an abstract based on the exciting, new, controversial, clinically relevant information you have discovered in your exhaustive hours of reading the literature....

And don't be intimidated by the Neuropsychology in Action theme - we're interested in any submissions that update our knowledge and understanding of topics in the field - if you're doing research and sharing your insights, that's being active!

Finally, since not all students are aware of the conference, or are even members of the CCN, please feel free to forward the link to this blog to your neuropsychology friends, and encourage them to join! The more the merrier, and the easier it will be for us to develop a collaborative community of neuropsychologists.