COVID-19 Recruitment and Training Update
Overview
We hope everyone is doing well and taking precautions for themselves and their loved ones. The University of Washington School of Medicine’s Psychology Internship Program makes psychology resident safety our top priority. Our safety policies were established at the beginning of the pandemic and have evolved to continuously meet or exceed the latest CDC recommendations. First, all trainees are exempt from in-person contact with patients who have confirmed COVID-19 during their infectious phase. Next, all trainees receive full Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to use in all their clinical settings, including surgical-grade masks and goggles if needed. Below is more specific information as to our program’s plans and a summary of our past handling of COVID-19 for the past several months by cohort.
2024-2025 COVID-19 Current Policies
We will continue to hold a full day Virtual Open House Event on Wednesday, January 3, 2024, using Zoom. We plan to inform applicants in early December if they have been selected to attend our Virtual Open House. The Open House will be comprised of two parts which includes a morning session and afternoon session. We are asking applicants to be available for the whole day. In the morning Zoom session, applicants will be given a broad program overview, followed by a track-specific breakout overview. The morning ends with an extended question/answer session with current residents without the faculty present. During the afternoon session, applicants will have individual Zoom interviews with selected training faculty to get their questions answered about the program and training opportunities we offer.
All Psychology Residents are considered employees of Washington State and are subject to state laws mandating COVID-19 and other required employee vaccinations. Thus, we may ask for proof of COVID-19 vaccination status or receive an approved medical or religious exemption by the start of your internship start date of July 1. When trainees start their internship year, each training site provides training on ways to migrate their risk of infection using Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
As of October 23, 2023: For those in the General Child Track or the Autism & Developmental Disabilities Track, trainees will be required to receive the latest COVID Vaccine booster (which you can receive at non-cost at Seattle Children’s Hospital before you start), or provide proof of vaccination, or file for religious exemption, or can complete an online module for exemption, based on the training sites policies.
Should a psychology resident become positive with COVID-19, the program administration and training supervisors would work closely with the psychology resident to provide the appropriate accommodations to ensure a successful completion of the internship requirements. For example, if a resident tests positive, requiring a home quarantine for 10 days, the training program will attempt to shift the resident’s training-related duties to work that can be accomplished at home. If the resident becomes ill during this time and is unable to work from home, the resident could take sick leave as needed and if sick leave is accrued. If UW staff contract COVID-19 through an exposure at work, sick leave is provided by the institution. Our program has a history of successfully accommodating our psychology residents when there is a need for a resident’s personal health care.
The UW and other training sites continue to provide regular updates and timely Virtual Townhalls which provide the latest updates on COVID-19 within our medical and community environments. Likewise, the Psychology Internship Program encourages faculty and residents to discuss COVID-19 related issues during their 4 hours of scheduled supervision, weekly quick check-ins with the Training Director, and/or by scheduling personal meetings. Residents are encouraged to call the Director or Associate Director at any time for consultation on this or other matters of concerns during the internship year. Again, our goal is to provide the best and safest clinical psychology training we can offer our residents. We also provide several resources to our residents to help with their coping during the ongoing pandemic including a monthly Stewardship Meeting designed to provide a safe space to discuss their own issues. We provide departmental resources to residents to help with coping such as https://psychiatry.uw.edu/clinical-care-consultation/covid-19-resources-for-mental-well-being/.
Information regarding UW Policies on COVID
https://huddle.uwmedicine.org/covid-19/
General Vaccination Requirements
Psychology Residents will work with UW Employee Health to make sure all immunization requirements (i.e., TB, measles, etc.) for hire to work in an academic medical center and other related health facilities are in compliance with all Washington State Laws at the time of hire.