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Psychology Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Health Service Psychology – Clinical

Our fellows provide inpatient and outpatient care as a part of multidisciplinary medical teams at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Temple, part of the largest not-for-profit health care system in Texas.

Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Temple offers a 12-month postdoctoral fellowship in health service psychology – clinical with three training tracks:

  1. End-of-life care, grief and bereavement
  2. Consultation/liaison health psychology
  3. Integrated primary care psychology.

Our American Psychological Association (APA) accredited and Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC)-member program provides a broad array of experiences working with a very diverse patient population. Our fellows work with inpatients and outpatients with acute and chronic needs across a variety of medical and psychiatric services. Patients range from mature adolescents to elderly adults.

Fellows provide psychological assessment, intervention and consultation to a variety of multidisciplinary medical teams, such as the palliative care team, hospice, neurology headache clinic, the pain center, weight reduction surgery team, kidney transplant team, and the heart transplant team. Practicing psychology in primary care clinics and at the mental health center is also part of the experience. Fellows have the opportunity to engage in program development, supervision, and research/scholarship during their training year. In addition to applied experiences, applicants also participate in a number of didactic experiences relevant to their work in health service psychology.

We accept two fellows per year, with the option of choosing which of the three available training tracks best fit each applicant's interests/needs.

Curriculum

Objectives and Goals

Our program embraces the practitioner-scholar model by requiring supervised clinical work, research/scholarly activity, and opportunities to serve as an educator. All three of these endeavors are deemed essential to incorporating the theory-research-practice triad into a career as a clinical psychologist.

Accordingly, our programs strive to enable fellows to:

  • Utilize accurate psychological assessment processes
  • Develop effective psychotherapy interventions (individuals, couples, and groups),
  • Perform consultation and outreach services
  • Demonstrate a commitment to ethical practice of psychology
  • Incorporate supervision as a mode of peer consultation
  • Teach psychological knowledge to professionals and lay persons
  • Respect multi-cultural differences
  • Deploy research/scholarly  skills to study empirical questions
  • Progress toward professional licensure

Fellows follow a carefully planned weekly training curriculum:

  • Two hours of individual supervision
  • Two to three hours of formal seminars
  • Twelve to 16 hours of clinical work in an outpatient mental health clinic
  • Eight to 16 hours in associated clinical settings, depending on training track 
  • Four hours of research/scholarship time

Download program brochure

Our program offers three training tracks:

  1. End-of-life care, grief and bereavement
  2. Consultation/liaison health psychology
  3. Integrated primary care psychology.

Fellows receive training specific to their specialty track as well as exposure to didactic material pertinent to the alternate tracks in order to broaden their educational experience.

End-of-Life Care, Grief and Bereavement

This track is designed to train future psychologists in the relatively under-represented subspecialty of dying, death and bereavement – also called thanatology, the study of death and psychological mechanisms for coping with death.

Fellows receive a minimum of two hours per week of individual supervision and 2-3 hours per week of formal seminars that concentrate on theoretical and research-based information in six major areas:

  • Dying
  • End-of-life decision making
  • Bereavement
  • Assessment/intervention
  • Traumatic death
  • Death education

These educational objectives closely follow recommendations codified by the Association for Death Education and Counseling, an international and interdisciplinary professional organization devoted to promoting excellence in the care of the dying and the bereaved.

Fellows in this track work closely with the Supportive Palliative Care Team as well as Hospice, which exposes them to the full clinical spectrum of approaching death, end of life issues, acute grief at the time of death, immediate aftermath, and more extended bereavement trajectory.

Consultation/Liaison Health Psychology

This track is designed to prepare psychologists to work in a variety of health-related settings: hospitals, clinics, private psychology practice with medical specialization, and academic psychology departments.

Consultation/Liaison Health psychology provides a broad array of experiences with fellows working in both inpatient and outpatient settings to treat medical and psychiatric patients with acute and chronic needs. Patients range from mature adolescents to adults to the elderly, as well as families.

Fellows receive in-depth training opportunities encompassing assessment, psychodiagnostic evaluations, evidenced-based clinical interventions, consultation with other medical services/teams (e.g., neurology, oncology, pain center, obstetrics-gynecology, weight-reduction surgery, and transplant), and research/scholarly activity.

Integrated Primary Care Psychology

This track focuses on developing a diverse and comprehensive treatment plan to address the biological, psychological and social needs of patients in their primary care medical home. The Integrated Primary Care Psychology track at Baylor Scott & White Health operates alongside our Family Medicine Residency Program. Our goal is to develop psychologists who are competent to provide a variety of evidence-based psychological interventions in primary care because, as medicine moves from a fee-for-service model to quality-of-care models, psychologists well versed in behavioral health service delivery will be highly marketable in many health care systems.

Fellows will spend two days per week working in a primary care setting. Activities include direct patient care supervised by licensed psychologists, consultation with primary care physicians/nurses regarding comprehensive biopsychosocial care, supervision, collaborative learning in partnership with Family Medicine resident physicians, and selected opportunities for observational learning.

Individual Supervision of Clinical Experience

Initially, fellows have the opportunity to observe licensed psychology supervisors conduct psychological assessment, treatment, couple/family therapy, and group therapy in order to familiarize themselves with and acclimate to the practice environment at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Temple. In addition, fellows receive individualized instruction in organizational standards, protocol, and the electronic medical record system. Generally, this orientation process takes one to two weeks to complete.

Once fellows begin regular office hours of practice, they can expect to spend approximately 18-24 hours per week in direct patient care both at the mental health center and in associated clinical settings (approximately 65% of total time). Regular individual supervision (two hours per week) provides the necessary guidance and mentoring to allow fellows to function with "semi-autonomy" in implementing assessment procedures and designing/executing effective treatment strategies/techniques.

End of Life Track

 

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

8:00

Patients - MHC

Administrative

Palliative Care

Hospice IDT & Home Visits (MHC Unavailable)

Admin

9:00

New Patient

Supervision - Gamino

10:00

Patients - MHC

Patients - MHC

Palliative Care Group Supervision

11:00

12:00

Lunch

Lunch

Lunch

Lunch

 Grand Rounds

13:00

New Patient

Seminar - Admin

Palliative Care

Hospice IDT & Home Visits (MHC Unavailable)

Admin

14:00

Patients - MHC

Seminar

Supervision - Blackburn

15:00

Seminar - Admin

Patients - MHC

Admin

16:00

Seminar - Admin

Fourth Monday from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.: Psychology Case Conference

Consultation Liaison Track

 

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

8:00

Patients - MHC

Administrative

Patients - MHC

Specialty Rotation Day

Admin

9:00

New Patient

Supervision - Blackburn

New Patient

10:00

Patients - MHC

Patients - MHC

Patients - MHC

Clinic - MHC

11:00

12:00

Lunch

Lunch

Lunch

Lunch

Grand Rounds

13:00

New Patient - MHC

Seminar - Admin

Inpatient Consults

Specialty Rotation Day

Supervision - Dr. Gamino / Dr. Romers

14:00

Inpatient Consults

Seminar

Admin

15:00

Seminar - Admin

16:00

Seminar - Admin

Fourth Monday from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.: Psychology Case Conference

Primary Care Track

 

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

8:00

Patients - MHC

Rounds: Family Medicine Hospital Service

Mental Health Center

Family Medicine Clinic

Admin

9:00

Inpatient Consults

10:00

Family Medicine Triage

Family Medicine Triage

MHC Patients

11:00

Family Medicine Clinic

Health Behavioral Group

12:00

Lunch

Lunch

Lunch

Family Medicine Noon Conference

Grand Rounds

13:00

New Patient - MHC

Seminar - Admin

Family Medicine Clinic

Family Medicine Clinic

Supervision - MHC

14:00

Patients - MHC

Seminar

Research

15:00

Seminar - Admin

16:00

Seminar - Admin

Admin

Admin

Fourth Monday from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.; Psychology Case Conference

Supervised clinical experience is enhanced by a curriculum of didactic seminars. Our program provides fellows with 2-3 hours per week of formal seminars. The required seminar time will include the Didactic Seminar Series and the Professional Development Seminar Series.

Didactic Seminar Series

  • Theory of Grief and Bereavement: 24 weeks
  • Health Psychology: 24 weeks
  • Couples and Family Therapy: 12 weeks
  • Integrated Primary Care Psychology: 10 weeks

Professional Development Seminar Series

  • Baylor Scott & White Health Orientation: 4 weeks (two hours per week)
  • Professional Development & Ethics: 4 weeks
  • Psychoactive Medicine for Non-prescribers: 8 weeks
  • Diversity in Healthcare: 12 weeks
  • Teaching and Supervision: 8 weeks (four weeks training and four weeks teaching)
  • Career in Professional Psychology: 4 weeks

In addition, fellows have access to regularly-scheduled Grand Rounds sponsored by the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Science as well as by other clinical departments in order to enhance their professional knowledge.

Our program dedicates approximately 10% of fellows’ time to pursue research and scholarly activities. Fellows are expected to complete a research endeavor or scholarly project of reasonable scope and design during the course of their training year, including preparation of a manuscript for submission to a professional periodical.

The results of investigation may become the topic of a Grand Rounds presentation toward the end of the training year. Additionally, presentations may be made at a professional meeting, such as annual state conference or national professional association.

Baylor Scott & White Health Division of Research and Education encourages staff research initiatives and provides in-house support with research design, biostatistics, and research coordinators. Specifically, there are mentorship grants available to support trainee research initiatives when paired with an appropriate faculty mentor.

  • Train at one of U.S. News & World Report's top hospitals in Texas

    Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Temple is a 640-bed teaching and research hospital with a Level I trauma center.

How to Apply

Applicants may choose to apply through APPIC’s centralized post-doctoral application system (APPA CAS) to complete an application. Alternatively, application materials may be submitted directly via email.

Application deadline is January 8, 2024. 


Application Requirements

Applicants for the Baylor Scott & White Postdoctoral Fellowship Program in Health Service Psychology (Clinical) must have completed a doctoral degree in clinical or counseling psychology from a university-based program (PhD or PsyD) accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) or the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) and finished a one-year pre-doctoral internship in Health Service Psychology that is APA- or CPA-accredited, or its substantial equivalent, i.e., an APPIC-member internship program. (Note: These two requirements demand that the applicant’s dissertation is completed at the time the Fellowship begins.)

Individuals wishing to apply for the Baylor Scott & White Postdoctoral Fellowship Program in Clinical Health Psychology must submit the following materials:

  • Curriculum Vitae;
  • Letter of Intent: 1-2 pages outlining the specific training track (i.e., End of Life Care, Grief & Bereavement; Consultation/Liaison Health Psychology; or Integrated Primary Care Psychology) for which one is applying and why;
  • Three Letters of Recommendation: one letter should be from the Internship Director of Clinical Training/Supervisor, one letter from the applicant’s graduate program, and another letter from a professional familiar with the applicant’s academic and clinical training);
  • Attestation statement from the applicant's graduate school Director of Clinical Training indicating the applicant's status in the program and projected completion of the requirements for the doctorate prior to the fellowship year (waived for those who have already earned a doctorate);
  • Official Transcript from Graduate Program;
  • Copies of Two Clinical Reports (de-identified): one assessment/evaluation report and one psychotherapy intervention note.

Baylor Scott & White Health's Postdoctoral Fellowship Program in Health Service Psychology does NOT adhere to a specific religious affiliation or purpose that influences its admission or employment policies. In recruitment and selection of Fellows for our Postdoctoral Training Program, we do not discriminate according to religious creed, spiritual affiliation, or faith practices/membership. Similar to our non-discrimination policies with regard to patients served described in Section I.B.1, BSWH does not exercise preferential hiring practices related to race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, primary language, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any protected characteristic under applicable law.

Applicants may choose to apply through APPIC’s centralized postdoctoral application system (APPA CAS) to complete an application. Alternately, application materials may be submitted directly via email to Keyla.Kolls@BSWHealth.org. Applications are accepted beginning October 1, 2023 , and the application deadline is January 8, 2024.


Interview Process

Review of completed applications will commence immediately once they are received or no later than January 5, 2022. For this reason, earlier submission is preferred. Typically, applicants are interviewed first by telephone as an initial screening step to ensure that an applicant’s aspirations can be met at our training site. Promising applicants will then be invited to participate in formal interviews with several faculty as well as current Postdoctoral Fellows.

In an effort to make the interview process accessible for all promising applicants, we will conduct formal interviews virtually using video conferencing technology. Two dates have been set aside for applicant interviews:

  • January 15, 2024 (Monday)
  • January 19, 2024 (Friday)

Those applicants invited to participate in formal interviews can select either date to interview. (Special arrangements will be considered for applicants invited to interview should extenuating circumstances make these pre-selected dates problematic.)


Learn more about Baylor Scott & White's housestaff appointment eligibility, including guidelines for international medical graduates.

Contact Us

Keyla Kolls
Phone: 254.724.3874
Fax: 254.724.1061
Keyla.Kolls@BSWHealth.org

Psychology Post-Doctoral Fellowship
Baylor Scott & White Health
2401 S. 31st. St.
Mailstop: MS-22-103E
Temple, TX 76508

Working at Baylor Scott & White Health

Compensation and Benefits

The stipend for full-time fellows is set at $55,796 paid in 24 installments over a 12-month period. In addition to a competitive stipend, we offer our fellows a full menu of employee benefits. We help offset the cost of many of these benefits; others are options you can choose to pay for yourself.

Life in Temple

Temple uniquely offers a combination of access to big-city conveniences while maintaining a small-town atmosphere. Temple has also been ranked among the Top 20 Fastest Growing Cities in Texas and is consistently one of America's most affordable places to live.

Why Baylor Scott & White Health

As the largest not-for-profit health care system in Texas and one of the largest in the United States, Baylor Scott & White Health includes 48 hospitals, more than 900 patient care sites, more than 6,000 active physicians and more than 40,000 employees.

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