Departmental Resources
Practicum Hour Tracking Program
A Method to Track Practicum Hours During Psychology Graduate Training
Amy D. Herschell & Daniel W. McNeil, West Virginia University
Students applying for psychology predoctoral internships are required to submit numerous details about their practicum experiences. In fact, in 1996 the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral Internship Center (APPIC) established a common form that member organizations could use for students to report practicum hours and activities in a standardized manner. Keeping accurate and complete records of practicum activities has been difficult without a systematic method to record these experiences. In response to this need, we designed an ongoing method to track practicum hours. Both paper and computer based recording forms were developed, which can be used separately or together. The paper version form includes an Hours Log, as well as two supplemental forms (i.e., Code Form and Client Log). These documents are in a Microsoft Word format while the computerized database uses Microsoft Access. Microsoft Word and Access are both part of the Microsoft Office software and run under Windows 95+. This recording system is provided as a service to our colleagues in training, who sometimes face considerable stress about the internship application process.
The following files are available in the download to assist trainees in the recording of practicum hours:
| File Name | Description |
| Forms.exe | The practicum experience forms are paper-based forms. These forms can be used independently or with the computer-based practicum hours database. |
| Database.exe | This file contains the computer-based practicum hours database. |
| Instructions.exe | Please consult this file for additional instructions on the use of the paper-based forms and computer-based, practicum hours database. |
| Manuscript.exe | Contained in this file is the manuscript accepted for publication in the Behavior Therapist (Herschell & McNeil, 2000). |
Questions or comments also may be directed to Daniel McNeil at Daniel.McNeil@mail.wvu.edu For additional information, please also see Herschell & McNeil (2000):
Herschell, A. D., & McNeil, D. W. (2000). A method to track practicum hours during psychology graduate training: Easy, cheap, and necessarily obsessive. The Behavior Therapist, 23, 58-61.