by Joanne Davila, Ph.D., President, Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS) Board of Directors
On May 4-5, 2023, the Academy of Psychological Clinical Science held a Summit on Clinical Science Training at the Eric P. Newman Education Center at Washington University in St. Louis. The purpose of the Summit was to start the process of questioning and re-envisioning clinical science training for the future.
The Summit was organized around four interrelated themes:
- Equity and Justice
- Evidence-based clinical science training
- Strengthening clinical science integration
- The future of clinical science training
I don’t think I’m overstating when I say that this Summit represented a very significant moment in the history of the clinical science movement and that it will serve as a catalyst for important changes to come.
I was fortunate to be involved in the creation and planning of the Summit from the beginning, serving as the PCSAS representative on the Summit Planning Committee. Although that might sound like just more service work, that’s not at all how I experienced it. What a privilege it was (and continues to be) to help set an agenda for how the next generation of clinical scientists will be trained!
And it was critical for PCSAS to be at the table in creating something that can change the field of clinical science training. As an accrediting organization, PCSAS plays a role in setting the standards for what clinical science training must include and how its success is judged. How we assess whether programs are meeting their goals depends heavily on how clinical science is defined and how that definition translates into how programs train their students and what their students do when they graduate. Focusing on student outcomes allows PCSAS to be open to new and innovative ways in which clinical science training programs and students achieve their desired goals.
The Summit brought a number of key issues into focus that will change how clinical science is defined, as well as how it translates into training and graduate career activities. These issues include the necessity of (a) centering DEIJ in our definition of clinical science and in our training programs, such that all aspects of training are contextualized within social justice principles, (b) continuing to emphasize strong and novel clinical science training aimed at better reducing the burden of mental illness(c) strengthening focus on dissemination as core to clinical science and how it can manifest in a wide range of activities in which clinical science graduates engage, and (d) prioritizing well-being among clinical scientists in a way that reduces a focus on excessive productivity and instead has the potential to strengthen scientific impact. These were not the only foci of the Summit, but, in my mind, as President of the PCSAS Board, these are ones that are likely to be very relevant to accreditation, as they require us to consider our accreditation standards in their context – and we will be doing that.
If you haven’t viewed the Summit proceedings (e.g., videos of talks, etc.), I strongly encourage you to do so. You can find them here: https://www.acadpsychclinicalscience.org/summit.html
I hope that viewing the Summit proceedings will be as inspirational to you as participating in the Summit was to me. This is an exciting time of change in which we should all be involved.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS).