Contact Information
Jason Jent, Ph.D.
Mailman Center for Child Development
Department of Pediatrics
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
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Fellows will develop certain competencies and knowledge consistent with the philosophy of the program and their specialty training track.
There are three aspects of this philosophy. The first is an interdisciplinary developmental focus, consistent with that of the Mailman Center. The second is an intradisciplinary clinical child/pediatric focus, based on the Hilton Head Conference for the Training of Clinical Child Psychologists (1985). The third is a multicultural diversity focus, acquiring skills to work with individuals from a variety of cultural and economic backgrounds. Within each of these areas, we expect that each fellow will acquire advanced knowledge and skills that reflect this training emphasis. The domains of competencies are required for all fellows and examples of each are outlined in the table below. Each specialty track has varying degrees of competencies related to assessment, intervention, consultation, prevention, and pediatric psychology.
| Domains | Examples of Competencies |
|---|---|
| Integration of Science and Practice | Demonstrates the ability to formulate, test, and communicate empirical questions and findings informed by clinical problems encountered, clinical services provided, and the clinical settings within which the postdoctoral fellow works |
| Ethical & Legal Standards | Demonstrates knowledge of and acts in accordance with each of the following: 1) the current version of the APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct; 2) relevant laws, regulations, rules and policies governing health service psychology at the organizational, local, state, regional and federal levels; and 3) relevant professional standards and principles. |
| Individual and Cultural Diversity | Accounts for the relations between environmental, social, health disparity, and cultural factors on the development and maintenance of mental and physical health problems when assessing and treating psychological and physical health conditions or implementing prevention efforts and promoting wellness. |
| Professional Values and Attitudes | Responds professionally in increasingly complex situations with a greater degree of independence as they progress across levels of training. |
| Communication and Interpersonal Skills | Produces and comprehends oral, nonverbal, and written communications that are informative and well-integrated; demonstrates a thorough grasp of professional language and concepts. |
| Research/Program Evaluation | Demonstrates proficiency in maintaining knowledge of current clinical child/pediatric literature, judging the merits of studies, applying knowledge of current literature to clinical work, and translating research findings to different audiences when appropriate |
| Supervision | Clearly communicates competency expectations and regularly provides direct, timely and behaviorally-anchored feedback to supervisees. |
| Assessment | Selects and applies assessment methods that draw from the best available empirical literature and that reflect the science of measurement and psychometrics; collects relevant data using multiple sources and methods appropriate to the identified goals and questions of the assessment as well as relevant diversity characteristics of the service recipient. |
| Intervention | Develops and implements interventions informed by the current scientific literature, assessment findings, diversity characteristics, and contextual variables. |
| Consultation and Interprofessional Skills | Applies knowledge of consultation models and practices in consultation with individuals and their families, other health care professionals, interprofessional groups, or systems related to health and behavior. |
| Prevention | Shows understanding of social determinants of health and incorporates contextual factors into case conceptualization and prevention/intervention approaches with children and families. |
| Pediatric Psychology | Demonstrate skills in the assessment and intervention for a child/adolescent behavioral problem associated with a medical condition. |
The overall program goal is to prepare qualified individuals for academic research careers and/or positions of leadership in child clinical and/or pediatric health psychology. In particular, this program aims to accomplish the following:
- To provide systematic training in clinical research and service implementation in the areas of child clinical and pediatric health psychology, particularly as it applies to children and adolescents who are representative of diversity in culture and ethnicity.
- To provide a core set of didactic training experiences in a) the prevention, assessment and treatment of emotional and behavioral disorders; b) biologic and behavioral aspects of various chronic illnesses of childhood; c) assessment and interventions in pediatric medical disorders; d) the contribution of critical variables such as ethnicity, language, cultural identity, and socioeconomic status on treatment; e) ethical issues as they relate to research and clinical practice; f) interdisciplinary care; g) leadership and advocacy for children with or at risk for developmental disabilities and other chronic conditions; and h) research design and scientific writing.
- To provide specific mentoring by faculty investigators in study design and development, research methodology, study implementation, and data interpretation and dissemination the area of emphasis.
- To provide supervised clinical experiences in child clinical and/or pediatric health psychology to advance clinical skills in evidence-based assessment and intervention.
- To provide training opportunities in clinical and research supervision of predoctoral interns and psychology graduate students.
Fellowship Supervision Guidelines
All postdoctoral associates receive a minimum of two hours of individual supervision per week. Beyond individual supervision, trainees also receive a minimum of one hour of group supervision per week. Additional group supervision beyond one hour weekly varies by specialty track of training.
Fellowship Evaluation Process
Trainees at the Mailman Center are expected to receive feedback on performance on an ongoing basis, and this feedback is expected to include information about areas of strength and weakness. In addition, we have formalized an evaluation procedure that occurs at regular intervals throughout the year.
- At the beginning of your training year, we ask trainees to complete a self-assessment using the Self-Assessment Form and along with development of individualized training goals. Following completion of a self-assessment, trainees will set up a meeting with supervisors to discuss training goals and needs for each rotation. The self-assessment is completed at the end of each 6 month training period and training goals are revisited and revised as needed.
- Training goals and supervisor expectations should be discussed at initial meetings with your supervisors and should be an ongoing consistent communication feedback loop throughout the rotation. After 3 months within a rotation, supervisors and trainees meet to provide each other informal feedback regarding the clinical training and competency progress. Every 6 months, rotation supervisors complete trainee competency evaluations and discuss collaboratively with trainee strengths and opportunities for growth.