Each intern must receive training for the equivalent of at least one day per week at a site other than his/her primary placement. Interns are expected to select a secondary placement that complements the training opportunities available at the primary placement, broadens the overall training experience, and provides experiences congruent with the intern’s needs/objectives for professional development. Due to faculty changes/availability, the number and type of secondary placements varies from year-to-year.
The complete list of secondary placements is finalized in spring of the upcoming training year (i.e. March/April for interns entering that summer). Secondary placements available in the 2016-2017 internship year are listed under "Secondary Placements" menu on the right.
To aid in the secondary placement selection process a faculty member at the intern’s primary placement, in conjunction with the intern, will complete a needs assessment, reviewing the intern’s overall training background in relation to the intern’s and the Consortium’s training objectives. Interns will receive an orientation to secondary placement opportunities throughout the Consortium on Consortium Orientation Day. The Training Directors at the interns' primary placements, and the Consortium Director (on an as needed basis), will provide individual guidance to interns during the secondary placement selection process using information gathered through the needs assessment. After narrowing their secondary placement choices, interns are expected to contact the appropriate staff at the sites in which they remain interested for the purposes of exploring available experiences in more detail and working out the practical arrangements for a placement. Interns will submit a hierarchically ranked list of their secondary placement preferences to the Director by a date to be designated each year by the Consortium Training Committee. Final assignment of a secondary placement takes into account the intern’s expressed preferences; faculty and intern evaluation of the intern’s training needs, and the availability of particular experiences and supervision. In order to diversify, some interns have negotiated to have one secondary placement for the first six months of the year, and a different secondary placement for the last six months. Such an arrangement would require the agreement in advance of all parties involved. Secondary placement activities are scheduled on the same day of the week, currently Thursday, so that interns working at secondary sites can use the offices of primary interns, who are themselves away at their own secondary sites.