INS NYC 2024 Program

Symposium	Symposia 11 Program Schedule 02/16/2024 01:45 pm - 03:15 pm Room: Broadway Ballroom Symposia 11: Asian Neuropsychologists: Global Insights on Training, Education, Barriers, and Future Directions Simposium #4 Current training pathway creates a barrier for international students: Survey data from training directors Palak Lunia, Thomas Jefferson Medical Center, Philadelphia, United States Doris Hong, Salem Hospital Mass General Brigham, Boston, United States Iris Miao, Medical College of Wisconsin, Wauwatosa, United States Rinku Lalchandani, Samata Neuropsychological Services, Pacific Grove, United States Elizabeth Choi, University of California, San Francisco, United States Kritika Nayar, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, United States Category: Career Development/Education/Training Keyword 1: minority issues Objective: By 2050, approximately 19% of the U.S. population will be foreign-born, with less than 50% identifying as Non-Hispanic white. This necessitates training of a culturally competent mental health workforce who can meet the unique needs of an ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse population. International students can bridge this gap, by leveraging their diverse linguistic skills and cultural insights to improve access to mental health services and lead global research on cross-cultural neuropsychology. Despite the U.S. investing in training international graduate students, the existing system fails to provide the appropriate infrastructure to fulfill the requisite training to become a practicing neuropsychologist (i.e., requirement to complete a two-year neuropsychology fellowship, on a 1-year visa). As such, the goals of this presentation are to disseminate information about barriers, to increase awareness, and propose solutions to mitigate future challenges. Participants and Methods: The Asian Neuropsychological Association (ANA) formed the Optional Practical Training (OPT) Task Force to explore the challenges encountered by international graduate students during their clinical training and develop valuable resources for both students and training directors. To begin addressing these goals, a survey was distributed to training directors across all training stages (i.e., doctoral, pre-doctoral internship, post-doctoral fellowship). Data were examined to summarize the challenges related to retention and inclusion of international students. Results: A total of 118 training directors participated in the survey. Retention. Findings highlight that while 69% of international students successfully completed their graduate-level training without immigration-related hurdles, approximately one-third (31%) encountered challenges due to immigration policies. Similarly, at the postdoctoral level, an alarming 29% of international trainees encountered immigration policy-related barriers, which adversely impacted half of them from successfully completing their fellowship. Inclusion. Enrollment data indicated that approximately 65% of graduate training directors reportedly admitted 1 to 5 international students annually, while 12.5% admitted 6-10 international students (2.6 international students/year/program on average). Conversely, at the postdoctoral fellowship level, there was a significant decrease in enrollment with only 15% of participating directors enrolling at least one international student every year or so (0.2 international students/year/program on average). Conclusions: Results underscore the urgent need to address the increasing barriers faced by international students and the overall decline in international trainee enrollment as training advances. These barriers are intricately tied to visa status and the non-STEM classification of several psychology degrees at present. Non-STEM graduate programs are given only a 12-month work visa via the OPT, limiting them from completing their 2-year neuropsychological fellowship. This subsequently impacts not only their strong candidacy for the workforce but also board-certification eligibility—further perpetuating inequity and obstacles in gaining employment. Designating Clinical Psychology as a STEM degree nationally and/or institutionally will directly address this barrier, wherein international students gain the advantage of applying for an additional 24-month extension, granting them a total of 36 months of authorized employment. Additional avenues for supporting international trainees include educating trainees and training directors about visa-related challenges, fostering cross-organizational advocacy, mobilizing stakeholders for collaboration, and providing international students with mentorship to navigate barriers and secure essential resources.

Symposium

02/16/2024
01:45 pm - 03:15 pm
Room: Broadway Ballroom

Symposia 11: Asian Neuropsychologists: Global Insights on Training, Education, Barriers, and Future Directions

Simposium #4

Current training pathway creates a barrier for international students: Survey data from training directors

Palak Lunia, Thomas Jefferson Medical Center, Philadelphia, United States
Doris Hong, Salem Hospital Mass General Brigham, Boston, United States
Iris Miao, Medical College of Wisconsin, Wauwatosa, United States
Rinku Lalchandani, Samata Neuropsychological Services, Pacific Grove, United States
Elizabeth Choi, University of California, San Francisco, United States
Kritika Nayar, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, United States

Category: Career Development/Education/Training

Keyword 1: minority issues

Objective:

By 2050, approximately 19% of the U.S. population will be foreign-born, with less than 50% identifying as Non-Hispanic white. This necessitates training of a culturally competent mental health workforce who can meet the unique needs of an ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse population. International students can bridge this gap, by leveraging their diverse linguistic skills and cultural insights to improve access to mental health services and lead global research on cross-cultural neuropsychology. Despite the U.S. investing in training international graduate students, the existing system fails to provide the appropriate infrastructure to fulfill the requisite training to become a practicing neuropsychologist (i.e., requirement to complete a two-year neuropsychology fellowship, on a 1-year visa). As such, the goals of this presentation are to disseminate information about barriers, to increase awareness, and propose solutions to mitigate future challenges.

Participants and Methods:

The Asian Neuropsychological Association (ANA) formed the Optional Practical Training (OPT) Task Force to explore the challenges encountered by international graduate students during their clinical training and develop valuable resources for both students and training directors. To begin addressing these goals, a survey was distributed to training directors across all training stages (i.e., doctoral, pre-doctoral internship, post-doctoral fellowship). Data were examined to summarize the challenges related to retention and inclusion of international students.

Results:

A total of 118 training directors participated in the survey. Retention. Findings highlight that while 69% of international students successfully completed their graduate-level training without immigration-related hurdles, approximately one-third (31%) encountered challenges due to immigration policies. Similarly, at the postdoctoral level, an alarming 29% of international trainees encountered immigration policy-related barriers, which adversely impacted half of them from successfully completing their fellowship. Inclusion. Enrollment data indicated that approximately 65% of graduate training directors reportedly admitted 1 to 5 international students annually, while 12.5% admitted 6-10 international students (2.6 international students/year/program on average). Conversely, at the postdoctoral fellowship level, there was a significant decrease in enrollment with only 15% of participating directors enrolling at least one international student every year or so (0.2 international students/year/program on average).

Conclusions:

Results underscore the urgent need to address the increasing barriers faced by international students and the overall decline in international trainee enrollment as training advances. These barriers are intricately tied to visa status and the non-STEM classification of several psychology degrees at present. Non-STEM graduate programs are given only a 12-month work visa via the OPT, limiting them from completing their 2-year neuropsychological fellowship. This subsequently impacts not only their strong candidacy for the workforce but also board-certification eligibility—further perpetuating inequity and obstacles in gaining employment. Designating Clinical Psychology as a STEM degree nationally and/or institutionally will directly address this barrier, wherein international students gain the advantage of applying for an additional 24-month extension, granting them a total of 36 months of authorized employment. Additional avenues for supporting international trainees include educating trainees and training directors about visa-related challenges, fostering cross-organizational advocacy, mobilizing stakeholders for collaboration, and providing international students with mentorship to navigate barriers and secure essential resources.