Practicum Experience Summary

This final assignment is where you are to pull together all that you have learned during your practicum experience and formally connect it with psychological knowledge gained from your psychology courses. This APA-formatted paper must be a minimum of six to eight pages of text, and must include an abstract, headings, references. This paper is to be submitted to Moodle and instructions for submission will be provided. You are allowed to write in the first person.
Your paper should be organized into three sections. The first section is description of and critique of your practicum experience. Here you will describe what you did and
what you learned. What feedback would you give to your site in order to improve a volunteer’s experience in the future? In the second section, you are to connect what you
did with what you learned in your psychology courses. For example, if you did Applied Behavioral Therapy you would explain how you employed the behavior modification
principles you learned in behavioral class. You must be explicit in your connection to specific psychological principles. Here is where you would properly reference an
article, text, or lecture. In the third section, reflect on how this experience has impacted your personally, spiritually, and professionally. What did you learn about yourself, what
you want to do with your psychology degree, etc? I expect you to be fairly introspective and self-aware in this section.

Specific requirements: I completed my practicum at the Department of Rehabilitation where they help people with disabilities find jobs and further their education. These were my job duties:
*Assisted counselors in helping clients with job placement and connecting them with schools to help in furthering their education.
*Set clients up with trainings to build on their skills to better their chances of finding employment.
*Created authorizations to assist clients in paying for their education and for school supplies as well as any resources they may need for work.
*Called or emailed clients to ensure that they received their goods and/or services.
*Checked in with clients on a regular basis throughout their Department of Rehabilitation journey.
*Communicated with interested individuals, applicants, and consumers regarding the Department of Rehabilitation Vocational Rehabilitation program serving as the first point of contact for consumers. This included the ability to use various assistive technology communication devices, and other adaptive resources in order to meet the needs of individuals with different abilities and diverse backgrounds.
*Responded to inquiries from consumer-related external stakeholders to expedite timely provision of referral, information and services. This included parents, consumer advocates, educators, case managers, job coaches, and vendors.
*Provided information to interested individuals, applicants and consumers in person and on the phone regarding various Department of Rehabilitation processes. Gathered information from interested individuals, applicants, and consumers, necessary to research answers or solutions to a variety of inquiries or situations. Required knowledge of Department of Rehabilitation resources and processes, RAM, and federal and state Code of Regulations in order to identify solutions applicable to a consumer’s specific inquiry or situation.
*Independently scheduled, arranged, and provided support to the Vocational Rehabilitation Service Delivery Team for information and referral services. Entered, tracked, and monitored referral data utilizing the Aware electronic recording system.
*Scheduled, arranged, and provided support to the Employment Coordinator at job placement circles and job clubs. This included providing assistance to the consumers in the development of resumes, cover letters, and master applications.
*Consulted with consumers to provide information and to answer questions regarding Department of Rehabilitation procedures and processes to procure goods and services for participation in the Vocational Rehabilitation program.
*As a member of the Vocational Rehabilitation Service Delivery Team, consulted with team members regarding specific complex and difficult consumer inquiries or concerns.
*Assisted consumers with completion of authorizations for services. Independently tracked and implemented plan related services for consumers. Gathered and assembled referral packets in collaboration with the consumer. Required tailoring each referral packet to the specific services needed for a consumer’s plan. Required knowledge of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) provisions to assist consumers to correctly complete release of information forms. Routed completed forms to Senior Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor, Qualified Rehabilitation Professional for review and approval.
*Completed consumer service requests for Vocational Rehabilitation Service Delivery team members. This included procuring services for consumers and confirming that the services being requested are correctly authorized. This required knowledge of appropriate service/procedure categories, procedure codes, fund sources, rates, and other related information consistent with departmental, state, and federal regulations.
*Reviewed incoming invoices to ensure proper completion (accounting codes) for payment and processing. Prepared Invoice Dispute Notifications (STD 209) and returned with invoice for correction to the vendor.
*Sent letters and made phone contacts to schedule and arrange referral and information, orientations, and initial interviews. This included providing federally required “application process information” to interested individuals.
*Sent letters and made phone contact to request medical, diagnostic, and wage earnings information. Followed-up on information. Contacted applicants and consumers via phone and correspondence to assist the Senior Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor, Qualified Rehabilitation Professional in the determination of eligibility and completed the annual review.
*Sent letters and made phone contact with consumers, vendors, and service providers to implement the Vocational Rehabilitation activities identified in the Individual Plan for Employment (IPE). Scheduled necessary appointments for consumers with the Vocational Rehabilitation Service Delivery team members as needed.
*Sent electronic requests to route, transfer, and close cases as assigned. Pulled case files and other documents for case reviews by the Team Manager. Filed signed hard copies of various consumer file documents such as eligibility and priority for service documents, procurement-related documents and other resource documents.
*****Attached are some of the challenges I faced during this practicum. Despite these challenges, it was a very rewarding experience.