Frequently Asked Questions
The O'Grady faculty at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center provides the following frequently asked questions (FAQs) and answers about the O'Grady Residency:
Q. How is the cost of living in Cincinnati?
A. The cost of living remains relatively low in comparison to similar and larger metropolitan areas across the country. While housing and gas prices are on the rise, our psychology residents have found the city to be reasonably affordable.
Current psychology residents are generally able to find safe and comfortable apartments in the $400-$600 range. The current unemployment rate is below four percent.
Cincinnati has a growing and diverse economy that includes a developing biomedical industry, several major universities, major manufacturing companies, and Ken Griffey, Jr. More information about Cincinnati is available in the About Us section of the web site.
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Q. What is an approximate breakdown by percentages of the time a resident spends in each activity?
A. Over the course of the year, the psychology residents spend the following amount of time by the respective category:
- Assessment – 15%
- Treatment -- 20%
- Consultation / Liaison -- 25%
- Interdisciplinary team consultation -- 20%
- Supervision -- 10%
- Didactics -- 5%
- Research / other -- 5%
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Q. How many hours will I really work?
A. Our psychology residents average about 45-55 hours per week over the course of the year. Some weeks are lighter and some weeks become more full as patients' needs fluctuate.
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Q. Do any of these hours include weekend work?
A. Our psychology residents may need to visit an inpatient on an occasional weekend to handle an emergency, but typically weekends are free.
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Q. What do your residents do after they graduate?
A. Our psychology residents have generally followed the professional course they intended to when they selected our training program. All are serving children and families in some capacity.
In the last five years, about 66 percent have gone on to medical centers and almost 60 percent have gone on to do a postdoctoral fellowship in a pediatric facility. Over 90 percent of residents have gone on to complete their doctorate when followed a minimum of one year after completion of our program, and all who would have sought positions report that they have secured employment. Some have remained in the Cincinnati area for employment, and several have accepted postdoctoral positions here at Cincinnati Children's.
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Q. Are there additional training opportunities at Cincinnati Children's?
A. Yes, there are a number of postdoctoral psychology fellowships and a few research assistant positions available each year. Approximately 10 positions exist each year, although the number of actual open opportunities varies according to grant funding and graduating fellows. You can learn more about these options by visiting the postdoctoral psychology fellowship link within this web site.
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Q. What type of graduate programs and clinical emphasis are your students from, and do I need to have worked in a medical setting?
A. Our students have come from a number of graduate programs, often with an emphasis upon child clinical, pediatric or health psychology.
In the last five years, 74 percent of our residents are from PhD graduate programs, 26 percent from PsyD professional schools. Ninety-four percent are from clinical psychology programs, 6 percent from school psychology programs. One hunderd percent of our students are from graduate programs accredited by the American Psychological Association, and 100 percent have had some experience working in a medical setting.
Our residents report that good clinical training in child and family interventions, in conducting child and youth assessments, and within a medical facility has prepared them for quick acclimation to our training program.
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Q. Are there patient contact hour expectations?
A. Weekly billable hour quotas are not required in our program. Our emphasis is upon training needs over clinical demands. Nevertheless, psychology residents generally maintain an active caseload of approximately 10-15 patient contact hours each week.
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Q. What are the office space and equipment resources like?
A. Each psychology resident has a personal cubicle space within the Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology that is equipped with a personal computer (i.e., networked with email, Internet access that includes internet-library access, Microsoft office programs) and printer, telephone with voice mail, and filing space.
The residents also have areas within clinics and other divisions for actually seeing their patients, as well as charting / preparing reports. Each resident also has a palm pilot and pager. The residents share another area within one division that has a networked computer and carrel space. Video equipment and monitors are available in addition to all the necessary assessment and treatment materials. Some of the treatment rooms have one-way mirrors and wireless voice transmitters / receivers (bug-in-the ear device).
Residents have access to three libraries (i.e., Children's Pratt Research library, the University of Cincinnati Medical School library, and the Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics parent and professional libraries) for work on their dissertation or literature reviews. Scientific, parent and toy libraries are also available at our facility.
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