Intern gap frustrates clinicians in training

They call it "the match." Every year, thousands of graduate students in clinical psychology pick the hospitals and clinics where they would like to do yearlong internships. They rank their choices. The internship programs also rank the applicants. A computer algorithm then digests the lists in an attempt to link mutually desired applicants and programs. But in recent years the process has broken down: In psychology, there are simply not enough internships to go around. The issue is on the minds of many graduate students in psychology right now, with the application season for next year's internships in full swing. Last year, 937 students, or 24 percent of those who applied, were not accepted by any of the sites they had chosen — and students must complete internships to earn their degrees and venture out into the workplace.