Recruitment and Selection in Health Service Psychology Postdoctoral Training: A Review of the History and Current Issues

The process of recruitment and selection for health service psychology postdoctoral training has a complex, and sometimes, controversial history. We review the history of this selection process and discuss several issues that complicate postdoctoral selection. These issues range from the heterogeneous nature of psychology postdoctoral training to economic market theory that has guided the selection process in other fields. We also review several efforts made by the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC) postdoctoral workgroup, aided by the 2016 APPIC postdoctoral summit, that are intended to encourage communication and cooperation among various stakeholders in postdoctoral training. We end with an aspirational call for open and respectful dialogue, as well as involvement of national organizations to improve the postdoctoral selection process.