Considerations for assessing competencies in pediatric psychology

Building on the foundation laid by Palermo and colleagues (2014), this issue illustrates how specific competencies can be developed. Naturally, many of these examples are specific to training stage (e.g., graduate student, intern, postdoctoral fellow) and location of training. As a result, communication across stages of training or across sites may be limited, and trainee development may or may not link with measured outcomes of interest (e.g., patient improvement). In this commentary, we discuss an approach of offering meaningful feedback to trainees in the assessment process that aligns with behavioral anchors recommended by Palermo and colleagues (2014). We also consider ways in which universal assessment practices could facilitate communication across stages of development and sites of training, as well as promote trainee self-reflection. Finally, we discuss existing gaps between how our ongoing development is measured, our actual practice behaviors, and the need to map our professional competencies to the health outcomes of our patients.