Postdoctoral training in primary care health psychology: Duties, observations, and recommendations.

The need for postdoctoral training in health psychology has taken on added importance following transformations of the U.S. health care delivery system toward primary care models of delivery. This transformation provides psychologists with the opportunity to work as primary care practitioners, educators, and researchers, and it suggests the need for postdoctoral training that prepares students for those opportunities. The author addresses issues relevant to postdoctoral training from the perspective of a former participant in a postdoctoral fellowship training program in primary care health psychology. The duties and contributions of a primary care health psychologist are described. These include the provision of graduate medical education and clinical services tailored to primary care. The author also offers recommendations regarding postdoctoral health psychology training in order to enhance psychologists' ability to collaborate with medical professionals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)