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Gap Time: �The time between the last day of class of one semester and the first day of class of the next semester.

Interns expected to complete hours during the semester.
Cannot be at at site after requirements completed AND semester ends.
Sometimes, site require a student to be on site during gap time

Part of original site agreement
Required by site
Client continuity of care

Gap time refers to the time between the last day of class of one semester and the first day of class of the next semester.

This includes the winter break between Fall and Spring semesters, which is usually several weeks long, as well as the time between the Spring and Summer semesters, and the Summer and Fall semesters, which are both usually about one week.

Interns are expected to complete their hours between the first and last day of class during the semester. During the gap time, have completed one semester and are waiting for the next clinical course you are enrolled in to begin. They are not actively receiving university supervision.

Sometimes, as part of the placement agreement, sites require interns to be on site during the gap time when they are continuing at a site from one semester to the next. This is usually required because the clients at the site need continuity of care, and pausing services during the gap time could negatively impact the client’s treatment or wellbeing. Again, this is something the site requires, and should be discussed before the intern starts at the site. And, this only applies when an intern is continuing at the site in the next semester as part of their internship with Wake Forest.

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Gap Form: Site Agreement

Intern meets with clients, & acknowledges intern is not actively receiving university supervision

Continuity of care benefits your clients
Supervision with site supervisor

HOURS CANNOT BE LOGGED FOR INTERNSHIP!!!!!!!
Not meeting CACREP standards

As we said before, sometimes, interns are required by their internship site to be on site during the gap time to provide continuity of care to their clients.

The need for continuity of care could be unique to a specific reason, such as a major event happening for the client during the gap time, or because the intern and client are working on some important issues and taking time off could be counterproductive to the client’s treatment progress or wellbeing. This only applies when an intern will be at a site from one semester to the next.

In these circumstances, we have developed an option for interns to continue to meet with their clients during the time between semesters so the intern can provide continuity of care. The gap form is a site agreement that the intern and site supervisor can complete that would permit the intern to continue to see clients.

In this agreement, the site supervisor and administrators acknowledges that they are solely responsible for the supervision of the intern's work during the gap time as the student does not receive university supervision during the breaks between semesters. The site takes on the liability for the intern’s work during the gap time. And, the intern agrees to continue to meet with their site supervisor for individual supervision.

When interns complete the gap form, they have approval to continue to see clients between semesters. However, they cannot count any hours spent with their clients or at their site during the gap time towards their internship.

In other words, interns who complete the gap form CANNOT log any hours from the gap time. During the gap time, interns are not meeting CACREP standards, and any hours they complete under the gap form cannot be counted towards their internship or logged in Anthology.

Please know that if you end your placement time at the site, and you are not going to be continuing at the site for the next semester, you can NOT stay on at the site using a gap form.

Anything that you would do AFTER YOUR PLACEMENT ENDS at a site would not and can not be connected in any capacity to the Wake Forest counseling program.

Any arrangement a student has for being at a site AFTER their programmatic placement ends would strictly be between the site and the student.

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Key Points

Gap time and Gap form:

Provides continuum of care for clients
Required by site; site supervision
HOURS DO NOT COUNT FOR INTERNSHIP/CANNOT BE LOGGED

If intern is short on hours: make plan with lead faculty
If you have questions, ask your lead faculty

Hopefully this presentation provides clarification regarding the gap time and the gap form.

To summaries the key points, the gap time is the time between the last day of one semester and the first day of the next semester. Interns are expected to not be on site, seeing clients, or logging internship hours during the gap time.

If a site requires an intern to be on site during the gap time for continuity of client care, the intern and site supervisor complete the gap form. With the gap form, the intern can be on site to provide continuity of care. The intern is solely supervised by the site supervisor during the gap time. And, any hours the intern is on site during the gap time DO NOT count towards internship. They cannot be logged in Anthology.

Interns who have completed their clinical courses, or are not continuing at their site for the next semester, are not eligible to complete a gap form.

If an intern cannot complete their hours during the semester, they need to speak with their lead faculty. They can help the intern develop a plan with the university and site supervisors to try to meet the hour requirements. Most semesters, lead faculty work with a few students to develop some plans. The lead faculty usually have some options for working with interns to meet the hour requirements, but these plans need to be developed on a case-by-case basis. However, completing a gap form is not one of the options.

If you have any questions about this presentation, please contact your lead faculty. We know you are busy managing internship, coursework, and life. Sometimes an email, phone call, or zoom meeting can help clarify things. We’re here to help.

Thanks for watching this presentation, and take care.

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