Oral Examination Information

Oral Exam Stage 3

Once Stage 2 is passed, then the candidate moves on to the Stage 3 oral examination.  Candidates are referred to the ABCCAP Exam Manual found in the Document Library for a summary schedule of the oral examination.  The Oral Examination process is designed to be completed in approximately three hours. For both regular and senior option candidates, it is a competency-based examination and the Examination Committee is expected to explicitly address functional and foundational competencies with the Candidate.

Within each segment, there is room for variation according to the judgment of the Examination Committee. Many topics will be interwoven throughout the examination, and flexibility should be allowed if relevant to the discussion. A topic may receive more cursory exploration in its scheduled time period if it has been sufficiently covered earlier. It often is useful to utilize hypothetical examples or situations to ascertain if the individual meets the criterion for passing each functional and foundational competency. The Oral Examination process should be collegial in nature.   Please refer to the Document Library for more detailed information.

Oral Examination Format

This schedule requires that the examiners have viewed the videotapes and reviewed all the written materials in advance.

1. Committee meets and organizes - 10 Minutes
2. Committee greets candidate - 10 Minutes
3. Exam: Professional statement & practice sample - 105 Minutes
4. Break - 15 Minutes
5. Exam: Ethical, legal, professional issues; Research awareness - 50 Minutes
6. Exam wrap-up discussion; Return practice samples - 15 Minutes
7. Committee votes and writes reports -  25 Minutes

Ethics Vignettes

A file of prepared vignettes is maintained in ABPP Central Office for standardization of the Ethics segment of the Oral Examination.  Two vignettes are selected on a random basis.  Three copies are sent to the Examination Committee Chair to be distributed to Committee members, and one to be given to the Candidate. The Candidate has also submitted, in the Professional Statement, a non-identifying ethics quandary from his or her own professional experience.

During the Ethics segment of the Oral Examination, the Candidate will be given at least one standardized vignette to discuss.  The Examining Committee does not necessarily expect a "right" answer, but anticipates that the Candidate will present relevant options and demonstrate the ability to thoughtfully weigh them in the light of the APA ethics principles, professional practice standards and relevant statutes.  The Candidate will discuss his/her own vignette in the same manner.

At the conclusion of the Oral Examination, all copies of the Ethics vignettes are collected by the Chair and returned to ABPP Central Office.  The use of each vignette will be tracked so that in the case of a Candidate's failure, new vignettes will be used for re-examination.  Examiners and Candidates will treat the vignettes as confidential.