Sampling Work Functions of Master\u27s Level and Doctoral Level Clinical Psychologists

The purpose of this study was to obtain a representative sample of work functions actually being performed by master\u27s level and doctoral level clinical psychologists. It will be incorporated into a questionnaire which will be mailed to a relatively large sample of clinicians. The representative sample of work functions was obtained by mailing Professional Activity Thermometers (PAT\u27s) to a sample of 42 master\u27s level and 56 doctoral level psychologists working in states west of the Mississippi River. Respondents were asked to use the PAT\u27s as daily work function diaries, and to fill out and return one for each of five consecutive work days. A content analysis was then performed on the returned questionnaires. Specific work functions were subsumed under broader categories until there were 13 separate function categories. Preliminary comparisons were made on clinical functions between training levels. The uses of the general function categories, the results of the comparisons, and plans for future research were discussed