Time2Track Tips: Tracking Hours After Graduation

Behavioral health students know how important it is to keep detailed records of their clinical hours during practicum and internship training, especially when those hours have to be signed off on by supervisors and submitted to their schools.

But what about after graduation?

All states and provinces require a certain number of supervised hours to be accrued in order to obtain a license for practice (along with other requirements). Each state and province has their own set of rules depending on the license you’re working toward.

Since licensure is the final step in your journey to becoming a licensed professional, it’s important that it go smoothly. Tracking hours is just one part of it, but it’s a very important part. Here are some tips, frequently asked questions, and instructions for tracking hours during this final step.

Tips for Tracking Professional Hours for Licensure

1. Know Your State’s Requirements.

Each state and province has requirements on the specific ratios of hours you must accrue in different groups. Check your state’s licensing board to find out the specifics of what they require for your particular license.

2. Keep Track of Hours Daily.

Keeping up with tracking hours daily prevents you from underreporting or having to guess which types of hours you recorded and how many there were. It only takes a few minutes between sessions or at the end of the day and will save you many headaches down the road.

3. Familiarize Yourself with “What Counts”.

This varies from state to state, but it’s helpful to know what actually “counts” as hours. This article provides some basic definitions as well as creative ways to earn more hours.

4. Don’t Forget to Count Supervision.

Many states are very specific about the number of actual supervision hours required, so don’t forget to keep detailed records of all your supervision sessions. Also, make sure your supervisor has the correct credentials based on your state or province, as some won’t accept supervision from supervisors without specific credentials.

5. Keep Track of Clients & Demographics.

Some license types, like LMFT, require that you report the number of hours spent with families, children, couples, and individuals. You’ll want to keep track of your clients and their basic demographics so this information is handy later on.

6. Get Supervisor Signatures Weekly.

Having your postgrad and professional hours logged in Time2Track makes it easy to print out a report for your supervisor’s signature. Make it a goal to do this during each supervision session so you won’t have to scramble to get signatures later on.

Interested in getting supervisor signatures online? Refer your supervisor to get set up.

7. Keep Your Records Safe.

Whatever you use to track hours, make sure that it’s safe and secure. Subscribe to a backup service (like Google Drive) to automatically backup all the files on your computer. While you’re at it, scan your supervisor-signed documents and back them up digitally too. This is also a great time to think about banking your credentials.

Using Time2Track as a Postgrad or Professional

What happens if I used Time2Track through my school and now I want to use it without a school account?
If your Time2Track account was linked to or paid for by your school pre-graduation, you can continue using the same account after you graduate. Just follow the instructions below to change your level, then renew your subscription by clicking Subscription under the gear icon in your account and choosing your plan.

How is Time2Track different for Postgrads or Professionals?
When you change the level in your account (see instructions below), your activity type and treatment setting lists might change as well. This depends on your previous level and if you were connected to a school using custom lists. The only other change you might see is the reports you have access to. Some reports are specific to a level in Time2Track (like the AAPI View report, which is only available to Doctoral Clinical Psychology students) so you may not be able to access them as a Postgraduate or Professional.

What if I haven’t kept up with my hours since graduation?
It’s easy to backlog hours with Time2Track so you can add any hours that you haven’t logged yet. If you’re just starting out with Time2Track as a Postgraduate or Professional, you can even backlog your practicum and internship hours to keep everything in one place.

I have many different, and specific, types of hours to log for licensure. Can Time2Track count these?
Yes! The best way to customize Time2Track for the activities you need to track is by creating custom activity types. You can create a custom activity type for any type of experience, even to track no-shows.

My account expired. If I renew, will my information still be there?
We always keep your data safe and never delete anything. You can renew your expired Time2Track account at any time and your data will be waiting for you.

Setting up Time2Track for Postgrad & Professional Hour Tracking

Transitioning from tracking practicum and internship hours in Time2Track to tracking postgraduate and professional hours for licensure is quick and easy. You’ll just need to change one setting and you’ll be good to go.

Log in to your Time2Track account.
Change Your Level to Postgraduate or Professional, depending on your specific situation. Depending on your previous level, you may see an alert icon appear when you change your level. Clicking on this icon will let you know what parts of Time2Track will change based on our level.

And that’s it.

You can add some custom activity types that match the specific types of experience you’ll be getting at your job.

You can also add custom treatment settings to track your sites and supervisors, which makes for easy reporting later on. Just go to Activities then Treatment Settings to add some.

I hope these tips help as you move on to the next step in your journey toward licensure. If you have any questions, leave a comment below or contact me directly.