PIR: Everything You Need To Know About This Training Program
In recent years there has been a notable increase in the demand for help from mental health professionals, with a low number of clinical psychologists within the public health system, which is why a greater number of positions are required. They can be obtained by passing the PIR entrance exam.
PIR (Internal Resident Psychologist) is a specialized training that enables psychology graduates to practice their profession in the clinical field within the public health system at the national level (for example, in national general hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, among others). .
In this article We will explain everything you need to know about this clinical training and the PIR exam (for example, what is the history of the PIR, what does the entrance exam consist of, what are the subjects that must be prepared, etc.).
PIR is the acronym used to refer to the training of the Resident Internal Psychologist.a professional preparation that is equivalent to that carried out by doctors through access to MIR (Resident Internal Physician) training.
PIR training is to date the only way in Spain to obtain the official title of Psychologist Specialist in Clinical Psychology in accordance with Royal Decree 2490/1998, existing since 1993. This title is mandatory to work as a clinical psychologist within the scope of national public health.
The PIR training is eminently practical, with a duration of 4 years, during which the psychologists who complete the residency must do various rotations through various care devices (for example, in the child-adolescent unit, in the mental disorders unit). eating behavior, etc.) in which they will acquire theoretical and practical learning that will enable them in the future to work as clinical psychologists in any hospital of the public health system throughout the country.
It should be noted that normally the schedule of both a psychologist who is undergoing PIR training and that of a specialist psychologist who has already completed said training is usually in the mornings in hospitals, so There are some clinical psychologists who also practice their profession in a private practice or center. in the afternoons, or even working as professors in universities or academies that train psychologists who are studying to take the PIR exam.
As a guide, salary remuneration according to sources usually ranges between €1,100 and €1,300 net per month during the first year of residence, with 14 payments per year, varying according to the scale set by each Autonomous Community and there being a salary increase as each year of residency is completed. Said salary could also be increased with the addition of the charge for guard duty or for extra hours worked.
Once the PIR training is completed, The base salary of a Psychologist Specialist in Clinical Psychology is half from €2,200 net per monthwith 14 payments per year, which may vary in each Autonomous Community.
In addition to the PIR and the MIR, there are other specialized training specialties in the clinical field, these being the following: the EIR of Nursing, the FIR for graduates in Pharmacy, the QIR for those who have completed their career in the field of Chemistry, the BIR of Biology and, finally, the specialty of the Field of Physics to carry out training for the specialty in Hospital Radiophysics, which can be accessed by those who have completed their university career in degrees in the field of Physics or others. scientific and technological disciplines.
Brief History of the Resident Internal Psychologist program
The formation of the PIR began to develop in some Autonomous Communities previously, such as Asturias (since 1983), Castilla y León and Adulacía (since 1986) and Navarra (1988); although in Galicia there had already been a training place in Clinical Psychology for the “El Rebullón” Psychiatric Hospital since 1978.
Subsequently, other Autonomous Communities incorporated this specialized training for psychologists in the clinical field until in 1993 an agreement was reached to implement this specialty throughout the country.
In 2002, a homologation process began that made it possible to obtain the specialist title for those psychologists who met a series of requirements before 1993.although it was later taken into account that these requirements were met before 1998:
In some cases in which there were psychologists who were close to meeting the requirements to obtain the homologation of the title, they had to take a test with a syllabus similar to that of the PIR exam that made it possible for them to obtain the specialist title, with passing being sufficient.
Starting in 2010, the approval process was closed and it became official. a single way to obtain access to carry out PIR training which makes it possible to obtain the specialist title, this format remaining in force to date.
The public health centers where rotations normally take place during PIR training are usually general hospitals, psychiatric hospitals and rehabilitation units or devices that have been specifically configured as such, with rotation in various units and centers such as the following:
To access PIR training you must pass an entrance exam that is held every yearhaving obtained one of the positions that are within the limit of places offered each year.
In the field of Psychology there is a fairly high ratio of applicants for each place offered (approximately 21.5 applicants per place), with a slight increase in places during the last 3 years, in which around 200 have been offered. places for some 4,300 applicants who have been applying in recent years.
Despite the slight increase, there are still few places due to the high need of a large part of the population to receive psychological support, and that is because Spain has a ratio of 6 psychologists per 100,000 inhabitants, being well below the average of 18 psychologists in Europe..
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How does the PIR entrance exam work?
The PIR exam has been carried out in recent years on the last Saturday in January or the first Saturday in February, normally starting around 4pm, and currently It consists of 200 questions plus 10 reserve questions, in multiple choice format with 4 answer options..
The scoring is as follows: each correct answer adds 3 points, each question answered incorrectly will subtract one point and unanswered answers do not subtract or add points. Besides, You have 4 and a half uninterrupted hours to take the exam..
This exam format, in terms of the duration of its completion and also the number of questions, is similar in all health training courses (PIR, MIR, FIR, EIR, etc.).
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What are the subjects that must be studied to take the PIR?
The exam syllabus to access PIR training, as is the case with most competitions, It is not a closed topic. However, the majority of the exam questions are from 12 different subjects in the field of psychology.
Apart from those subjects that encompass the majority of the questions, there is always a space for questions that, although they could be related to these subjects, would come from manuals, studies, guides or articles that have been published recently, which usually increases the difficulty. of the exam; Although it is true that when faced with these types of questions, normally all applicants are more or less on equal terms.
Those are listed below subjects that include the preparation syllabus to take the PIR exam:
To prepare these subjects, Applicants usually benefit from the help offered by different academies that there are specialized in the preparation of the PIR, which offer specific manuals on the different subjects that are included in the exam, tutors who offer support and guidance to their students, classes in online and/or face-to-face mode, forum to resolve doubts, preparation mock exams (something essential to prepare for the PIR exam), etc. Although there are also those who prefer to choose to buy only the manuals and train on their own.
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Requirements to be able to submit to the PIR
In order to take the PIR exam, it is essential to meet a series of requirements, these being those listed below.
The first requirement is Possess an official university degree or bachelor’s degree in the field of Psychology.
The second requirement is not to have exceeded forced retirement age and that it will not be reached during the 4-year PIR training period either.
The third requirement is possess the nationality of Spain or any country of the European Union, the European Economic Area, the Swiss Confederation or the Principality of Andorra; Likewise, people who have family ties (spouses, children or parents) with people who have some of the aforementioned nationalities could take this test.
On the other hand, it must be completed an access form to take the PIR exameither in a Government subdelegation or electronically through the Electronic Headquarters of the Ministry of Health, Consumer Affairs and Social Welfare for a limited time that has been previously announced months before said test is carried out.
When completing this form, it is necessary to pay an exam fee that ranges around €30, in addition to attaching a photocopy of your DNI, a certified copy of the official university degree of the bachelor’s degree or degree in Psychology and a certified copy of the academic certificate. On the other hand, those who have a doctorate in Psychology must present it because this allows them to start with a higher score compared to those who do not have said degree.
To make the request electronically It is necessary to have a permanent key or a digital certificate that allows the applicant to sign their application in their personal capacity. If you submit the application, it would not be necessary since it would be signed manually when submitting all the necessary documentation to the corresponding organization.
