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 psychologists clinicians within the public health system, which requires a greater number of places offered that can be obtained by passing the entrance exam to the PIR.

PIR (Resident Internal Psychologist) is a specialized training that enables graduates and graduates in psychology to practice their profession in the clinical setting within the public health system at the national level (for example, in national general hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, among others). 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.).

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What does the PIR in Spain consist of?

PIR are the acronyms used to name 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 Medicine) 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 carry out the residency must do various rotations by various assistance devices (for example, in the child-juvenile unit, in the eating behavior disorders unit, etc.) in which They will acquire a theoretical and practical learning that will enable them in the future to practice as clinical psychologists in any hospital of the public health system of the whole country.

It should be noted that normally the schedule of both a psychologist who is doing the PIR training and the of a specialist psychologist who has already completed such 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 in academies that train psychologists who are studying to take the PIR exam.

As a guide, salary compensation according to sources usually ranges between €1,100 and €1,300 net per month during the first year of residence, with 14 you pay per year, varying according to the scale set by each Autonomous Community and having a salary increase as each year of employment is completed. home. Said salary could also be increased with the complement of the charge for shifts or for the performance of overtime worked.

After the PIR training is complete, the base salary of a Psychologist Specialist in Clinical Psychology of half of €2,200 net per month, with 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 for Nursing, the FIR for Pharmacy graduates, the QIR for those who have finished their career in the field of Chemistry, the BIR of Biology and, finally, the specialty of the Field of Physics to carry out the 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 other scientific disciplines and technological.

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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 was already a training place in Clinical Psychology for the Psychiatric Hospital “El Rebullón” since 1978.

Subsequently, this specialized training for psychologists in the clinical field was incorporated into other Autonomous Communities until an agreement was reached in 1993 to implement this specialty throughout the country.

In 2002, an approval process began that made it possible to obtain the title of specialist for those psychologists who met a series of requirements before 1993., although later it was taken into account that these requirements were met before 1998:

• Have at least 3 years of experience in the public sector or 4 and a half years in the private sector.
• Another way of obtaining recognition was by being a university professor or having completed the PIR.

In some cases in which there were psychologists who were close to meeting the requirements to obtain recognition of the title, they had to take a test with a syllabus similar to that of the PIR exam that enabled him to obtain the title of specialist, being enough with Approve.

As of 2010, the homologation process was closed and the a single way to gain access to conduct PIR training which makes it possible to obtain the title of specialist, and this format remains in force to date.

The public health centers where rotations are normally carried out during PIR training are usually general hospitals, psychiatric hospitals and rehabilitation units or facilities that have been specifically configured as such, having a rotation in various units and centers such as the following:

• Psychiatric hospitals or mental health centers.
• Rehabilitation and social reintegration programs.
• Hospitalization units.
• Forms of partial hospitalization.
• Infant-juvenile units.
• Units specialized in the treatment of eating disorders, addictions or others.

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The PIR test: how is the current scenario?

To access the PIR training, you must pass an entrance exam that is carried out every year., having obtained one of the positions that are within the limit of places that are offered each year.

In the field of Psychology there is a fairly high ratio of applicants for each job offered (approximately 21.5 applicants per job), with a slight increase in places during the last 3 years, in which around 200 places have been offered for some 4,300 applicants who have been presenting themselves in the last 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 Spain has a ratio of 6 psychologists per 100,000 inhabitants, which is 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 held in recent years on the last Saturday in January or the first Saturday in February, normally starting around 4:00 p.m., and currently It consists of 200 questions plus 10 reserve questions, in multiple choice format with 4 response options..

The score is as follows: each correct answer adds 3 points, each question answered incorrectly will subtract a point and unanswered answers do not subtract or add points. What's more, You have 4 and a half uninterrupted hours to take the exam..

This exam format, in terms of the duration for its completion and also the number of questions, is similar in all health training (PIR, MIR, FIR, EIR, etc.).

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What are the subjects that must be studied to sit for the PIR?

The syllabus of the exam to access the PIR training, as is the case with most oppositions, it is not a closed issue. However, most of the exam questions are from 12 different subjects in the field of psychology.

Apart from those subjects that include most of the questions, there is always a space for questions that, although they could be related to These materials would come from manuals, studies, guides or articles that have been recently published, which usually increases the difficulty of the exam; although it is true that when faced with this type of question, all applicants are normally more or less on equal footing.

Those are listed below Subjects included in the preparation syllabus for the PIR exam:

• Clinical psychology.
• Clinical psychology of childhood and adolescence.
• psychological treatments.
• Psychological evaluation.
• Psychopathology.
• Personality and differential psychology.
• Psychobiology.
• Psychotherapies.
• Evolutionary or developmental psychology and education.
• Social psychology and organizations.
• Experimental psychology: data analysis, psychometrics and fundamentals of research.
• Basic psychology.

For the preparation of these matters, applicants usually benefit from the help offered by the various academies that there are specialized in the preparation of the PIR, which offer specific manuals on the different subjects that enter the exam, tutors that offer support and orientation to their students, classes in online and/or face-to-face mode, forum to resolve doubts, preparation of 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 present to the PIR

In order to take the PIR exam, it is essential to meet a series of requirements, these being the ones listed below.

The first requirement is hold an official university degree or bachelor's degree in the field of Psychology.

The second requirement is not to have exceeded compulsory retirement age and that it will not be reached during the PIR training period of 4 years.

The third requirement is have Spanish nationality or of any country of the European Union, the European Economic Area, the Swiss Confederation or the Principality of Andorra; Likewise, people who have family ties of kinship could take this test. (spouses, children or parents) with people who have some of the nationalities above mentioned.

On the other hand, you must complete an access form to take the PIR exam, either in a sub-delegation of the Government or electronically through the Electronic Office of the Ministry of Health, Consumption and Social Welfare for a limited time that has been previously announced months before the realization of said proof.

When filling in this form, it is necessary to pay an exam fee of around €30, in addition to attaching a photocopy of the DNI, a certified copy of the official university degree of the bachelor's degree or degree in Psychology and a certified copy of the certificate academic. 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 a permanent key or digital certificate is required that allows the applicant to personally sign their application. In case of presenting the application, it would not be necessary since it would be signed manually when presenting all the necessary documentation in the corresponding body.