Gov’t needs to hire Psychometrician

Dear Editor, I congratulate the University of Guyana on the launch of the Psychology Programme. My earnest expectation is that a course in Psychometrics will be offered and that a Psychometrician will be contracted for this assignment.

A Psychometrician taught my Psychometrics course at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Cave Hill Campus. He was also on staff at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Barbados.

I found out from my UWI lecturer that after doing a doctorate in psychology, the Psychologist must then complete another two years of specialized training to earn the designation of Psychometrician. The Psychologist with the master’s, he said, earns the designation Psychometrist. I later found out that one with a bachelors in Psychology could also undergo this specialized training to equip them to work as a Psychometrist.

A Psychometrician is one who practices the science of measurement. Psychometrics is the branch of psychology that deals with the design, interpretation and administration of quantitative tests for the measurement of psychological variables such as personality traits.

I also am using this opportunity to issue an urgent plea for the Government of Guyana to engage the services of a Psychometrician. The psychological assessment which the Psychometrician does should then be a part of the recruitment process for professionals such as military personnel, where the lives of other people could literally be in their hands. The recent incident at the La Grange Police Station, that left a young woman clinging to life and her assailant dead by his own gunshot, affirms the need for decisive action.

Yours faithfully, Joy Wilson