The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) approved a rule change in June that expands opportunities for psychologists to apply for internships and jobs at the agency, which is the largest employer and trainer of psychologists in the country.
Until the rule change, candidates for the VA's 679 doctoral internships and 441 postdoctoral fellowships had to be U.S. citizens who were enrolled in or had graduated from an APA—accredited doctoral program. The new rule allows U.S. citizens from programs accredited by the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) and the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS) to apply as well.
The issue came to a fore last year, because prior to 2007, APA co-accredited some Canadian programs with the CPA. When the two associations agreed to end that practice, they settled on a transition period of eight years. Beginning in 2015, students enrolled in CPA-accredited programs became ineligible for VA internships.
That was bad timing for Justin Karr, a graduate student in clinical neuropsychology at the University of Victoria in British Columbia who applied to internships last year. Karr, a U.S. citizen, studies concussion and traumatic brain injury—seemingly a natural fit for the VA. But as a student at a CPA-accredited university, he wasn't eligible to apply for VA positions. Due to Canadian labor laws, he was also ineligible for many Canadian internships, and he didn't match to an internship in 2015. This year, he's applying again, and says he has high hopes for a better outcome.
"It was a crazy combination of bureaucratic barriers that made me ineligible [for many positions] last year," he says. "Now that the VA has its new policy in place, I'm very optimistic."
The new rule also updates and clarifies the qualifications psychologists must have to apply for other VA positions. Psychologists now must have completed an APA, CPA or PCSAS-accredited doctoral program as well as an APA or CPA-accredited internship to apply for a job as a VA psychologist. Psychologists are also eligible if they completed a non-accredited internship before 1979, if they hold a board certification or if they completed a respecialization program at an accredited institution.
"I understand this policy was many years in the making, and we're grateful for it," says Eddy Ameen, PhD, director of APA's Office on Early Career Psychologists. "As one of the largest employers of psychologists, what the VA just passed is really important to the field."
To see a chart outlining the key changes in the VA's eligibility rules, go to www.apa.org/careers/resources/practice/veterans-affairs-employment.
