Recent grads licensed in WA-Practicum Hrs for WA Licensure- What Counts? Coming From Out-of-State

[noellekh]

Hi everyone! I am currently a pre-doctoral intern and finishing my last few months of internship...so close to degree conferral. I completed my training in Oregon and just accepted a job with a group practice in WA as license-eligible with the plan to get licensed immediately after internship. I meet the 3300 hr requirement and the rest of requirements for licensure. I did not complete a postdoc or plan to as I have accrued enough hours for licensure in WA. However, as I am completing the licensure application and looking over the hours, there are some really confusing stipulations about practicums that are starting to make me wonder if ANY of my practicums will count toward the hour requirement. Coming from an APA accredited program and internship, this is both horrifying and incredibly frustrating. Any recent graduates out there who got licensed in WA and can speak to this at all? My numbers are as follows: 1570 practicum hours and 2000+ of internship hours from APA accred. site. So, I meet the internship hr and practicum hour components. I've also been told by a friend in my program who is getting licensed in WA that I cannot count our practicums as pre-internship..apparently he did that and got his application returned; they told him to count them all as practicums. But he also completed a postdoc, and it isn't clear if that made his prac hours no longer necessary, so I still don't have my question answered. My practicum hours do not meet the pre-internship requirements listed in the WAC 246-924-053. But there's no way my prac hours count for nothing, right?! This is what the application states:

In order to qualify for licensure, an applicant must demonstrate completion of 3,300
hours of supervised experience. At least two semesters or three quarters and at least 300 practicum hours of direct experience, 100 hours of which must be supervised. See WAC 246-924-049.

The 1,500 hours of supervised experience required in addition to the 1,500 hours
of qualifying Internship may be completed by any combination of the following
supervised experience components: Any hours in excess of the 300 Practicum hours obtained prior to the internship provided that the additional Practicum hours meet the Preinternship requirements
defined in WAC 246-924-053. Preinternship hours meeting the requirements defined in
WAC 246-924-053. Any hours in excess of the 1,500 qualifying internship hours under
WAC 246-924-056 provided that the additional hours meet the defined Internship
requirements and provided that these additional hours are obtained while the
applicant was still in the doctoral program. Post-doctoral Supervised Experience meeting the requirement
defined in WAC 246-924-059.

Definitely in a state of anxiety over this and would love some helpful feedback about how others have navigated this or any knowledge about the WA board and what might count. Thank you so much!

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[DynamicDidactic]

I've also been told by a friend in my program who is getting licensed in WA that I cannot count our practicums as pre-internship..apparently he did that and got his application returned;

Seems like you are getting some poor information. Why would you not be able to count those hours as pre-internship? If they were indeed traditional prac hours (e.g., they were approved by your DCT and not paid) they count. IIRC, I counted 300 of my prac hours on one form, the 2000 for internship on another, and then the rest of my prac and some postdoc (b/c I did not have as many prac hours as you) to meet the 3300 hours.

I know you are from the PNW but I always worry when people do not get supervised postdoc hours. I left WA and am very happy to know I got my 2,000 hours on postdoc, which allows me much more flexibility. But you did not ask about that. Good luck, all states have confusing requirements.

 

[noellekh]

Seems like you are getting some poor information. Why would you not be able to count those hours as pre-internship? If they were indeed traditional prac hours (e.g., they were approved by your DCT and not paid) they count. IIRC, I counted 300 of my prac hours on one form, the 2000 for internship on another, and then the rest of my prac and some postdoc (b/c I did not have as many prac hours as you) to meet the 3300 hours.

I know you are from the PNW but I always worry when people do not get supervised postdoc hours. I left WA and am very happy to know I got my 2,000 hours on postdoc, which allows me much more flexibility. But you did not ask about that. Good luck, all states have confusing requirements.

Thanks, Steven. It turns out you were right. I was able to get a hold of the board, and they confirmed "it's indeed worded poorly, but you can count as many practicum hours as you want toward the hour requirement." I was glad to hear they are revising the application to reflect that your practicum hours will count, as long as a supervisor signs off on them with the reference letter, regardless of whether they meet the "pre-internship requirements" it outlines. What a heart attack I had and what a relief!

Yes- I'm aware of the licensure portability issue and being limited by not doing a postdoc; I appreciate the concern and the info! It was the right choice for me based on my circumstances. Take care and thanks again for the reply.

 

[DynamicDidactic]

Thanks, Steven.

you are welcome... Bob?

 

[WisNeuro]

you are welcome... Bob?

I always thought of you more as a Chris.

 

[futureapppsy2]

Yes- I'm aware of the licensure portability issue and being limited by not doing a postdoc; I appreciate the concern and the info! It was the right choice for me based on my circumstances. Take care and thanks again for the reply.

Not to belabor the point, but I always caution people against making training decisions that limit their future options, like ranking non-APA internship sites or not doing a post-doc (formal or informal), because you never know what will happen in the future, and it's good to be licensable/employable in as many states as possible.

 

[WisNeuro]

Not to belabor the point, but I always caution people against making training decisions that limit their future options, like ranking non-APA internship sites or not doing a post-doc (formal or informal), because you never know what will happen in the future, and it's good to be licensable/employable in as many states as possible.

But that's like...years away. And so inconvenient in the now.

 

[PreDrANB]

I'm just starting my program this year but I plan to become licensed in Washington in the future. If my program states that "Clinical students in their second through fifth years typically receive training and financial support from assistantships at various university-based and community practicum sites," meaning some of my funding comes from my appointments at practicum sites. Does this mean that I won't be able to count any of my practicum hours toward licensure because they aren't "unpaid"?

Thanks.