Compass Health conducts background checks on interns prior to orientation. The following document provides the full, detailed hiring policy for the Compass Health network:

Note these key factors that could cause the site to release an intern from match:

• Positive drug screen.
• Unsatisfactory background check where actions and/or crimes which prohibit patient/client contact pursuant to state law and regulations of accrediting entities.
• Found to be convicted of, guilty of, pleaded guilty to or nolo contendere to any of the following crimes:
  • Physical abuse of Class I Neglect of a patient, resident, or client
  • Furnishing unfit food to patients, residents, or clients
  • Is listed on the DMH disqualification registry
  • Is listed on the employee disqualification list of the Department of Health and Senior Services or Department of Social Services
  • Failure of a specified professional to report suspected abuse or neglect of a patient.
  • Found to be convicted of, guilty of, pleaded guilty to or nolo contendere to any of the listed felonies in the following website: http://dmh.mo.gov/about/employeedisqualification
  • Found guilty or pleaded guilty to a violation of Driving While Intoxicated or Driving with Excessive Blood Alcohol Content and who is found by the court to be an aggravated (3 or more) or chronic (4 or more) violator
  • Found to be guilty of any felony drug offense.

Please note that a criminal background check that reveals an intern’s past alcohol or drug-related crimes does not automatically release an intern from match. If otherwise qualified, if two (2) years have passed since the intern was convicted or found guilty and they are not currently on probation or parole, the intern is still eligible to be matched.

Starting October 2021, all employees (including interns) will be required to receive the COVID-19 vaccine unless granted an approved accommodation. New employees must receive their first dose of COVID-19 vaccination prior to the 1st day of Orientation and receive their second dose (unless they received a one dose vaccination) within the first 30 days of hire. Reasonable accommodations for vaccine requirements are allowed.

IHC Track Requirements

Due to the requirements of the HRSA grant, any intern applicants for the IHC-Grant Funded positions must be citizens of the United States, a noncitizen national of the United States, or a foreign national who possesses a visa permitting permanent residence in the United States. Individuals on temporary or student visas are not eligible to participate. Please note that this requirement only applies to the Grant-Funded positions and not the traditional positions available at each of our sites. If you have any questions about eligibility for the program please contact Katherine Dixon at kdixon@psychologyinterns.org.

The interview process with Compass Health is entirely virtual. However, any applicants that are nearby a Compass Health location are welcome to coordinate a visit. Interviews are 60-minutes via video platform, and will include a pair of interviewers from our psychology staff. Current intern and potential supervisor contact information is available upon request. Specific details of interview scheduling will be determined closer to the 24-25 Match cycle.

At Compass Health, the Director of Clinical Training and several intern supervisors review the applicants to determine who might be good fits for the various locations and tracks. From those they determine who will be offered interviews. These interviews are conducted by psychologists who supervise throughout the agency, and sometimes current interns or post-doctoral residents as well. 

After interviews are completed, the DCT and supervisors involved in the interview process discuss the candidates, their qualifications, and goodness of fit with the training program to determine their rank for each location. Interns are encouraged to apply to and rank any of the sites at which they are interested in being placed. Applicants are evaluated on a number of criteria, including: 

• Application to a Compass Health site.
• Previous experience and/or interest in the opportunities provided at the location(s) to which they applied.
• Overall experience in intervention and assessment prior to internship.
• Relevant previous experience, depending on the track(s) of interest: 
• • Experience with treating severe and persistent mental illness and/or in a community mental health setting (outpatient & dual-tracks) 
  • Experience providing services in an integrated healthcare setting (IHC track)
• Stated goals for internship that can be met at our site(s).
• Likelihood to stay with Compass Health following internship.

In addition to the NPTC Virtual Open House, Compass Health will be hosting two of their own Virtual Open House events. Contact Dr. Melissa Webb (mwebb@compasshn.org) for more information about these events:

Tuesday October 26^st 11:00am – 12:30 pm (Central Time)

Tuesday January 11^th 12:00pm – 1:30 pm (Central Time)

More information including the Zoom links can be found at their website here: https://compasshealthnetworkinternships.org/join-open-house/

Compass Health is strongly invested in ensuring both a quality training experience as well as the physical health and well-being of our trainees. Due to COVID-19, these are the changes that might be made to the training experience:

• Interns will be provided with any needed technology to work from home, including a laptop with a webcam, wireless mouse, etc.
• Client contact may include telehealth contacts utilizing approved platforms. This may include:
  • Individual and/or group therapy
  • Clinical/Diagnostic interviews
  • Psychological testing (as appropriate)

Compass Health also follows CDC guidelines for COVID-19 safety protocols, and as the pandemic shifts our policies are subject to change. As of March 2022, masks are no longer required in behavioral-health only clinics, but are required in areas that may be shared with primary care or dental patients, such as waiting rooms. They may be removed at each provider’s discretion in their own offices. Masks are always available for employees in each clinic, and testing is available but voluntary. Generally, Compass Health has increased cleaning protocols in offices, and individual providers are given additional cleaning supplies to keep on hand. Interns with Compass will be providing both in-person and telehealth services from their office location. Earlier in the pandemic, virtual meetings and reduced group sizes were utilized; while these restrictions have been removed, they are subject to return if increased rates of community transmission were to occur. As of October 2021, all employees (including interns) are required to receive the COVID-19 vaccine unless granted approval for an accommodation. Compass Health reviews their safety protocols on a routine basis, and updates are sent to all staff regarding any policy changes. While this was previously done weekly, as the pandemic has slowed, the review of protocols and related updates are done on an as-needed basis.