Who May Apply: US Citizens
In order to qualify, you must meet the education and experience requirements described below. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student; social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is
in this document.
Basic Requirement for Occupational Therapist:
Degree: A graduate (or higher level) degree that included an occupational therapy curriculum approved by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) or a professional accrediting organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education at the time the degree was obtained, and completion of the clinical requirements prescribed by the school.
Certification: Applicants must have passed the national examination administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT).
Exemption: You are exempt from the basic requirements above if you are a current federal employee occupying a position in the 0631 occupational series and have been continuously employed in this occupational series since September 27, 2017 or before. Note: You will be required to provide appropriate documentation to the respective Human Resources Office to validate your status.
In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below:
Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes delivering occupational therapy to children of all ages; evaluating occupational therapy services for developmental and educational needs; collaborating across disciplines to develop care and educational plans; and utilizing standardized test measurements and clinical interviews to formulate service delivery plans for children of all ages. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the second lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-09).
OR
Additional Graduate Training: Additional graduate training in a specialized field of clinical practice designed to assure professional competence to practice in the specialty.
OR
Education: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: Occupational Therapy.
OR
Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages.