Training Activities

The Adult Neuropsychology Postdoctoral Fellowship is two years in duration. Seventy percent of the fellows’ time is devoted to direct clinical service, with 30 percent allotted for didactics and research. The fellow will be supervised on a rotating basis by each of the core neuropsychological faculty members (typically two at a time, rotating every six months), with additional supervision by affiliated faculty in neuropsychology, neurology, neurosurgery and sports medicine during clinical didactic opportunities. Clinical and research supervision will occur during individual meetings with the identified supervisor. The fellow will have at least two hours of direct supervision every week. The fellow will also meet with the program director and other division neuropsychologists to discuss career development and professional issues at least once a month or as topics arise.

The fellow’s schedule is broken into two four-hour clinics each day. This yields a schedule that includes seven clinics (or three-and-a-half days per week) of clinical service and three clinics (or one-and-a-half days per week) devoted to didactics and research. The specific clinics devoted to clinical service, didactics or research will vary according to the activities selected by the fellow and faculty. A sample schedule is provided below:

Clinical Service

The fellow will conduct up to 7 outpatient neuropsychological evaluations per week, with clinical responsibilities ramped up over the 2-year fellowship based on experience and attending discretion. Most fellows begin with a starting case responsibility of 3 evaluations per week. All neuropsychological evaluations will be conducted with the use of psychometrists; however, each fellow will be required to demonstrate proficiency in administration and scoring of test protocols during protected time in the first 6 months of the fellowship and will test 1 patient a month thereafter to maintain reasonable familiarity with test administration through their fellowship time. The fellow will participate in all interviews, leading the interviewing as he/she progresses in the program. He/she will also work with the faculty to select test batteries, draft reports, and provide feedback to patients and referral sources. The fellow will also be involved in several multidisciplinary teams and conferences, with the expectation that the fellow will present neuropsychological information at multidisciplinary patient conferences when appropriate.

Didactics

The fellow will have the opportunity for a wide range of didactic and educational opportunities at UH Cleveland Medical Center and our primary academic affiliate Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Mandatory didactic experiences include weekly Department of Neurology Grand Rounds and weekly Neuropsychology Seminar. Fellows are also expected to attend and occasionally present at the regional Neuropsychology Fellowship Journal Club which includes all adult and pediatric neuropsychology fellowships in the northeast Ohio region. The fellow will also be expected to attend the 6-week long Case Western Reserve School of Medicine Neuroscience Seminar and facilitate at least 1 Case Inquiry session in the winter of their first year. Fellows also participate in the appropriate sections of the week-long Department of Neurology Resident Bootcamp during the summer of their second year. The fellow may also have the opportunity to teach medical residents and practicum students who rotate through the division and are learning neuropsychological testing procedures. Additional opportunities to present to affiliated schools and community organizations may also be available. Additional didactic opportunities include Deep Brain Stimulation Case Conference, Epilepsy Grand Rounds, Epilepsy Surgery Case Conference, Epilepsy/EEG/Clinical Physiology Course, Institute of Pathology Brain Cutting, Pediatric Neuropsychology Seminar, Psychiatry Grand Rounds, among others.

In addition to courses/seminar didactics, fellows will also have the opportunity for observational/experiential didactics through clinical didactic rotations in several related areas. These clinical didactic rotations, expected to account for 1 clinic (1/2 day) a week, provide the fellow with a strong foundation for understanding the presentation and treatment of multiple relevant neurological conditions and to better understand how neuropsychological services complement and assist the practices of common clinical collaborators. Clinical didactic experiences in General Neurology, Pediatric Neuropsychology, and Neuropsychological Rehabilitation are mandatory during the first year of the fellowship, though opportunities for additional elective clinical didactics will be available during the fellow’s second year in Behavioral Neurology, Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, Deep Brain Stimulation/Movement Disorders, Epilepsy/Epilepsy Surgery, Neurosurgical Management, and Sports Medicine/Concussion. As an example, the General Neurology clinical didactic rotation will include observation of neurologists in inpatient and outpatient settings (outpatient behavioral neurology clinic, inpatient neurological rounds, outpatient movement disorders clinic, inpatient adult epilepsy monitoring unit, etc.).

During the first 6 months of the fellowship, the fellow will use a portion of his/her didactic/research time to complete the onboarding process, including demonstration of proficiency in administration and scoring of neuropsychological testing, development of research goals (described in detail below), and establishing familiarity with UH policies and procedures. In the second half of year 1, the fellow will use a portion of didactic time to complete required clinical didactic rotations in General Neurology, Pediatric Neuropsychology, and Neuropsychological Rehabilitation. After year 1, the fellow will select up to clinical didactic rotations for additional experiences in areas of interest.

In addition to the seminars and clinical didactics described above, the fellow will be expected to complete readings in clinical neuropsychology and related areas. Readings will be chosen for each fellow by his/her supervisors and additional activities will be assigned/offered to meet the criteria set forth by the Houston Conference. Didactics and readings will include a specific focus on ethical standards, culture/diversity, and individual differences. The fellow’s competence in clinical practice as well as these areas will be assessed with ratings by the faculty supervisors. The fellow will also complete a written clinical competency exam for neuropsychology provided by APPCN at the end of the first year of training to help tailor training needs to the fellow specifically. Case conceptualization and knowledge of ethical standards will also be assessed via oral discussion of practice samples. Also, approximately 3 times per year of the fellowship, each fellow will be expected to participate or observe in a fact-finding experience modeled off of the ABPP oral exam section during the Neuropsychology Seminar.

Research

Fellows will be expected to complete one research project per year of the fellowship. Eligible projects may include a presentation at a national conference, submission of an article for publication, completion of a review article, or other activity approved by the Fellowship Director. A variety of funded studies are underway in the Department of Neurology at UH Cleveland Medical Center and multiple ongoing efforts for neuropsychological data collection are available for analysis. Fellows will be expected to have identified a topic of interest for their first research project within the first month of their fellowship along with a plan for execution of the project to be approved by relevant fellowship faculty and the fellowship director shortly thereafter.