The Neuropsychology Postdoctoral Fellowship Program is structured as a two-year (24-month), 4000 hour, clinical and research program with training focused across the lifespan under a scientist-practitioner model. The fellows (2) participate in at least four different 6-month clinical rotations (e.g., Early Childhood Development, Hematology/Oncology, Neurology and Neurosurgery, Psychiatry, and Rehabilitation) taking place across different settings and hospitals. Each fellow conducts at least one full neuropsychological evaluation or two shorter evaluations per week in an outpatient or inpatient setting with the presenting concern typically matching the current rotation theme. Fellows are also integrated into different multidisciplinary outpatient clinics in order to expose them to a variety of presenting concerns affecting brain functioning as well as professional issues related to the specific clinical milieu. Throughout their training, fellows have at least 2 hours of face-to-face, individual, scheduled supervision per week, participate in several required didactics specific to clinical neuropsychology, as well as other didactic experiences through other departments. Consistent with the scientist-practitioner model of training, fellows are provided dedicated research time to develop their own research project and/or collaborate with other researchers at the institution.
The training objectives and core competencies of the program closely follow the requirements outlined in the Houston Conference guidelines and forthcoming training guidelines from the Minnesota Conference. Global psychological competencies are expected in the areas of ethics, professionalism, relationships, and scientific knowledge and research. Functional competencies related to clinical neuropsychology are also expected in the areas of evidence-based practice, assessment, intervention, consultation, teaching and supervision, and systems. All of these competencies will adequately prepare fellows for independent practice as clinical neuropsychologists following completion that leads to eligibility in board certification through ABCN and/or ABPdN, ABN.
The Clinical Neuropsychology Postdoctoral Fellowship also encourages, and through close coordination and collaborative efforts, attempts to create an educational environment where “cross-pollination” in training and education of the fellows and residents in psychiatry, pediatrics, neurology, neurosurgery, physical medicine and rehabilitation occurs. To this end, close and extensive coordination of didactic and clinical programs takes place under the leadership of the Departmental Vice-Chair for Education and the various training program Directors to create educational and training schedules that permit the majority of fellows and medical residents to electively attend each other’s didactics and/or training programs. There is a level of flexibility in constructing the rotation schedules, but they typically consist of a full-day neuropsychological evaluation of a child, adolescent, or adult with a presenting concern usually related to the focus of the rotation. It also includes an outpatient multidisciplinary clinic, time for writing and feedback sessions, didactics and supervision, and research time (20% of the week).
The Penn State University, Hershey S. Milton Medical Center is a top-tier academic medical clinical-research institution with a strong history of research productivity and accomplishments, originally involved in 1943 in the Charter Meetings of the APA related to the training of psychologists in the United States. Fellows are allotted a full day devoted to the pursuit of scientific research in preparation for an academic career in an academic medical center or other educational institution. Early in their training, fellows will meet with neuropsychology faculty and/or faculty in other departments to establish their short and long-term research goals. Numerous research opportunities are possible including involvement in an ongoing project, using retrospective data, publishing dissertation findings, and producing new projects. There are also opportunities to collect and organize outpatient clinical data, as well as collaboration with the Penn State Hershey Neuroscience Institute to conduct fMRI and EEG studies. As part of their research training, fellows are encouraged to attend the Postdoctoral Professional Development Program workshop series focusing on research topics such as publishing, running a research laboratory, and collaborating across disciplines. Consistent with Houston Guidelines, fellows are encouraged to submit their research for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. They are also encouraged to submit their research to conferences and are provided with dedicated time to attend these events.
