The neuropsychology staff in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience are pleased that you are interested in our postdoctoral fellowship in adult clinical neuropsychology. We hope this website helps you understand our training program and conveys our enthusiasm for providing high-quality neuropsychology training to fellows interested in a career in adult neuropsychology.
Program Overview
Training is provided at a fixed site at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine campus. The Clinical Neuropsychology Service provides neuropsychological evaluations to adults. Approximately two-thirds of fellows' time is dedicated to clinical activities, with the remaining balance involving supervision, didactics and research. The training program currently accepts one fellow every two years with a strong focus on one-on-one training with fellowship supervisors. Fellows will also have regular interactions with residents in other medical specialties, including Psychiatry and Neurology. The program is a member of the Association of Postdoctoral Programs in Clinical Neuropsychology (APPCN), and participates in the match program administered through APPCN.
Referrals to the Clinical Neuropsychology Service typically come from neurologists, psychiatrists, primary care and other specialty providers. Common presentations include mild cognitive impairment, dementias, movement disorders, epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, vascular disorders, adult ADHD and a range of primary psychiatric conditions. The patient population is culturally and ethnically diverse, representing both urban and rural settings.
Clinical responsibilities of the fellow will include supervised outpatient and inpatient neuropsychological assessment, neuropsychological feedback and intervention, and team consultation in multi-disciplinary settings (e.g., epilepsy surgery conference, movement disorders conference). Support of a psychometrist will often be available to the fellow. Supervised psychotherapy experience is available per interest of the fellow.
Didactic experiences include individual and group case supervision, neuropsychology seminar, journal clubs, case conference, mock fact finds, Psychiatry Grand Rounds, Neurology Grand Rounds, epilepsy journal club and supervision of clinical psychology graduate students. There are also optional didactics available in classroom teaching to psychiatry residents, and neuroanatomy brain cutting course (when available).
Research experiences include reviewing empirical literature, managing clinical databases, coordinating administrative activities related to research, performing statistical analyses, preparing/submitting results for presentation/publication, and supervised/collaborative grant writing. Fellow-initiated investigations can be achieved with retrospective data from our Neuropsychology Clinical Research Database. More ambitious and collaborative investigations may be facilitated with help from Saint Louis University's AHEAD Institute.
Program Goals
At the completion of the program, the fellow will have achieved proficient level of skills and knowledge in the following specific competencies for the practice of clinical neuropsychology as recently proposed and outlined by Smith and CNS (2018) and Heffelfinger et al. (2020).
- Integration of Science and Practice
- Ethical and Legal Standards/Policy
- Individual and Cultural Diversity
- Professional Identity and Relationships/Self-Reflective Practice
- Interdisciplinary Systems/Consultation
- Assessment
- Intervention
- Research
- Teaching/Supervision/Mentoring
- Management/Administration
Upon program completion, the fellow will also have:
- Eligibility for state or provincial licensure or certification for the independent practice of psychology.
- Eligibility for board certification in clinical neuropsychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology.
Application Procedures
We anticipate next recruitment being for the 2024-2026 cycle. Candidates must have completed an APA-accredited doctoral education and training program, as well as an APA-accredited internship program that includes some training in clinical neuropsychology. Please submit the following materials electronically to Phillip Ruppert at phillip.ruppert@slucare.ssmhealth.com.
- Cover letter with statement of goals/interests for training and career
- Curriculum vitae
- Graduate transcript (can be a scanned copy for the application, but an official copy will be required prior to the start of fellowship)
- Three letters of recommendation (at least one from internship training site)
- Two de-identified work samples
- Recent example of research or other scholarly work
Our program participates in the APPCN Match Program. The APPCN match number for our program is 845. We rank all competitive applicants. Applicants are provided feedback about their status in accord with APPCN guidelines.
Salary and Benefits
Regarding salary and benefits, the annual salary is $50,000. There are full health insurance benefits and vacation/sick leave. The fellow will be provided with an office and computer.
References
- Heffelfinger AK, Janecek JK, Johnson A, Miller LE, Nelson A, Pulsipher DT. Competency-based assessment in clinical neuropsychology at the post-doctoral level: Stages, milestones, and benchmarks as proposed by an APPCN work group. Clin Neuropsychol. 2020; 1-17.
- Smith G, CNS. Education and Training in Clinical Neuropsychology: Recent Developments and Documents From the Clinical Neuropsychology Synarchy. Arch Clin Neuropsychol. 2018; 34: 418-431.