Adult Neuropsychology Postdoctoral Program

Our program has a particular emphasis on the clinical manifestations of neurological and psychiatric disorders in adults. The Neuropsychology Laboratory of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine is the primary training site providing extensive training opportunities with a diverse patient population. The training program accepts one resident per year, with a strong individualized training. The Resident will have the opportunity to work with all of the core faculty throughout the year and gain experience in both inpatient and outpatient neuropsychological consultation. The program is a member of the Association of Postdoctoral Programs in Clinical Neuropsychology (APPCN) and participates in the match program administered through APPCN.

The outpatient training opportunities are based at the Clinics and Surgery Center (CSC) and inpatient services are provided through the University of Minnesota Hospitals, which is a partnership with MHealth Fairview. We receive referrals from throughout the academic medical center and the community, including the departments of Rehabilitation Medicine, Neurology, Neurosurgery, Psychiatry, Family Medicine, Internal Medicine Transplant Services, and the Cancer Center.

Given the setting in a large urban academic medical center, the program has strengths in assessing neuropsychological syndromes associated with numerous psychiatric and/or neurological disorders. Residents will gain experience with common medical and psychiatric conditions including Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative conditions, Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders, multiple sclerosis, autoimmune disorders, traumatic brain injury, seizure disorders, normal pressure hydrocephalus, brain tumors, other cancers and cancer treatment, vascular disorders, medical conditions, transplant candidacy, psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, depression, ADHD and learning disorders. Residents also have the opportunity to receive training and experience with rarer conditions, such as adrenoleukodystrophy and autoimmune encephalopathies, and atypical parkinsonism including a Center of Excellence for progressive supranuclear palsy. We have extensive involvement in the University of Minnesota Udall Center, which has a focus on deep brain stimulation in Parkinson’s disease. Many inpatient neuropsychological evaluations and consultation experiences are focused on the physical medicine rehabilitation units and cardiac transplant patients.

Advanced training in neuropsychological assessment is at the heart of the postdoctoral fellowship. Residents typically participate in one outpatient evaluation per day and one or two inpatient evaluations per week. Residents typically split their time between testing their own patients and working with psychometrists. The typical outpatient battery is two-to-three hours in length and is determined by the referral question and the condition of the patient while inpatient batteries tend to be brief, focused evaluation of specific issues.

The training philosophy for the Adult Clinical Neuropsychology Postdoctoral Residency is based on the scientist-practitioner model and is consistent with the Houston Conference Guidelines for training in clinical neuropsychology (Hannay, Bieliauskas, Crosson, Hammeke, Hamsher, & Koffler, 1998). Further, consistent with the expectations of the newly established neuropsychology taxonomy (Sperling, et al. 2017), the program has a Major Area of Study in clinical neuropsychology. In other words, the training program is two years of full-time formal training in clinical neuropsychology with appropriate clinical, research, and didactics components. The fellowship is designed to be a capstone training experience that allows the resident to become an independently licensed practitioner who is eligible for board certification after completing training.

Residents are expected to attend proficiency in several areas of competencies critical for success as an early career neuropsychologist and in the board certification process. Residents will be regularly evaluated on their progress in these competency areas and provided both formative and summative feedback. The program will adopt the competencies articulated in the 2022 Minnesota Neuropsychology Update Conference once these are published and endorsed by APPCN. The specific competencies will include both Foundational and Functional Competencies. Residents should expect to be evaluated on these competencies.

Foundational Competencies:

1. Integration of Science and Practice
2. Ethics, Standards, Laws, and Policies
3. Equity, Justice, Cultural Respect, and Inclusion
4. Self-reflection and Self-care
5. Interpersonal Skills

Functional Competencies:

1. Assessment
2. Intervention and Resource Knowledge
3. Interdisciplinary Systems and Consultation
4. Research and Scholarly Activities
5. Teaching, Supervision, and Mentoring
6. Administrative Leadership, Management, and Business
7. Advocacy
8. Technology and Innovation

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Our 3,000 outstanding faculty members are committed to achieving excellence in research, clinical care, and developing the next generation of health professionals. Our Medical School faculty physicians care for patients and oversee the training of residents and medical students in our primary teaching hospitals.

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