Clinical Neuropsychology

Fellowship Mission

The neuropsychology fellowship offered in the University of Kentucky College of Medicine Department of Neurology is committed to patient care, teaching, and scholarship. The ultimate goal of the fellowship is to prepare fellows for independent, skilled, and ethical practice in the field of clinical neuropsychology. Training corresponds to Houston Conference guidelines and emphasizes both depth and breadth of knowledge in brain-behavior relationships. Continuing commitment to scholarship is fostered through complementary didactic and clinical learning opportunities designed to provide in-depth understanding of functional neuroanatomical correlates in addition to original scholarly activity. Opportunities for research are rich, allowing fellows to prepare manuscripts for submission and to actively participate in local, regional, national, and international conferences and seminars. Finally, fellows are given ample opportunity to develop teaching and supervisory skills with practicum students training the neurology department. 

Program Structure

The neuropsychology fellowship is a two-year program in which the primary emphases are clinical skills and knowledge. Approximately 70 percent of the fellow's time is spent engaging in direct patient care, report writing, and clinical supervision. Fellows are provided with predominantly adult clinical experience, although exposure to intermittent pediatric cases is likely. Approximately 20 percent of the fellow's time is dedicated to didactic learning experiences and the remaining 10 percent is dedicated to research and professional development. Some flexibility is available with regard to the structure of the program to better support the goals and professional growth of individual fellows. Fellows anticipating careers in an academic medical center may tailor their second year to include additional research time. Provision of the second training year is contingent on first-year performance. For more information about the program, please click here to access the Neuropsychology Fellowship Manual.

Training Model

The training approach is largely an apprenticeship model conforming to Houston Conference guidelines, in which the fellow is supervised closely during the first year with increasing autonomy as the fellow gains the skills and knowledge to function independently. Performance feedback is provided on a case-by-case basis in supervision and more formally on a semiannual and annual schedule. 

The fellow's first year is structured to provide breadth of exposure to numerous patient populations and neurological conditions seen through UK Medical Center including neurodegenerative disorders, movement disorders, pre-surgical cases (epilepsy, deep brain stimulation, transplant), dementia differential diagnostics, cerebrovascular disease, traumatic brain injury, and more. The fellow’s second year includes specialization and advanced training with a clinical concentration focused on a particular patient population or populations. The fellow will work closely with supervisors at the end of the first year to individually tailor a second-year training plan befitting the career goals and training needs of the fellow. 

Clinical Experience 

Fellows are offered experience in a variety of medical settings including outpatient and inpatient neurology such as general neurology, epilepsy monitoring, neurosurgery, psychiatry, physical medicine and rehabilitation, sports medicine, trauma surgery, and behavioral sciences.  Fellows may have the opportunity to observe and/or take part in ISAP/Wada procedures, brain mapping and intracranial grid placement, and medicolegal capacity evaluations if scheduled, in addition to numerous other specialty areas and procedures. Particularly during second year, the fellow may elect to participate in multidisciplinary team meetings associated with their specialty population.

Clinical Expectations:  Fellows are typically scheduled three to four patients per week and are responsible for every aspect of the evaluation, including interviewing, testing and scoring, interpretation, and report writing.  Each evaluation requires approximately 4 to 5 hours of interviewing and testing.  

Clinical Supervision:  Supervision is provided weekly for case discussion and professional needs.  Additional opportunities for supervision are ample, with frequent supervisory contact during clinic operations.  In addition, formal supervision is provided for quarterly and annual feedback and goal-setting throughout the fellowship. 

Scholarship

Research:  Neuropsychology faculty members are extensively involved in many areas of research. Fellows are also expected to participate in research during their training. Many opportunities in a variety of topic areas are available, including (but not limited to) dementia, stroke, epilepsy, movement and neuromuscular disorders, and brain injury. Fellows may have the opportunity to participate in secondary analyses of large data sets or design their own study and pursue grant funding to support that project. There is also a wealth of clinical data available that could be utilized for a number of original analyses. Past fellows' research endeavors typically resulted in 2 to 5 publications by the end of their two-year residency. Such opportunities exist with collaboration with Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center, UK Multidisciplinary Concussion Program,  and the UK Stroke Affiliate Network.   

Didactics: Formal and informal clinical didactics are available throughout the training years. Clinical-translational and bench-based neuroscience didactics are also strongly encouraged. Based on individual interests and training needs, fellows are expected to choose didactics to attend regularly within the neurosciences and related departments, including (but not limited to): 

Salary and Benefits

This position will be employed under the postdoctoral scholar designation identified by University of Kentucky's Human Resources guidelines. Health insurance along with other benefits will correspond to this designation. Salary is competitive with similar training sites and will be comparable to the application year's NIH postdoctoral fellow stipend rates.  

Eligibility

The applicant must be trained from an APA-accredited clinical doctoral program and predoctoral internship. Dissertation must be completed. The applicant also must be eligible for temporary licensure in the Commonwealth of Kentucky by the time fellowship begins. More details are available through the Kentucky Board of Examiners of Psychology website.