Need Neuropsychology Postdoc Advice -- Please

[Psychmeout]

Hello,

I am hoping to hear responses from those who have completed a neuropsychology postdoctoral fellowship, or are in the process of applying for postdocs. I am in the process of this intensely stressful postdoc application period. I say intensely stressful because I realize that this is the "make or break" point of my career as a neuropsychologist. I applied to sites that participate in the match and those that do not participate in the match.

My question is: Are there any neuropsychology postdocs that I should stay away from? I know the ones that participate in the match are generally considered "better" postdocs. But the reality is, not everyone can get matched to an APPCN site. Plus, I did not receive a lot of APPCN interviews so my chances are even lower. Most of my interviews are from places that do not participate in the APPCN match.

I just want to see if there are any red flags that I should be looking for. Most of the non-match sites do adhere to the Houston Conference Guidelines with the exception that some do not have board-certified neuropsychologists as supervisors. I am not sure how much of a problem this would be down the road when I want to get board certified.

Any information would be extremely helpful......Thanks!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[PsyDr]

as long as it adheres to HCG, you should have no problems.

while abcn is currently not enforcing the board certified supervisor requirement, i would be EXTREMELY careful as abcn have demonstrated a tendency to enforce guidelines at will.

 

[Psychmeout]

It isn't always the case that the APPCN postdocs are better. UF, for example has a well respected postdoc program that is not APPCN certified. As far as what to look for. . . resources. Neuroscience, neuropsych. . . And what you're expected to do. Are you allowed to do what you need to do (e.g. take a medical school neuroanatomy course).

It is good to hear that well respected postdocs do not always participate in the match. I suspected this as I saw many impressive programs not on the APPCN list. Most of the non-match places that I am applying to focus heavy on NP assessment and cognitive rehab. I must admit that I am a little disappointed regarding the lack of opportunities for research. However, they do allow for their fellows to take courses that help round out the neuro training.

Ideally, I would love to be in a medical school, but, I am starting to realize that these positions are VERY hard to obtain and they tend to prefer applicants (such as yourself) who have come out of top programs, completed top notch internships, postdocs, etc. Without revealing too much about my background, I will just say that I am not one of these candidates, but, I am very passionate about neuropsychology and I would say that my training experiences have been excellent, but average in respect to reputation.

Just out of curiosity Jon Snow, are you interested, or have you went through the board certification process? If so, what do you see that could be some roadblocks if I come out of a postdoc without a supervisor who is ABCN board certified?

Thanks!

 

[Psychmeout]

as long as it adheres to HCG, you should have no problems.

while abcn is currently not enforcing the board certified supervisor requirement, i would be EXTREMELY careful as abcn have demonstrated a tendency to enforce guidelines at will.

Thank you PSYDR. Yes, it does worry me quite a bit. Part of me feels like completing a 2 year postdoc somewhere (given they meet the current HCG guidelines) is better than not doing one at all. Waiting a year to reapply is always an option, but, I am a little older than most students who are at this stage so waiting a year is not an attractive option for me.

 

[orthogonal]

I have several friends who have gone through the neuro post-doc match and several who did not. From talking with them, it didn't seem as though the sites in the match were better than other postdocs. In fact, most preferred the non-match sites because they were able to discuss their preferences more openly. The most important thing to look for is the same thing you looked for in an internship site...fit. I have a friend who constructed his own post-doc experience with a board-certified neuropsychologist in the community. It allowed him to incorporate all the things he wanted into the experience, including research, child and adult neuro, teaching, and cog rehab. There are a lot of options for you. It seems like there are more and more paths to becoming a neuropsychologist these days so definitely keep that in mind.