Neuropsyc programs?

[amanda09]

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Hi,

I was wondering if anyone can explain to me how you go about becoming a neuropsychologist? I didn't really find any degrees in neuropsyc, so do you just have to get your phd in clinical psychology and do post-doc work in the neuropsyc field?

Thank you

 

[orthogonal]

This is the general progression for how to become a neuropsychologist:

1) As you mentioned above, you'd want get your Ph.D. in clinical psychology. Some Ph.D. programs offer a concentration/track/specialization in neuropsychology and offer neuropsych coursework and neuropsychology practicum experiences. This is very helpful for when you apply for internship. My program did not have a track but I obtained several practicum experiences in neuro as well as pursued coursework through other departments.

2) Apply for a pre-doctoral internship that has a neuropsychology track. Typically, 50% neuropsych is preferred in order to make you more competitive for neuro postdocs. Several friends of mine have done internships with only 1 rotation in neuropsychology and still matched to a neuropsych fellowship - so it can be done.

3) Apply to a 2-year neuropsychology fellowship. If you are interested in board certification in neuropsychology, then there are some additional points of consideration in the fellowship you choose (such as having a board certified neuropsychologist on site).

There are other non-traditional pathways to becoming a neuropsychologist such as respecialization with a degree other than clinical psych but I leave that for others to comment on because I'm not familiar enough to write about it here.

Also, here is a link for neuropsych programs at the graduate, internship, and postdoctoral level:

http://div40.org/training/

 

[socialcog]

Thanks orthogonal for laying that out.

If you are aiming for a career as a scientist (academia or research), how important is it to publish during your internship and post-doc?

How much research, if any, do pre-doc interns do?

What are the best ways to be competitive when applying for those research based post-docs?

Thanks for any feedback (JonSnow) you can give. 😉

 

[rainedallnight]

Queens College (CUNY) has a neuropsychology program with a clinical track (ie rather than being a clinical psych program with a neuropsych track) -- they provide more intensive coursework in neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, psychopharmacology, &c &c than most other programs. They are the only program I know of that operates on this model. Unfortunately they aren't APA accredited, but they are making changes to their program to accommodate APA requirements and hope to be in the next few years.

http://www.qcneuropsychology.org/

 

[knowing]

I think publishing is helpful at all stages. At the internship level, going to an internship site that is a name brand in academia, even if you don't publish anything, or work on research, is probably a good idea. The internship year is traditionally 99% clinical. Some sites offer a research rotation or protected research time. These are potentially good avenues for an academically minded clinical psychologist. At the postdoc level, you'll need to expand your involvement in research. One avenue is to find partial funding through a research lab. For board eligibility, you'll need to do 2 years of clinical work at about a ~50% clip. Many of the APPCN cites are 80/20 (clinical/research). This won't kill you, academically, but you might have to do some additional dues paying afterwards to establish research credentials if you haven't already done so. In my opinion, going through a research lab that is affiliated with an APPCN site makes a lot of sense because if can give you a bit more favorable research to clinical ratio and you can still get top notch clinical experience/training that is consistent with division 40 guidelines.

The best ways to be competitive for postdocs are:

- publish

- publish with well known researchers

- publish in good journals

- have grant experience

- have research experience relevant to whatever lab you are applying to

- work with well known clinicians (to the site you're considering) - e.g., doing an internship at an APPCN postdoc site.

- attend a highly regarded graduate program

- sell yourself well. . . e.g., if your research is not an exact fit, sell how you can provide something unique

I was reading your thread and wondered how helpful is it to attend neuro conferences? I am still an undergrad and was questioning this under my own thread hindsight and advice. I am worried about being pushy with the asking but also want to have the experience to put on my C.V. Thank You

 

[socialcog]

I think publishing is helpful at all stages. At the internship level, going to an internship site that is a name brand in academia, even if you don't publish anything, or work on research, is probably a good idea. The internship year is traditionally 99% clinical. Some sites offer a research rotation or protected research time. These are potentially good avenues for an academically minded clinical psychologist. At the postdoc level, you'll need to expand your involvement in research. One avenue is to find partial funding through a research lab. For board eligibility, you'll need to do 2 years of clinical work at about a ~50% clip. Many of the APPCN cites are 80/20 (clinical/research). This won't kill you, academically, but you might have to do some additional dues paying afterwards to establish research credentials if you haven't already done so. In my opinion, going through a research lab that is affiliated with an APPCN site makes a lot of sense because if can give you a bit more favorable research to clinical ratio and you can still get top notch clinical experience/training that is consistent with division 40 guidelines.

The best ways to be competitive for postdocs are:

- publish

- publish with well known researchers

- publish in good journals

- have grant experience

- have research experience relevant to whatever lab you are applying to

- work with well known clinicians (to the site you're considering) - e.g., doing an internship at an APPCN postdoc site.

- attend a highly regarded graduate program

- sell yourself well. . . e.g., if your research is not an exact fit, sell how you can provide something unique

Thank you so much for that. Sadly, I will be attending a graduate program that is not highly regarded but must for logistical reasons. While I have some reservations about this, it is my hope to work hard in these other areas you've mentioned to offset that likely blemish in my overall future candidacy for spots. (ie: my work will speak for itself and won't be overshadowed by the program I've attended.)

Thank you again.