Neuropsych Job Questions

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Besides negotiating hard and soft benefits, there also needs to be a consideration for how the job sets you up for the next 3-5 years. Changing jobs is the most common way to attain greater compensation. Year to year increases in most organizations will likely not even meet the adjusted cost of living....especially now w. increased inflation. You need to watch out for yourself because any org will try to pay you the least amount possible, which is why I work for myself and will never go back.
 
Therapist4Chnge said:
Besides negotiating hard and soft benefits, there also needs to be a consideration for how the job sets you up for the next 3-5 years. Changing jobs is the most common way to attain greater compensation. Year to year increases in most organizations will likely not even meet the adjusted cost of living....especially now w. increased inflation. You need to watch out for yourself because any org will try to pay you the least amount possible, which is why I work for myself and will never go back.
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My plan was always to work at a hospital for a bit to get my name and reputation established in the community and then leave and start a private practice, so I think that should work out well in this case because it's an area where I'd like to live long-term and there's a significant need for neuropsychologists.
 
neurotic_cow said:
My plan was always to work at a hospital for a bit to get my name and reputation established in the community and then leave and start a private practice, so I think that should work out well in this case because it's an area where I'd like to live long-term and there's a significant need for neuropsychologists.
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Solid plan. I did this and it worked out well. Learning the ropes before doing it was helpful, but there is still a learning curve. Def helps to have ppl to talk with locally about navigating PP stuff.
 
Alright.. buckle in y’all. I went to the hospital to get my pictures taken for my new job so I met with the practice manager afterwards just to check in since it’s been a few months since I accepted the position. Come to find out they have hired another psychologist who is doing neuropsych despite no training in it AND gave that person the office I was told I would have during my interview. They also made no mention of wanting or planning to hire another psychologist when I interviewed and presented it as though I would be the only other neuropsychologist (there was one there previously). My “office” is now a small storage closet.. literally.. says so on the placard.. and is so narrow I’m not entirely sure I could even have a table in there big enough to do testing with let alone hold meetings with patients and families. There is only one psychometrist and now tech support will be limited if not entirely unavailable, as I’m sure this other new person will be given “seniority” having started a few weeks before me and I may not have tech support at all. Am I being totally unreasonable to be pissed? I played it off like it was not a huge deal when I was there because I was totally just taken off guard by all of it and there were other providers with me so I didn’t want to come across as a jerk, but now that I’ve had time to think about it I’m so upset. I’m also worried that this will now also change what they expect of me and how that might significantly differ from what we had discussed during my interview (e.g., doing primarily outpatient, which is exactly what this new person appears to be doing exclusively), but I guess I’ll find that out soon enough. I don’t start until the 12th.. is this something I should address beforehand? Or just wait until I get there? Obviously I know hospitals can do what they want and hire whoever they want when ever they want and don’t have to inform anyone of that, I’m just disappointed and upset because things seem very different than what my understanding of the job was when I accepted it.
 
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Yeah, that stinks and in my opinion, it's reasonable to be frustrated. In the grand scheme of things, office space isn't a huge issue, but particularly as a graduating fellow, it's something we (or at least I) look forward to and place no small amount of importance on. It's also sad to hear they've hired someone without any neuropsych training to do neuropsych, which can be a bummer for you to have to deal with as a colleague.

It's still possible it may work out fine. I was told I'd have to share an office after initially accepting my first job, which put a big damper on my mood, but it actually ended up working out great and I stuck around there for a while. I don't know if the office situation is worth addressing, and there may not be much or anything you can do about the other psychologist, but you could certainly check in to see if there have been any changes to what you understand to be your job responsibilities, given that there appear to have been "a few changes" elsewhere.
 
AcronymAllergy said:
Yeah, that stinks and in my opinion, it's reasonable to be frustrated. In the grand scheme of things, office space isn't a huge issue, but particularly as a graduating fellow, it's something we (or at least I) look forward to and place no small amount of importance on. It's also sad to hear they've hired someone without any neuropsych training to do neuropsych, which can be a bummer for you to have to deal with as a colleague.

It's still possible it may work out fine. I was told I'd have to share an office after initially accepting my first job, which put a big damper on my mood, but it actually ended up working out great and I stuck around there for a while. I don't know if the office situation is worth addressing, and there may not be much or anything you can do about the other psychologist, but you could certainly check in to see if there have been any changes to what you understand to be your job responsibilities, given that there appear to have been "a few changes" elsewhere.
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Good points! Thanks as always for your sage advice. I just woke up this morning at 2 am in a panic spiral that I’ve made the wrong decision and moved 500 miles and uprooted my family for no reason 😬 ] I know the office thing isn’t the end of the world and that it could be worse. Just frustrating when they say “this will be your office” and then you show up and they’ve given your office to someone else who they didn’t even mention they were going to hire! They’re probably paying that person the same or more than me too, despite not having the qualifications, but that’s just me being petty.

I’ll reach out and see if I can clarify my role given some of the changes and will do my best to go into it with an open mind. Maybe there’s a way I can work this to my advantage? “My office is just too small for me to focus, I need to write reports from home.” 😂
 
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I'd be pissed, like...a lot. The office thing is rude, and I'd definitely bring it up, but you want to make sure that your role and duties are clearly defined. Whether or not you bring up your concerns about the competency of the other person they hired...that's up to you. Personally, I'd say something, but I completely understand if you are just coming out of fellowship if you'd feel hesitant to poke the hornet's nest of a new colleague. I'm also much more confrontational and would rather have things out in the open.

I would probably address the duties and coverage stuff first, then office, and then weigh the pros/cons of saying something about your new colleague practicing outside of their scope. I've seen this before, though thankfully not at any place I've worked (the credentialing group for the hospitals were actually useful for this). In private practice I see it all of the time, unfortunately. It often works in my favor in the legal realm, but having to review clinical reports by hacks....it's frustrating.

If you were to say something, I'd consider framing it from a liability standpoint....sharing your concern about them doing neuropsych. If your boss/director is a generalist and/or not familiar with the training, then sharing the houston guidelines and raising your concern could be one avenue.

Good luck, that sounds like a really frustrating start...but you should be able to navigate it. Hopefully it was just oversight on their part, but definitely speak to them before you start, get it in writing, and don't cave just bc you are a recent grad from fellowship.
 
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I sent an email to the practice manager asking questions about my clinical responsibilities and whatnot. Didn’t get any helpful answers except “we will figure it out.”

The new person is apparently currently doing mostly “general psych” and has started doing “some” neuropsych, and the admin think she can “pick up neuropsych along the way” despite “having no background in neuropsychology”… (their exact words) to which I want to say…. THATS NOT HOW THAT WORKS. I am concerned I’m walking into an unethical hornets nest. I keep trying to convince myself that maybe it won’t be that bad but tbh I’m very anxious about this whole thing. I don’t want to be a pain in the ass but I feel like it’s an ethical obligation for me to say something about the new colleague. It’s just very uncomfy because not only am I the new person but I’m also fresh out of postdoc. So now it’s like… is it my responsibility to supervise this person? None of this is what I signed up for.

The other question I have is if they’re primarily doing therapy with some neuropsych sprinkled in, why do they get the big assessment office? Apparently there are no other clinical areas available for me to do my assessments. I wish I had a picture of it to show y’all. I’m not complaining about having an ugly office, it’s the functionality that’s the problem. My concern is that this office is SO small, I don’t think I can honestly perform the duties of my job. I don’t understand… how am I supposed to see patients in a literal storage closet where it’s barely big enough for a desk? My office on internship was a closet but we saw patients in clinical rooms/offices.

Idk, a lot of this doesn’t sit right with me.
 
neurotic_cow said:
I sent an email to the practice manager asking questions about my clinical responsibilities and whatnot. Didn’t get any helpful answers except “we will figure it out.”

The new person is apparently currently doing mostly “general psych” and has started doing “some” neuropsych, and the admin think she can “pick up neuropsych along the way” despite “having no background in neuropsychology”… (their exact words) to which I want to say…. THATS NOT HOW THAT WORKS. I am concerned I’m walking into an unethical hornets nest. I keep trying to convince myself that maybe it won’t be that bad but tbh I’m very anxious about this whole thing. I don’t want to be a pain in the ass but I feel like it’s an ethical obligation for me to say something about the new colleague. It’s just very uncomfy because not only am I the new person but I’m also fresh out of postdoc. So now it’s like… is it my responsibility to supervise this person? None of this is what I signed up for.

The other question I have is if they’re primarily doing therapy with some neuropsych sprinkled in, why do they get the big assessment office? Apparently there are no other clinical areas available for me to do my assessments. I wish I had a picture of it to show y’all. I’m not complaining about having an ugly office, it’s the functionality that’s the problem. My concern is that this office is SO small, I don’t think I can honestly perform the duties of my job. I don’t understand… how am I supposed to see patients in a literal storage closet where it’s barely big enough for a desk? My office on internship was a closet but we saw patients in clinical rooms/offices.

Idk, a lot of this doesn’t sit right with me.
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I don't think expressing concerns about the idea of "picking up neuropsych along the way" would be unwarranted or inappropriate, although the admin may not be the best person to approach. I mean, would they say a general surgeon could come in and "pick up orthopaedic surgery along the way" without any formal training or supervision in place? And to proactively guard against it, I'd definitely also express if they ask that you wouldn't be comfortable providing informal supervision and training to someone in that context (assuming that's true).

I also think expressing your concerns about the office space from the perspective of having room to test, and the fact that you'll be sitting for folks for 3-4+ hours at a time, is fair.

Edit: I also agree with WisNeuro--it never hurts to keep an eye out for other opportunities nearby.
 
It's hard to say without knowing the person's back story and training, but the "picking it up along the way" could be very problematic. Depends on your local statutes and how they talk about scope of practice. The issue with poor diagnostics with no real understanding of neuropathology is very real. This wouls be something in my state that would be a informal resolution (e.g., talk to person and the site) and if that did not end satisfactorily, may be a formal board complaint.
 
neurotic_cow said:
I’ve actually already found another job in the area and was thinking about applying and learning more about it, just in case things get worse once I actually start.
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Couldn't hurt to at least get the details, you can always decline if things work out where you are.
 
WisNeuro said:
It's hard to say without knowing the person's back story and training, but the "picking it up along the way" could be very problematic. Depends on your local statutes and how they talk about scope of practice. The issue with poor diagnostics with no real understanding of neuropathology is very real. This wouls be something in my state that would be a informal resolution (e.g., talk to person and the site) and if that did not end satisfactorily, may be a formal board complaint.
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This person apparently graduated from my program so I was able to dig up some deets on them. Background is exclusively college counseling. Limited to no assessment experience at all aside from the mandatory courses and training in grad school.
 
neurotic_cow said:
This person apparently graduated from my program so I was able to dig up some deets on them. Background is exclusively college counseling. Limited to no assessment experience at all aside from the mandatory courses and training in grad school.
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If there is no prac experience for neuropsych, this definitely rises to the level of board complaint. That would be the absolute bare minimum, and even that is far from adequate to do this work.
 
WisNeuro said:
Does this hospital have a credential and privileges board? How did this person even get the privileges to do this work? this sounds like a joint commission disaster.
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Yes, they do.. but how good it is seems iffy now. I am assuming they credentialed this person as a general psychologist and just assumed that’s good enough for anything under the realm of psychology? Sketch (and unethical/illegal??) AF. I’m new and don’t know exactly how all this works but something is amiss. This is part of a well known, healthcare system with well developed neuropsych departments elsewhere. I guess I assumed (apparently incorrectly) because of that reputation it would be legit.
 
neurotic_cow said:
Yes, they do.. but how good it is seems iffy now. I am assuming they credentialed this person as a general psychologist and just assumed that’s good enough for anything under the realm of psychology? Sketch (and unethical/illegal??) AF. I’m new and don’t know exactly how all this works but something is amiss. This is part of a well known, healthcare system with well developed neuropsych departments elsewhere. I guess I assumed (apparently incorrectly) because of that reputation it would be legit.
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If this particular hospital in the system has little to no experience with neuropsych in the past, even if the system has strong neuropsych elements elsewhere, it's possible folks where you are have little to no knowledge of what neuropsych is. Which isn't surprising, given that there are plenty of (non-neuro) psychologists who believe anyone who did a rotation in neuropsych on internship is "good enough" to handle neuropsych evals in a pinch. Even where I previously worked, which had multiple neuropsychologists on staff and a strong history of psych/neuropsych, there were psychologists who pushed to be able to handle "neuropsych lite" evaluations. And also had a prior provider performing neuropsych evals who, IMO, had no business doing such (even with other neuropsychologists elsewhere in the system).

It may not be directly illegal in that state law where you are very likely does not recognize neuropsychology as a separate, protected specialty (LA and one other state I always forget are the only two I know of). But it could very well be unethical, given what sounds to be this person's level of training. If they're giving the MoCA or RBANS and then forwarding along for further evaluation, that's one thing. But if they're performing full "neuropsychological" evaluations themselves, that would be much more problematic.
 
AcronymAllergy said:
I don't think expressing concerns about the idea of "picking up neuropsych along the way" would be unwarranted or inappropriate, although the admin may not be the best person to approach. I mean, would they say a general surgeon could come in and "pick up orthopaedic surgery along the way" without any formal training or supervision in place? And to proactively guard against it, I'd definitely also express if they ask that you wouldn't be comfortable providing informal supervision and training to someone in that context (assuming that's true).

I also think expressing your concerns about the office space from the perspective of having room to test, and the fact that you'll be sitting for folks for 3-4+ hours at a time, is fair.

Edit: I also agree with WisNeuro--it never hurts to keep an eye out for other opportunities nearby.
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I mean, I took neuroanatomy in grad school as I am sure @neurotic_cow did. Any chance they would cover your liability to "pick up" a bit of brain surgery. Always seemed like fun and you are a bargain salarywise.
 
Sanman said:
I mean, I took neuroanatomy in grad school as I am sure @neurotic_cow did. Any chance they would cover your liability to "pick up" a bit of brain surgery. Always seemed like fun and you are a bargain salarywise.
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Sure did. Also had a physics class in undergrad so I might also try my hand at nuclear engineering while I’m at it. Gotta mix it up a bit every once in a while.
 
My experience at a hospital was that very few people knew or cared much to know what we did as psychologists. So I don’t know of anyone is going to care too much about scope of practice stuff unless you have something more concrete. How do the referrals get handled and can you make it clear to someone in charge of medical decisions at the hospital understand that you need to be determine what referrals for testing are appropriate for scope of practice since you are a neuropsychologist with a two year residency. Hospital I was at had a physicians board that mediated practice issues like that. The better office will probably go to whoever generates the most revenue. I generated about 20k a month and other psychologists were like half that. Guess who got the office with windows? Also, if the new person is generating a bunch of revenue doing therapy, then they probably won’t need to do much testing anyway and since you specialize in testing, you should be able to outcompete in that arena. Completely agree that you should be looking at other potential options in case this place just doesn’t care about any of it and you need an exit strategy. Keep us posted.
 
Since there aren’t many other jobs in the area I’m in.. I have also been tossing around the idea of starting a private practice but idk how realistic that is honestly. There’s definitely a need in the area for neuropsych but I’m thinking it might be more difficult given that I’m right out of postdoc and have never practiced in this area, so no one has heard of me.
 
neurotic_cow said:
Since there aren’t many other jobs in the area I’m in.. I have also been tossing around the idea of starting a private practice but idk how realistic that is honestly. There’s definitely a need in the area for neuropsych but I’m thinking it might be more difficult given that I’m right out of postdoc and have never practiced in this area, so no one has heard of me.
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If you are going to take insurance, especially Medicare, it will not take very long to build out a full clinical patient load. Just talk to a few primary care offices and some neurology clinics and you'll have more patients than you can see in severl months as soon as they find out they can get their patients in sooner than 6+ months out. Bigger question is do you have the capital to buy a bunch of supplies and weather the slow starting months.
 
neurotic_cow said:
Since there aren’t many other jobs in the area I’m in.. I have also been tossing around the idea of starting a private practice but idk how realistic that is honestly. There’s definitely a need in the area for neuropsych but I’m thinking it might be more difficult given that I’m right out of postdoc and have never practiced in this area, so no one has heard of me.
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You could start laying the groundwork for private practice. Creating a business, business bank account, identifying an office space, getting credentialed with insurance companies, getting supplies. One thing about testing equipment is that it doesn’t seem like to takes to long to get it after you order so don’t necessarily need to have everything up front. @WisNeuro is exactly right that the big challenge will be how to go without income for six months. In some ways, early career can be better situated since you are used to living poor. Also, even though you feel relatively inexperienced as an early career psychologist, I found that feeling went away pretty quickly and that it wasn’t really as much of an issue as I thought. I assume that by this point you have been working with patients in a variety of settings for about six years now. Not exactly a noob and that training experience will be apparent. Also, I don’t know how important contacts in community are. I had very few in my area and people are still finding me fairly easily. Initially I ran into a lot of people saying network, network, network, and I did do some and got a few clients that route, but in general my best networking has been from specific direct referral sources. Those neurologists want someone to do testing for their clients and if they like what you do becuase you answer the phone, get the client in and get the report done quickly and do a good job on top of that, then you’ll get plenty of business. Right now I’m getting referrals from an NP for ADHD evals. Not sure how or why but they keep faxing these people over and a few of them are willing to pay cash.
 
Adding to the above, you could always start building out your private practice while still staying at the hospital for the time being. It will probably take a bit longer that way, but you have the added security of the W-2 position (for better and/or worse).

I personally appreciated being able to work in a hospital/clinic setting during my early-career years, which was helpful for my professional development, but that's just me. Plus, some amount of that could likely be re-created by becoming more involved in things like your state psych association, local young professionals groups, etc.
 
AcronymAllergy said:
Adding to the above, you could always start building out your private practice while still staying at the hospital for the time being. It will probably take a bit longer that way, but you have the added security of the W-2 position (for better and/or worse).

I personally appreciated being able to work in a hospital/clinic setting during my early-career years, which was helpful for my professional development, but that's just me. Plus, some amount of that could likely be re-created by becoming more involved in things like your state psych association, local young professionals groups, etc.
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To add on to this, it can also help you become a known quantity. My main neurologist referral source in private practice is a provider that I worked with in the hospital system I used to be a part of.
 
As I was reading this whole thread, it reminded me of a recent interview I had with a very reputable neuro-rehab hospital that has regularly advertised for a neuropsychologist/rehab psychologist. I remember when I spoke to the director to inquire further, they advised me to apply to both positions if I was interested. They noted the rehab position would emphasize therapy with some neuro testing. With my neuro background, I was both intrigued but skeptical as I knew that most if not all reputable organizations will require the 2-year pos-doc. Despite my strong desire to apply for the neuro position, I did not. The director told me that despite having a strong neuro background outside of the post-doc, I could essentially "acquire" more experiences on the job with their neuropsychologist there who heads up their post-doc. Ethically, I did not feel comfortable with this. I did interview for their rehab psych position but in the end, I declined to move forward with them as things did not sit well with me with the stuff I was hearing about their hiring for neuropsychologists and rehab psychologists. I'd love to do more neuro, and I am unsure how I will go about that in the future, but I don't think hiring someone in a neuro position and then having them acquire more experiences on the job is fair to the patient. That's why have a code of ethics. We have to do better by the people we serve.
 
ohiopsychdoc said:
As I was reading this whole thread, it reminded me of a recent interview I had with a very reputable neuro-rehab hospital that has regularly advertised for a neuropsychologist/rehab psychologist. I remember when I spoke to the director to inquire further, they advised me to apply to both positions if I was interested. They noted the rehab position would emphasize therapy with some neuro testing. With my neuro background, I was both intrigued but skeptical as I knew that most if not all reputable organizations will require the 2-year pos-doc. Despite my strong desire to apply for the neuro position, I did not. The director told me that despite having a strong neuro background outside of the post-doc, I could essentially "acquire" more experiences on the job with their neuropsychologist there who heads up their post-doc. Ethically, I did not feel comfortable with this. I did interview for their rehab psych position but in the end, I declined to move forward with them as things did not sit well with me with the stuff I was hearing about their hiring for neuropsychologists and rehab psychologists. I'd love to do more neuro, and I am unsure how I will go about that in the future, but I don't think hiring someone in a neuro position and then having them acquire more experiences on the job is fair to the patient. That's why have a code of ethics. We have to do better by the people we serve.
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I will say, though, that if anyone can competently pick up the neuro stuff with supervision, it is rehab people who had a decent amount of testing on their own 2-year fellowship. I know that varied quite a bit, but I'd be comfortable hiring some people from rehab to do more general neuropsych testing depending on their background. A general psychologist though, never.
 
WisNeuro said:
I will say, though, that if anyone can competently pick up the neuro stuff with supervision, it is rehab people who had a decent amount of testing on their own 2-year fellowship. I know that varied quite a bit, but I'd be comfortable hiring some people from rehab to do more general neuropsych testing depending on their background. A general psychologist though, never.
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Indeed - but I do not even have a 2-year rehab psych post-doc. They didn't care that I lacked the 2-year post doc and still interviewed me for the rehab psych position.
 
WisNeuro said:
Ah, yeah, that'd be a requirement for me.
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Pragmatically, I understand this sentiment.

Logically, the argument doesn't make sense. At the start of the profession, someone picked this stuff up without supervision. If they were unqualified, then every supervisee and their students are unqualified. Or the predicate is wrong.
 
PsyDr said:
Pragmatically, I understand this sentiment.

Logically, the argument doesn't make sense. At the start of the profession, someone picked this stuff up without supervision. If they were unqualified, then every supervisee and their students are unqualified. Or the predicate is wrong.
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This assumes that the training remained static. Can clinicians without the 2 year postdoc pick this up? Some can. But, from seeing the product of psychologists who later on decided to start doing neuropsych, the vast majority can not. If I'm hiring, I play the better odds.
 
WisNeuro said:
This assumes that the training remained static. Can clinicians without the 2 year postdoc pick this up? Some can. But, from seeing the product of psychologists who later on decided to start doing neuropsych, the vast majority can not. If I'm hiring, I play the better odds.
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Pragmatically I agree.

But the old guys, who should have the same standards applied to them, had it MUCH easier
 
PsyDr said:
Pragmatically I agree.

But the old guys, who should have the same standards applied to them, had it MUCH easier
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I agree, there are still a few around here who took the easy route. They make me a lot of money. They turned into plaintiff shills in their mid to late careers 🙂
 
For me....I have everything else per the Div. 40 guidelines other than the 2 year post-doc (e.g., master's in cognitive neuroscience, neuropsych concentration in my Psy.D., tons of publications and posters in neuro, neuro track internship, quantitative neuro dissertation that was also accepted for publication, several neuro practica). I think that's why that director was okay with my learning other stuff on the job there if I were hired. I still didn't feel comfortable doing so.
 
WisNeuro said:
I will say, though, that if anyone can competently pick up the neuro stuff with supervision, it is rehab people who had a decent amount of testing on their own 2-year fellowship. I know that varied quite a bit, but I'd be comfortable hiring some people from rehab to do more general neuropsych testing depending on their background. A general psychologist though, never.
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Agreed. There can be a range of fellowships for rehab, but the ones w. more testing are definitely a good primer for people who want to do more neuro testing. Definitely want a 2yr one, as I've seen some 1yr rehab fellowships and I'm just not comfortable recommending them bc there just isn't enough time to learn what I think would be sufficient for a rehab fellowship, let alone a heavy testing component.
 
I ended up sending an email to a recruiter at another local hospital to see if they'd be interested in hiring a neuropsych, as they don't have one currently. Not likely to result in anything, but worth a shot in case this current job ends up being a dumpster fire of ethical problems once I actually start (on Monday!). Worst they can say is no, and I'm right back to where I started.
 
neurotic_cow said:
I ended up sending an email to a recruiter at another local hospital to see if they'd be interested in hiring a neuropsych, as they don't have one currently. Not likely to result in anything, but worth a shot in case this current job ends up being a dumpster fire of ethical problems once I actually start (on Monday!). Worst they can say is no, and I'm right back to where I started.
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If you can, I'd talk to the head of the outpatient mental health, they may be a better source. See what they are doing with their neuropsych referrals currently. You'd essentially be building a practice from the ground up there, so you;d be doing a lot of admin work right off the bat.
 
Lol this is like a bad dream.

Today was my second day. I have walked into a literal dumpster fire of unethical practice. Using outdated tests, photocopying test materials/test forms, people performing clinical duties they are not qualified for…
 
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neurotic_cow said:
Lol this is like a bad dream.

Today was my second day. I have walked into a literal dumpster fire of unethical practice. Using outdated tests, photocopying test materials/test forms, people performing clinical duties they are not qualified for….

The other psychologist they hired who took my office (where all the test materials are btw) is doing “neuropsych lite” evaluations for people who are being referred for memory problems “but are too young to actually have any problems because those evaluations are easy” according to the practice manager.. which is problematic in and of itself. I expressed my concerns about this person’s training (lack thereof, which the practice manager explicitly admitted previously) and how that is a liability, unethical, and poor patient care… they didn’t really seem to care. They said that she had done “some testing” at a private practice so that should be adequate. However, I walked into her office to ask about making a list of the test materials (which she won’t let me do) the psychometrist was in there showing her how to convert a raw score to a scaled score and she seemed totally taken aback by that.

They hired me to primarily work with geriatrics and start a memory clinic. However, the old neuropsych has since reportedly started his own memory clinic and has claimed that that is his area of expertise now and so all dementia referrals must go to him first. So they’re now saying instead of outpatient I might just have to do rehab psych. Basically I get whatever the other two don’t want to do. He also uses 30 year old tests and thinks it’s totally fine to make photocopies of test materials and test forms.

They’re saying they gave this other lady my office because they hired her after me and she could start sooner. However, she started in June and has only started seeing patients this week.. same week when I started so they didn’t really gain anything and has been paying her salary in full for 0 work.

I feel like I’m going crazy and I have to keep asking myself if this is real life. Am I blowing this out of proportion? I have a very strong ethical compass and this **** gets under my skin. What would you all do? Stick it out and see if it gets better? Get the heck out of here? Put my head down and mind my own business? I’ve tried expressing concerns but like I said they don’t really seem to care.
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Define outdated tests. The other provider is definitely acting unethically. I've had plenty of people "too young" for dementia with EAOD, CADASIL, etc, which this person is not competent to identify. I won't comment on the photocopy issue, you'll find that is fairly common, ethical or not.

Anyway, I'd definitely be looking for my exit strategy is I were you.
 
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