Succeeding on postdoc

Started by NeuroWise
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Get help with your application

Use all the free resources available to you from SDN: articles, guides, expert advising, forums discussions, and school research.

NeuroWise

Full Member
7+ Year Member
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
I am about to begin a neuropsychology postdoc with a 50/50 split of research and clinical training. As I want to excel (not simply survive), I've informally asked current supervisors, the internship training director, and my grad school mentor which habits/characteristics/things, in their opinion, help a postdoc succeed. I also pose the same question to the forum: what can I do to excel on postdoc? Or what are the characteristics of successful postdocs you have trained/associated with?
 
How do you operationalize "excelling" at postdoc? Positive opinions from your supervisors? Most neuro reports written in a week? Compliments from the clients?
 
Organization!!

I set aside a chunk of time within my first month to update my interview forms, create Excel spreadsheets (patient info, checkboxes for whether I submitted my report, was waiting for feedback, when I uploaded it into Epic, who & when reports were routed, etc), etc. This immensely helped with things down the line - I don't feel frazzled when I've got a million things to do b/c I know exactly what needs to be done (or which stages of editing my reports are in).

I also find that trying to write the background info same day (while waiting on data from the psychometrists - which can take a few days here) can expedite reports.

I sat down with my new supervisors individually and discussed how I had been trained and what I was hoping to get out postdoc. I have one supervisor who continues to look back at that and pushes me to work on those goals (e.g., not relying on an interview form, shorter / more concise reports, etc). So I encourage you to be open / up front about your weaknesses and goals for what you hope to get out of fellowship. I'm at a clinical site for neuro postdoc. I have a strong research background (which they knew coming in) and I expressed my desire to write a grant while on fellowship. They have supported with in this endeavor, but I had to let them know this was goal upfront (and that I wanted to save 1 day for research per week) in addition to my clinical goals.

Good luck!