Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Clinical Neuropsychology

 

Overview and Application Information

The University of Kansas, School of Medicine at Wichita, Postdoctoral Fellowship in Clinical Neuropsychology is a two-year postdoctoral specialty training program which includes didactic, clinical, and research activities.  The program currently has two full-time postdoctoral positions.

Prior to starting in our program, applicants must have completed all requirements of an APA-approved doctoral program in psychology and a one-year clinical internship.  Applications will also be accepted from individuals who have completed all requirements of a university based, APA-approved program for retraining in clinical or counseling psychology.

Each applicant is asked to submit:

  1. a letter of interest, including career goals 
  2. a completed copy of Our Program’s application form
  3. a curriculum vitae containing background information, academic and field experience
  4. an official transcript of all graduate academic work
  5. if available, a copy of the completed standard APPIC form used when you applied for internship (If you did not complete the APPIC form when you applied for internship, complete part IV of the KUSM-W Application form)
  6. three (3) letters of recommendation, sealed with signature of the writer across the flap
  7. two (2) example neuropsychology reports 

This program participates in the APPCN Match; therefore applicants must register with National Matching Services, Inc. It is recommended that applicants register with National Matching Services by January 9, 2009.

Interviews will be held at the annual meeting of the International Neuropsychological Society in Atlanta, GA by invitation only. If you are unable to attend INS, other arrangements may be made. All application materials for this fellowship must be received by the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita by January 26, 2009.

 

Send all application materials to:

Lyle E. Baade Ph.D. ABPP Cn
Neuropsychology Fellowship Program
Dept. of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
University of Kansas School of Medicine
1010 N Kansas
Wichita Kansas 67214

 

The Setting

The fellowship program is offered through the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences on the University of Kansas School of Medicine, Wichita Campus, located at 1010 N Kansas, Wichita Kansas.  The University of Kansas School of Medicine Wichita is a community based medical school. This means that rather than operating our own hospital we utilize the local hospitals as training sites. These sites currently include Via Christi Medical Center St. Francis campus, Via Christi Medical Center St. Joseph campus and Via Christi Our Lady of Lourdes Rehabilitation Hospital all in Wichita, and Susan B. Allen Memorial Hospital in Eldorado, KS. Outpatient assessment and treatment is carried out through the KUSM-W outpatient clinic. A variety of research projects are ongoing and involve data from most of the clinical settings listed above.

The Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences has 13 full-time faculty members, including two (2) neuropsychologists, three (3) psychologists, and eight (8) psychiatrists. Another 46 faculty members are adjunct to the department, and the supporting staff includes psychometrists, ARNPs and Psychiatric Nurses. Training experiences are offered by departmental faculty and by specialists from other departments within the medical school and within the local hospital systems.

The educational programs within the department include the neuropsychology postdoctoral fellowship, a neuropsychiatric residency, a predoctoral clinical psychology internship (with neuropsychology emphasis), and third and fourth year medical student education.  The fellows receive their supervision from two neuropsychologists, one an ABPP-Cn board certified neuropsychologist. Additional supervision and training experiences are provided by neurologists, an epileptologist, neurosurgeons, psychiatrists, psychologists, pharmacologists, and other medical specialty attendings.  Supervisory opportunities are provided for fellows with neuropsychology interns and junior fellows.

 

Philosophy, Goals & Objectives

A. Philosophy and Goals

The Fellowship provides specialized training in clinical neuropsychological assessment of adults (and some adolescents) including experience in the areas of dementia, epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, neurosurgery and civil litigation. Training also includes didactics in neuropsychology and related disciplines and training and experience in conducting neuropsychological research. We subscribe to the scientist-practitioner model; science provides the backbone for our clinical programs and activities.  Faculty members are involved in research projects that focus within their clinical areas and fellows are offered opportunities to conduct research in several of these areas. Fellows gain experience in neuropsychological assessment in inpatient and outpatient settings including consultation liaison experiences with physicians of various specialties.  Our goal is to prepare fellows for the professional practice of clinical neuropsychology and for board certification in clinical neuropsychology.

C. Goals:

Upon completion of the program, fellows will:

  1. Demonstrate advanced knowledge of etiologic mechanisms and processes in neuropsychology.
  2. Demonstrate advanced skills in neuropsychological assessment primarily with adults.
  3. Demonstrate advanced skills in consultation with various neuropsychological populations sufficient for independent practice.
  4. Demonstrate skills in treatment and rehabilitation with neuropsychology patients sufficient for independent practice.
  5. Demonstrate advanced knowledge of research issues and methodologies in neuropsychology.
  6. Have sufficient training and experience to apply for licensure or certification for independent practice of psychology in most states.  
  7. Have sufficient training and experience to provide the basic preparation needed for application for ABPP/ABCN or ABPN certification.

 

Design of the Fellowship Program

The postdoctoral fellowship in neuropsychology is designed to provide extensive didactic training, extensive clinical neuropsychological assessment training and experience, and extensive clinical neuropsychology research training.  Fellowship activities include both general and specific elements.  Fellows have the opportunity to choose certain clinical and research activities to fit with their goals and interests.  Additionally, fellows work closely with one or more faculty members to develop and execute at least one research project or paper each year. 

Scope of the Fellowship Program

The fellowship program didactics include the following listed by year in the fellowship program.
Year One:

  1. Geriatric/Consultation Liaison Psychiatry Case Conference (weekly)
  2. Wichita Society for Neuroscience case conferences (2x month)
  3. Neuropsychology Case Conference (weekly)
  4. Neuropsychology Research Conference (2x month)
  5. Grand Rounds for the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (2x Month)
  6. Neurology lecture series with 3rd year Medical Students (Neurology exam, Coma, Stroke, Sleep disorders, Epilepsy and neuroradiology)
  7. Neurology Lecture Series with Psychiatric Residents
  8. Basic Forensic Issues lecture series
  9. Clerkship in Neurology (2-week full-time clerkship in Neurology). Rotation experiences will be consistent with those of third year medical students on the same rotation.

Year Two:

 

Training Settings

A fellow's primary training setting is the Kansas University School of Medicine at Wichita. Fellows office in this facility and see outpatients there.  The outpatient neuropsychology clinic at KUSM-W provides assessments for patients referred by primary care physicians, neurologists, neurosurgeons, psychiatrists, attorneys, insurance companies, and business concerns. Patients are seen for evaluation to aide in differential diagnosis and treatment planning, for pre- and post-surgical evaluations for epileptic surgery patients, for localization of language and memory in intracarotid amobaritol and awake craniotomy procedures, and for independent neuropsychological examination in workman’s compensation cases and civil lawsuit. Patient populations include neuropsychiatric disorders, known and suspected dementias, stroke, traumatic brain injury, postconcussive syndromes, toxic exposure, chronic pain, pre- and post-surgical evaluations for patients with medically intractable epilepsy, and pre- and post-surgical evaluations for patients undergoing Deep Brain Stimulator implants. Opportunities to learn and administer a wide variety of tests are provided with some testing done by neuropsychological technicians. Neuropsychology fellows focus heavily on the interpretation of test and other data and on report writing with special emphasis on clarifying the nature of the referral question and tailoring reports to the audience to which it is directed.

A close relationship exists between the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and the Regional Epilepsy Center at Via Christi. Neuropsychology and psychiatry conduct consultations for the majority of epilepsy center patients while admitted to the hospital for Video EEG monitoring. This provides an opportunity to be involved in the differential diagnosis of patients with epileptic and non-epileptic seizure disorders. Some of the patients on the VEEG unit are candidates for surgical treatment of intractable epileptic seizures or for deep brain stimulation implants to control seizures. These patients are seen on an outpatient basis for pre- and post-surgical neurocognitive evaluations, and in the hospital setting for Wada examinations. Neuropsychology is then involved in the neurosurgical conference during which surgical decisions are made. With patients for whom language, motor or other localization of eloquent areas is a concern, neuropsychology is involved in functional mapping during awake surgical procedures.

In the area of geriatric neuropsychology, training is provided in collaboration with geriatric psychiatrists Connie Marsh M.D. and Susan Carr M.D. who head the Senior Behavioral Health unit at the St. Joseph Campus of the Via Christi Medical Center. Neuropsychology is frequently consulted by Dr. Marsh and Dr. Carr to conduct neuropsychological evaluations of geriatric patients hospitalized on the unit. Fellows conduct these evaluations and participate in weekly neuropsychiatry consultation seminars on this unit along with psychiatry residents, residents from other disciplines, medical students and pharmacology students. The seminar is led by Dr. Baade, Dr. Marsh, Dr. Carr and Dr. D’Empaire who is the KUSM-W consultation and liaison psychiatrist and focuses on developing skills for evaluating and treating geriatric adults. Also within the Via Christi hospital system, hospital Attendings from disciplines on medical and skilled nursing units consult neuropsychology for neuropsychological evaluations and answer questions regarding capacity of adult patients. Neuropsychology fellows conduct many of these evaluations.

At Susan B. Allen Memorial Hospital, a general medical hospital in the rural town of El Dorado in Butler County Kansas, Dr. Baade is the consulting neuropsychologist for the geriatric psychiatry unit and sees patients there one day per week.  In the outpatient neuropsychology clinic at KUSM-W, Dr. Baade maintains an active geriatric clinic and fellows are involved in these evaluations. With these geriatric evaluations and with others, both in- and out-patient cases often involve forensic issues of competency and the need for a guardian and/or a conservator and fellows received extensive training and experience in these areas.

 

Postdoctoral Stipends, Benefits, and Support

Stipends for 2009-2010 are $32,000 for 1st year fellows and $34,000 for 2nd year fellows.  Health insurance is available for all positions.  Professional liability insurance is required and is provided.  Fellows receive 22 days of vacation leave accrued at 16 hours per month and sick leave is accrued at 3.7 hours per 80 hours worked. Retirement benefits are available during the second year at the University.