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The UMass Memorial Medical Center postdoctoral fellowship in neuropsychology is a two-year program focused on building skills for competent practice as a clinical neuropsychologist. Fellows are recruited yearly for a two-year position, with two fellows present in junior and senior positions. The primary focus will be on clinical training, although academic and some research training opportunities are also available. The program is designed to meet Houston Conference guidelines for subsequent board certification in clinical neuropsychology.
After an initial orientation period, the fellow progresses to five clinic slots per week engaged in outpatient neuropsychological assessment. A unique component of this fellowship is the opportunity to gain experience with both adult and pediatric cases. The initial focus is on adult assessment (three to four slots), though experience in child assessment (ages six and older) also begins immediately (one to two slots). The balance of adult/child assessment experiences is negotiable over the course of the two-year program, though some level of experience with each continues throughout.
Patient populations
Our patient population is broad given our location in a general medical setting with a Level One Trauma Center (adult and pediatric). Common referral diagnoses include:
- Dementing illnesses
- Epilepsy
- Traumatic brain injury
- Cerebrovascular disease
- Multiple sclerosis
- Brain neoplasms
- Chemotherapy treatment effects
- Psychiatric illness
- Pervasive development disorders
- Learning disorders
- ADHD
- Genetic syndromes
Supervision
The fellow is formally supervised by our three staff neuropsychologists: Brian Dessureau, PhD and Jill Damon-Minow, PsyD, for adult and pediatric cases, and Joan Swearer, PhD, ABPP/CN for adult cases. The fellow meets weekly with each supervisor to discuss ongoing cases and clinical issues, as well as on an as-needed basis. The amount of supervision meets and typically exceeds American Psychological Association and state licensure requirements.
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