Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation

University of Utah School of Medicine

Division of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation

Neuropsychology Postdoctoral Fellowship

Program Description

Mission and Goals

The postdoctoral fellowship in clinical neuropsychology in the Division of Physical

Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Utah School of Medicine is a

two-year fellowship offering the specialized training necessary for independent

practice as a board-eligible neuropsychologist with sub-specialized

competency in evaluating and treating rehabilitation patients.

The clinical and educational experiences of the fellowship are modeled after

guidelines identified by the Houston Conference on Specialty Education and

Training in Clinical Neuropsychology. In addition to clinical training, the

fellowship also fosters engagement in research relevant to clinical outcomes

and enhanced patient care.

Program Administrative Structure

The clinical neuropsychology postdoctoral fellowship is offered by the

neuropsychology service in physical medicine and rehabilitation. Primary

training opportunities will occur with the two neuropsychologists in physical

medicine and rehabilitation. Minor rotations are available in other SOM areas

including the Departments of Neurology, Pediatrics, and Psychiatry as well as in

the Department of Psychology at the University of Utah.

Setting and Training Facilities

The primary training location is the outpatient physical medicine and

rehabilitation clinic located in the rehabilitation center of the University of Utah

Hospital, which is a 528-bed level 1 trauma center serving a multistate

catchment area. Additional locations include the inpatient rehabilitation unit

and the outpatient rehabilitation therapy clinic in which a neuropsychologist is

collocated with other medical and rehabilitation therapy (i.e., occupational,

physical, and speech therapy) providers.

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The neuropsychology fellow will have office and testing space including testing

equipment, computers, and other supplies. The neuropsychology fellow will

have access to library and other campus facilities at the University of Utah.

Links for more information on the clinical and academic setting:

University of Utah Hospital

- www.healthcare.utah.edu/hospital/

Division of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation

- www.medicine.utah.edu/pmr/

Rehabilitation Clinic in Sugarhouse

- www.healthcare.utah.edu/rehab/sugarhouse-clinic/

University of Utah

- www.utah.edu/

Client Population Served

The clinic setting within physical medicine and rehabilitation provides ample

opportunity for conducting outpatient and inpatient neuropsychological

evaluation and intervention in cases involving traumatic brain injury, stroke,

spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, and other neurologic disorders.

Referrals outside of physical medicine and rehabilitation allow for breadth in

presenting complaints with evaluations addressing questions related to attention

problems, dementia, and psychiatric versus neurologic differential diagnosis.

University of Utah Health serves a large catchment area covering Utah and

portions of Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Wyoming.

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Training Activities

This postdoctoral fellowship follows guidelines outlined by the Houston

Conference, APPCN, and ABPP-CN. According to these recommendations, the

core components of postdoctoral training in neuropsychology include:

Length of residency of 2 years

At least 50% of time in provision of clinical neuropsychology services

At least 10% of time in clinical research activities

At least 10% of time in educational activities

Clinical Training

Clinical responsibilities will account for at least 50% of the time during the

neuropsychology fellowship. These duties will include direct patient care (i.e.,

interviewing, test administration, feedback, and psychotherapy), scoring and

interpretation of neuropsychological tests, report writing, consulting with referral

sources, treatment planning, and consulting with other treatment team

members. The neuropsychology fellow will be expected to complete 2-3

neuropsychological evaluations per week that will include focused inpatient

evaluations and comprehensive outpatient evaluations.

Inpatient neuropsychological evaluations are conducted according to

evidence based models for efficiently addressing questions related to

treatment, discharge planning, and various capacities (i.e., decision making,

financial management, etc.). Patients evaluated on an inpatient basis have

sustained stroke, traumatic brain injury, or polytrauma (e.g., traumatic brain and

spinal cord injury), or have demonstrated cognitive and behavioral signs

concerning for a possible neurodegenerative condition underlying the

admitting rehabilitation diagnosis.

Outpatient evaluations are conducted according to a flexible battery

approach designed to quantify cognitive and emotional status efficiently. The

neuropsychology service strives to provide same-day feedback to patients and

families, quick turnaround on reports, and timely contact with referral sources.

Referrals from within physical medicine and rehabilitation comprise the majority

of cases with common presenting diagnoses including traumatic brain injury

and concussion, stroke and other cerebrovascular events (e.g., aneurysm),

polytrauma, central nervous system tumors, and multiple sclerosis. In addition, a

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substantial number of cases are seen in which the referral question involves

differential diagnosis of neurologic (i.e., epilepsy or brain injury) versus psychiatric

contributions (i.e., somatic or functional neurologic symptom disorders) to

neurobehavioral dysfunction.

Outside referral sources include primary care, neurology, neurosurgery, and

psychiatry. Cases from outside referrals often present with the aforementioned

diagnoses but also afford opportunities for evaluations addressing attention

disorders, mild cognitive impairment, dementia, and movement disorders.

Additional evaluations are conducted in a medicolegal context including

clinical cases involving workers compensation, disability claims, and/or litigation

as well as independent neuropsychological evaluations conducted in

consultation to attorneys, insurance companies, and the Utah Labor

Commission.

Neuropsychological intervention is an important component of the fellowship. In

addition to timely provision of feedback to patients and their families, which is

considered an interventional aspect of neuropsychological evaluation, residents

will be expected to carry an intervention caseload of 1 to 3 patients. These

intervention cases might involve behavior modification, solution-focused

psychotherapy targeting issues common in rehabilitation patients, family

intervention, and cognitive remediation.

Research and Scholarly Work

The neuropsychology fellow will have a minimum of 10% time dedicated to

research activity. The resident will be encouraged to use existing local clinical

datasets for developing relevant project ideas feasible for completion during

the two-year program. During the first year of the fellowship, the fellow will be

expected to submit an abstract for presentation at a national conference. By

the end of the fellowship, the fellow will be expected to submit a manuscript for

publication based on research initiated during the program.

Research support for the neuropsychology fellowship includes the fellowship

administrative liaison and part-time research assistants. Additional resources in

physical medication and rehabilitation include several full time research staff

members and research faculty. Research design and statistical consultation is

available through the University of Utah Study Design and Biostatistics Center.

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Research interests among the primary neuropsychology faculty include

performance and symptom validity, evaluation and treatment of concussion in

athletes, prediction of functional outcomes after stroke, and practical

effectiveness of neuropsychological evaluation (i.e., cost effectiveness, health

related quality of life). Collaborating faculty and colleagues are engaged in a

wide range of research activities. If a resident identifies a strong interest in

working with one or more of these individuals, the core faculty will facilitate a

relationship with the primary investigator or research team.

Educational Experiences and Didactics

The neuropsychology fellow will engage in a variety of didactic

and other educational experiences including neuropsychology

didactics by core and collaborating faculty; neuropsychology

case conferences; physical medicine and rehabilitation

resident didactics as relevant; other psychology fellowship

didactics as relevant; grand rounds in physical medicine and

rehabilitation, neurology, psychiatry, and other departments.

These educational activities will account for at least 10% of

weekly time during the two-year program.

Neuropsychology didactics will occur on a weekly or biweekly basis and will

involve required readings and presentations by core and collaborating faculty

on topics fundamental to the attainment of specialized competency in

neuropsychology. Didactic topics include:

Neuroanatomy, neuropathology, and neuroimaging

Psychopharmacology

Neurobehavioral syndromes

Neuropsychological profiles of neurologic disorders

Neuropsychological profiles of non-neurologic disorders with

neurobehavioral sequelae

Neuropsychological evaluation in a rehabilitation setting

Neuropsychological test selection and battery development

Neuropsychological intervention

Neuropsychological research methods

Ethics

Forensic consultation

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Cultural and diversity issues

Professional development

Practice development

Neuropsychology case conferences are offered through the Department of

Psychology and the Department of Psychiatry on quarterly and monthly basis,

respectively. These conferences involve presentations of clinical cases or

clinically relevant topics by neuropsychologists or neuropsychology graduate

students. Case presentations often use a fact-finding format.

Physical medicine and rehabilitation resident didactics occur on Thursday

mornings (8 a.m. to noon) throughout the academic year. Topics relevant to the

neuropsychology resident might include presentations by attending physicians

on stroke, traumatic brain injury, and spinal cord injury including epidemiologic

and diagnostic issues, pharmacotherapy, and rehabilitation therapies.

Additional psychology postdoctoral fellows in the University of Utah include the

rehabilitation psychology fellowship and several fellowship positions at the Salt

Lake City VA. The didactic schedule for these trainees will occasionally include

topics relevant to the neuropsychology fellow.

Grand rounds are offered in all medical school departments and the

neuropsychology fellow will be encouraged to attend them as the topics are

relevant to neuropsychology. Physical medicine and rehabilitation grand rounds

occur monthly on the first Wednesday of the month at 7 a.m. Neurology grand

rounds occur on Wednesdays at 9 a.m. Neurosurgery grand rounds occur on

Wednesday at 7 a.m. Psychiatry grand rounds occur at 12 p.m. on the first and

third Wednesday of the month.

Supervision

Supervision will include both formal and informal components. Formal

supervision will involve at least two hours of individual, in-person supervision each

week. Informal supervision will occur as needed.

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Additional Clinical and Research Opportunities

Additional clinical and research

opportunities may be available

depending on the interests and

goals of the neuropsychology fellow.

The University of Utah offers a wide

range of potential collaborators and

resources ranging from study design

and statistical consultation to

commercialization and

entrepreneurial resources.

Evaluation Procedures

On entry to the program, the fellow will complete a self-assessment following

Houston Conference guidelines that will be used to identify gaps in training and

educational experience so additional training experiences can be targeted to

any identified areas of weakness.

Neuropsychology fellows will undergo formal evaluation every six months. The

evaluation will use a standardized form covering clinical, research, and

educational activities. Fellows will complete evaluations of the training program

at six-month intervals including a final exit interview prior to graduating from the

fellowship.

Fellows identified as requiring additional assistance will be supported through an

individual program that may include additional one-on-one training and

supervision in areas of identified weakness and/or completion of additional

readings related to areas of identified weakness. Selection, appointment,

dismissal, and grievance procedures will follow University of Utah procedures as

outlined in policy documents relevant to postdoctoral fellows.

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Salary and Benefits

Year 1: $48,804

Year 2: $49,188

Neuropsychology postdoctoral fellows will receive group health insurance and

other benefits through the University of Utah. For a full description of University of

Utah benefits see: http://www.hr.utah.edu/

Neuropsychology postdoctoral fellows will have 15 days of vacation time each

year in addition to national and local holidays. Sick time is accrued at the rate

of 8 hours per month. Educational leave for conferences is available by request.

Conference/educational funds: $2000 annually. In addition, neuropsychology

fellows are eligible to apply for travel assistance funding of up to $500 offered

through the University of Utah Office of Postdoctoral Affairs.

Entry Criteria

Candidates are invited to apply who will have completed an APA-accredited

doctoral program and internship. All degree requirements must be completed

prior to starting fellowship. In addition to the general requirements of accredited

clinical psychology doctoral programs (e.g., psychopathology, interview and

assessment techniques, research methods, statistics, etc.), competitive

applicants will have completed additional graduate coursework and/or other

documented educational experiences in many of the following areas: brain-

behavior relationships, functional neuroanatomy, neurologic disorders, and

psychopharmacology.

The strongest candidates will also have demonstrated clinical training

experiences in neuropsychology at the practicum and internship level.

Preference will be given to applicants who are completing internship at a site

identified as meeting Houston Conference or Division 40 internship training

criteria (i.e., major rotation or combination of minor rotations allowing significant

time devoted to training in neuropsychology as well as neuropsychology

didactic and/or research experiences) with documented report-writing

experience.

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Application Procedures

The program is a member of the Association of Postdoctoral Programs in Clinical

Neuropsychology (APPCN). The program participates in the APPCN match and

adheres to rules and procedures as described on the APPCN and match web

sites. According to match guidelines: “This residency site agrees to abide by the

APPCN policy that no person at this facility will solicit, accept, or use any

ranking-related information from any residency applicant.”

To apply, please submit application materials by January 6, 2020.

Interviews will be conducted at the 2020 annual meeting of the International

Neuropsychological Society (INS) in Denver, both on the pre-conference

interview day, February 4, 2020, and as needed throughout the conference.

Telephone interviews may be conducted on an as-needed basis for individuals

who are unable to attend INS.

Application materials (submit by email or mail):

1. Cover letter outlining your interest in the program and professional goals

2. Curriculum vitae

3. Graduate transcript(s)

4. APPCN Verification of completion of doctorate form

5. Two de-identified neuropsychological reports

6. Three recommendation letters

Contact information for applications and/or questions:

Jeremy J. Davis, Psy.D., ABPP

Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 1R55

30 North, 1900 East

Salt Lake City, UT 84132

Email: jeremy.davis@hsc.utah.edu

Phone: 801-581-2932

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Faculty

Core faculty supervise clinical rotations in physical medicine and rehabilitation.

Collaborating faculty enhance the training opportunities by offering additional

clinical rotations in pediatrics, neurology, and psychiatry, leading didactics, and

providing research mentorship.

Jeremy J. Davis, Psy.D., ABPP. Dr. Davis is an associate professor

clinical in the Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation,

and the Director of the Neuropsychology Fellowship. His clinical

work is focused on neuropsychological evaluation of individuals

with a history of traumatic brain injury, stroke, and other

neurologic disorders.

Summer Rolin, Psy.D. Dr. Rolin is an assistant professor clinical in

the Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and the

Assistant Director of the Neuropsychology Fellowship. She has

developed assessment and intervention clinics focused on

concussion and mild traumatic brain injury with a focus on

athletes.

Katherine Kitchen Andren, Ph.D. Dr. Kitchen Andren is an assistant

professor clinical in the Division of Physical Medicine and

Rehabilitation. She has developed an inpatient assessment

focused practice on the rehabilitation unit, and has outpatient

specialty interests with memory disorders, as well as behavioral

intervention.

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Collaborating Faculty

Gordon Chelune, Ph.D., ABPP. Dr. Chelune is a professor in the

Department of Neurology. He will participate in didactics and

informal discussions about professional development and the

evolution of the field from the perspective of national and

international organizations.

Kevin Duff, Ph.D., ABPP. Dr. Duff is a tenured Professor in the

Department of Neurology. He conducts research in clinical

neuropsychology, aging, and dementia. He is available to

supervise evaluations on patients with a variety of neurological

conditions within the Cognitive Disorders Clinic in the center for

Alzheimer’s Care, Imaging, and Research. He is also more than

happy to discuss research and professional development,

covering a range of topics.

Lindsay Embree, Ph.D. Dr. Embree is an assistant professor clinical

in the Department of Neurology. She is available to supervise

evaluations on patients with a variety of neurological conditions

within the Cognitive Disorders Clinic in the center for Alzheimer’s

Care, Imaging, and Research

Matt Euler, Ph.D. Dr. Euler is an assistant professor in the

Department of Psychology. Opportunities with Dr. Euler include

co-supervision of graduate students, research, and teaching

opportunities.

John Fulton, Ph.D., ABPP. Dr. Fulton is an assistant professor clinical

in the Department of Pediatrics. His clinical interests include

assessment of pediatric patients with acquired brain injuries,

epilepsy, brain tumor, and congenital malformations.

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Scott Langenecker, Ph.D. Dr. Langenecker is a professor in the

Department of Psychiatry. His research and clinical work focuses

on the translational cognitive neuroscience of mood disorders

across the lifespan with a current focus on the late adolescent

translational period in which risk for mood disorders is at a peak.

Shizuko Morimoto, Psy.D. Dr. Morimoto is an associate professor in

the Department of Psychiatry. She is offering a minor rotation in

cognitive remediation and will contribute to relevant didactics.

Lonnie Schneider, Ph.D. Dr. Schneider is a research assistant

professor in the Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

His interests include mitochondrial function, nitric oxide biology,

inflammation and utilization of complex datasets to predict novel

and testable outcomes in the laboratory.

Yana Suchy, Ph.D., ABPP. Dr. Suchy is a professor in the

Department of Psychology. Opportunities with Dr. Suchy include

co-supervision of graduate students, research, and teaching

opportunities.

Rendering of the Craig H. Neilsen Rehabilitation Hospital under construction

at the University of Utah.