The Psychology Service at Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital (MFB) offers a postdoctoral residency program in clinical neuropsychology that is affiliated with the Association of Postdoctoral Programs in Clinical Neuropsychology, and is set up to confirm with the Houston Conference guidelines. There are two positions in this training program; one position emphasizes primarily adult services whereas the other one has a pediatric focus. Funding for these positions is provided, in part, by the Campbell Foundation and by the Mary Free Bed Fund. Since April 2004, this residency has been accredited by the American Psychological Association as a postdoctoral program in clinical neuropsychology.

Title 
Postdoctoral Residency in Clinical Neuropsychology.

Term of Appointment 
One-year contract. Option for renewal for a second year contract is routinely considered and implemented (strong preference for candidates willing to pursue a two-year training program).

Entry Criteria

Completion of all requirements for a doctoral degree from a regionally accredited graduate training program in psychology with strong preference for candidates from APA-approved programs who have completed an APA-approved internship.

Demonstration of training in all of the following: clinical psychology, neuropsychology, and research methodology/statistics.

Program Objectives 

Services offered
It is the intention of this program that individuals who complete the residency will be trained to a level of full independent professional competence along the scientist/practitioner model, and that he or she will be prepared sufficiently for the associated board certification process in clinical neuropsychology through the American Board of Professional Psychology. For this purpose, the residency offers training in three areas: clinical, research, and education.

Clinical training will constitute at least 50% of the residency, with experiences including neuropsychological assessment and psychotherapeutic interventions, all of which are offered in a transdisciplinary team format. Services will involve a combination of inpatient and outpatient experiences. Individual supervision will be provided by licensed psychologists (minimum of two hours per week).

Research is an essential component of the residency and will comprise at least 10% of the allotted time. Opportunities to participate in established research protocols, as well as to develop and implement new projects (pending institutional review and approval), will be available. The resident will have access to computer databases and statistical packages for support in these areas. Attendance and presentation at a national-level professional conference is encouraged.

Education is offered for at least 10% of the available time through weekly seminars including Grand Rounds (e.g., prevention, technological advances), Psychology Rounds (e.g., case presentations, peer review), Journal Club (discussion of recent research and literature), professional development Seminar (e.g., ethics, diversity), and neuropathology lab (brain cutting). In addition, the resident will be able to actively observe and/or participate in a wide range of other procedures through in-service training (e.g., driving evaluations, reading of CT/MRI scans). Financial support for continuing education will be available.

Program Objectives

Exit Criteria
At the end of the residency (i.e., after two years), the resident should meet the following criteria:

Clinical 

Resident shall demonstrate competency in all of the following areas:

Neuropsychological evaluation of individuals with actual, suspected, or disputed neurological disorders, with focus on pragmatic recommendations that can be applied in rehabilitation.

Functioning as a member of specialty teams that emphasize a trans-disciplinary approach.

Psychotherapeutic management of individuals with neurobehavioral dysfunction associated with brain impairment and of their families.

Research 

Resident shall accomplish all of the following:

Management of a research project pertaining to psychometric, outcome, or other relevant issues in the assessment and treatment of individuals with neurological dysfunction.

Optional participation in additional collaborative research with Mary Free Bed psychology staff.

Submission of a paper based on this research to a professional meeting and to a professional peer-reviewed journal.

Educational 

Resident shall accomplish all of the following:

 Advanced understanding of brain-behavior relationships.

One presentation during MFB Grand Rounds.

Two presentations during MFB Psychology Rounds.

Three presentations during MFB Journal Club.

Specific Activities 
For the clinical portion, the resident will be responsible for the complete comprehensive evaluation and treatment of patients assigned by the chief psychologist. Constructive collaboration with a transdisciplinary team (including families, when appropriate) is essential. With regard to research, the resident will participate in design formulation, data collection, statistical analysis, interpretation, and manuscript preparation. The chief psychologist will mentor this. If particular educational weaknesses in the resident's knowledge or training are revealed, additional in-service training may be required. This will be determined and facilitated by the chief psychologist.

Specific Responsibilities 
The resident will adhere to all general hospital and departmental standards in all activities. This includes, but is not limited to, maintaining a productivity of an average of 12.5 billable hours per week (with appropriate documentation in a timely manner) and quarterly progress reports regarding the status of research projects. The resident will also perform all services in full accordance with the APA ethical and professional guidelines. Due process and grievance procedures are accessible when needed. It will be the resident's responsibility to secure, within one month of hiring, licensure in the State of Michigan at the limited or full license level.

Evaluation 
Supervision with respect to all duties and activities will be provided by the chief psychologist or another licensed psychologist. The resident will be provided with written evaluations of performance at 3 months, 12 months, 18 months, and 24 months. These will address expertise in clinical skills, research accomplishments, and professional and ethical conduct. Residents may also be evaluated on other aspects of their development and functioning (e.g., emotional, interpersonal) that are deemed essential to professional competence as a clinical neuropsychologist.

Application
All applications should be addressed to the chief psychologist and should include letter of intent, statement of professional goals, official graduate transcript, three letters of recommendation, and three work samples (two neuropsychological evaluations and one treatment case or research paper). Interviews are conducted at the yearly North American INS conference. No financial support is available for on-site interviews, but are granted to interested and highly qualified applicants. Telephone interviews are not an acceptable alternative. This residency program participates in the electronic match system offered by National Matching Services in collaboration with the Association of Postdoctoral Programs in Clinical Neuropsychology.

Contact Information for Correspondence

Jacobus Donders, PhD, ABPP
Mary Free Bed Hospital
235 Wealthy SE
Grand Rapids MI 49503

616.242.9201 (phone)
616.451.9513 (fax)

neuropsychology@maryfreebed.com

Selected Publications by Recent Residents 

Donders, J., & Nesbit-Greene, K. (2004). Predictors of neuropsychological test performance after pediatric traumatic brain injury. Assessment, 11, 275-284. 

Miller, L.J., & Donders, J. (2003). Prediction of educational outcome after pediatric traumatic brain injury, 237-241.

Moore, B.A., & Donders, J. (2004). Predictors of invalid neuropsychological test performance after traumatic brain injury. Brain Injury, 18, 975-984.

Mottram, L., & Donders, J. (2005). Construct validity of the California Verbal Learning Test—Children's Version (CVLT–C) after pediatric traumatic brain injury. Psychological Assessment, 17, 212-217.

Strong, C.A.H., & Donders, J. (2005). Validity of demographically corrected norms for the WAIS–III. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 27, 746-758.