Neuropsychology Post-Doctoral Fellowship

The program covers a period of two years and consists of clinical, research and educational activities. Approximately 60 percent of the fellows’ time is devoted to clinical service and supervision, 20-30 percent to educational activities and 10-20 percent to research activity. The training program is designed to offer all fellows a strong basis in general pediatric neuropsychology competencies and provides a breadth of experiences and training. Fellows are also provided the opportunity to gain experiences in a specialty area of emphasis that fits with the fellows’ interests and training goals. Fellows with work with the training director to develop an individualized training plan that can include additional focused experiences in the areas of concussion/TBI, inpatient neuropsychological services, epilepsy/epilepsy surgery, hematology/oncology, or other tailored areas of emphasis.

The clinical training component of the pediatric neuropsychology fellowship at Nationwide Children's Hospital is structured around three core areas of neuropsychological evaluation, neuropsychological consultation and neuropsychological intervention. Experiences are obtained in each of these three core areas across both years of the fellowship.

Outpatient Neuropsychological Evaluations

All fellows will participate in outpatient neuropsychological evaluations across both training years. This involves completing comprehensive evaluations of pediatric populations with central nervous system illness or injury. Referral diagnoses include Epilepsy, Traumatic Brain Injury, Brain Tumor, Leukemia, Genetic Disorders, Congenital Disorders, Prematurity, Craniofacial Disorders and other Neurological Disorders. All fellows will complete one “full-day” neuropsychological evaluation per week (comprehensive evaluations for school age children though young adults). Fellows will also complete “half-day” targeted neuropsychological evaluations including pre-school age, concussion, or follow-ups from acute hospital admission (e.g. after acute insult or new onset neurologic condition).

Inpatient Experience

All fellows will complete one six-month rotation that includes experiences with inpatient neuropsychological assessment. Fellows will also have the opportunity to choose to complete an additional 6-month inpatient rotation, depending on their specific training goals and identified area of emphasis. During the inpatient rotation, fellows will provide inpatient neuropsychological consultation and assessment on the CARF-accredited inpatient rehabilitation unit. Neuropsychological services will also be conducted on other inpatient units across the hospital (e.g. pre-transplant, oncology, neurology units, etc.). Inpatient assessment experiences include assessing orientation and level of consciousness, monitoring of cognitive recovery, and conducting targeted neuropsychological evaluations. Fellows also participate in school re-entry meetings and closely collaborate with the multi-disciplinary rehab team.

On the Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit, fellows will also provide education to parents of children with traumatic brain injuries using the BRAIN Program (Brain Injury Recovery and Assessment Information sessions with Neuropsychology). The BRAIN Program is flexible and module-based and provides brain injury education to caregivers. This also provides an avenue for caregivers to ask questions about brain injury and their child’s recovery. BRAIN includes modules on the child’s brain injury with information that is specific to their unique injury, the recovery process and preparation for long-term outcomes. The program is semi-structured and fellows work with the neuropsychologist on the unit to tailor the modules to each individual patient.

Epilepsy Surgery

All fellows will complete one six-month rotation that includes conducting pre- and post-epilepsy surgery evaluations (typically one every other week during this rotation). Fellows will attend the weekly multi-disciplinary epilepsy surgery conference and present cases they have seen. They will have the opportunity to be involved in functional mapping procedures as needed. Fellows will have the opportunity to elect to gain additional experiences in this area, depending on their chosen area of training emphasis.

Multidisciplinary Medical Clinics

Fellows will provide consultation and brief assessment in a variety of multidisciplinary medical clinics. Fellows typically attend 2 half-day medical clinics per week. Each year, fellows will rank order their clinic preferences and will be assigned specific clinic schedules depending on their interests and availability. Clinic options include epilepsy clinic, myelomeningocele clinic, stroke clinic, acute concussion clinic, complex concussion clinic, neuroimmune clinic, and craniofacial clinic. Options may vary year to year and additional options may be developed based on a fellow’s interest.

Neuropsychological Intervention

All fellows will provide neuropsychological intervention services through the Teen Online Problem Solving (TOPS) Program. This is a family problem-solving intervention targeted for teens with brain injury and other neurologic conditions (e.g. epilepsy, myelomeningocele, stroke, etc.). As part of this program, families will participate in weekly therapist-guided treatment sessions which can be conducted via telehealth or in-person. The TOPS Program provides information about the effects of childhood brain conditions and training in problem-solving and communication skills to help families cope more effectively. Fellows will typically carry a caseload of 1-3 TOPS treatment cases at a time.

Area of Emphasis

Fellows are also provided the opportunity to gain experiences in specialty areas of emphasis that fit with their interests and training goals. Fellows with work with the training director to develop an individualized plan based on availability and training goals. Examples may include:

• Concussion/TBI: Fellows with a defined specialty interest in TBI and Concussion will conduct targeted outpatient neuropsychological evaluations with patients with concussion and traumatic brain injury. They will provide assessment and consultation in our multi-disciplinary acute and complex concussion clinics (CCC). The CCC is a multi-disciplinary clinic for patients with persistent post-concussion symptoms and includes providers from neuropsychology, neurology, physical therapy, and athletic training. Fellows will also provide neuropsychological intervention services in the Concussion Symptom Treatment and Education Program (C-STEP). This program is designed to be a short-term treatment program to target concussion symptoms and related stressors. Treatment may include activity scheduling, cognitive behavioral therapy, development of stress coping skills, pain management strategies, relaxation training, biofeedback and education about concussion symptoms and stress.
• Inpatient Neuropsychology: Fellows who are interested in a focus on inpatient neuropsychology services will have the opportunity to elect to complete an additional 6-month inpatient rotation. This will allow them to increase their independence and obtain more in-depth training in the inpatient setting. In their second year they will also have the opportunity to provide vertical supervision to interns or 1st year fellows rotating on the inpatient unit.
• Epilepsy/Epilepsy Surgery: Fellows who are interested in a focus on epilepsy will have the opportunity for additional assessment and clinic experiences in this area. Fellows can choose to complete an additional 6- month rotation conducting pre- and post-epilepsy surgery evaluations. They can also opt to complete additional time in our multi-disciplinary epilepsy clinic, which involves providing brief consultation services during the epilepsy clinic medical visit. Other experiences include working with our child development center psychology faculty conducting developmental evaluations for children with epilepsy and co-morbid autism and/or intellectual disabilities.
• Hematology/Oncology: Fellows with an interest in hematology/oncology populations will have the opportunity to conduct a 6-month rotation that includes a higher volume of outpatient cases with brain tumor, other cancers, and sickle cell disease. They will have the opportunity to participate in medical team meetings (e.g. tumor board) and may participate in multi-disciplinary medical clinics depending on availability.
• Other: There may be opportunities to develop additional areas of emphasis during fellowship training, depending on interest and availability of experiences. Example may include neuroimmunology, premature birth, craniofacial conditions/22q deletion syndrome, etc.

Sample Schedules

(specific experiences will vary depending on individualized training plan)

Fellow Year 1

Fellow Year 2

Fellows are expected to have taken formal courses in research methods and statistics and to have completed an empirical dissertation during their graduate training. Neuropsychology fellows will complete a research or quality improvement (QI) project as part of their fellowship. Fellows will form a research mentoring team that includes at least one of the neuropsychology training faculty as well as at least one additional faculty member from the Abigail Wexner Research Institute or a collaborating medical team. Fellows can choose to complete an original data collection project, utilize an existing data base or collaborate on a quality improvement initiative. Fellows typically complete a project proposal by spring of their first year and aim to have their final product submitted by spring of their second year. Research project products can include abstract submission for poster/platform presentation, submission of a peer-reviewed paper, giving a national-level presentation or completing other scholarly work as determined by the research mentoring team. The department will provide some financial support for attendance at professional meetings. Fellows will participate in a monthly neuropsychology research and professional practice meeting.

Didactic experiences in the postdoctoral training program are both formal and informal. Formal activities include:  

• Neuropsychology seminar, weekly (focused on board-preparation for ABPP examination)
• Neuropsychology Case Conference, every other week
• Epilepsy Surgery Rounds, weekly (fellows present when they are seeing epilepsy surgery cases)
• Neuroradiology Rounds, every other week
• Neuropsychology research meeting, monthly
• Neuropsychology Issues in Professional Practice, monthly
• Neuropsychology Topics in Culture, Diversity and Individual Differences, every other week
• Psychology Fellowship seminar, monthly (includes fellows across psychology fellowship tracks)
• Various hospital-wide opportunities including grand rounds and research seminar series

Fellows also will be expected to complete readings in clinical neuropsychology, especially as they pertain to pediatric populations. Readings will be chosen for each fellow in consultation with neuropsychology faculty. Additional didactic and experiential activities will be designed to meet the criteria set forth by the Houston Conference, as stipulated by APPCN. Finally, the fellow also takes part in the clinical teaching duties of the Psychology Division as appropriate. During the second year of the training program, fellows may provide vertical supervision of first-year postdoctoral neuropsychology fellows, predoctoral psychology interns or graduate student externs.

The postdoctoral training program is directed by Kelly McNally, PhD, ABPP.

Supervisory faculty in the Pediatric Neuropsychology Program also include:

• Doug Bodin, PhD, ABPP
• Jennifer Cass, PhD, ABPP
• Christine Koterba, PhD, ABPP
• Ari Rabkin, PhD
• Camille Wilson, PhD, ABPP
• Jamie Quattlebaum, PhD

Neuropsychologists in the Center for Biobehavioral Health may also be involved in supervision, didactics and research project mentorship. Current faculty include:

• H. Gerry Taylor, PhD, ABPP
• Kristen Hoskinson, PhD

Dr. McNally is responsible for all the activities of the fellows. She will conduct annual evaluations of the fellows’ progress, in conjunction with the neuropsychology faculty and fellowship preceptors. Continuation beyond the first year of the fellowship is determined by the Pediatric Neuropsychology Program faculty. The fellowship shall ordinarily continue into a second year, although the final decision shall depend on each fellow’s progress and accomplishments during the first eight months.

Learn More About Our Faculty

Neuropsychology fellows receive a salary of $64,058 in year one and $65,979 in year two, as well as the Nationwide Children's Hospital employee benefit package, which includes health, dental and vision insurance. Professional liability coverage is provided by the hospital. Residents receive 15 days of paid time off, as well as six regular holidays. Five additional days are allocated for attendance at professional conferences and job interviews.

Incoming fellows are entitled to limited reimbursement for moving expenses (up to $1500). OSU appointment entitles fellows to faculty privileges at OSU facilities, which includes athletic facilities, golf course and discount passes for OSU cultural events. A limited amount of financial support for attendance at professional conferences is available (up to $1,000).

Entry criteria for the program are those set forth by the Houston Conference. Preference is given to graduates of training programs in clinical psychology approved by the American Psychological Association who have also completed predoctoral clinical internships accredited by that organization. Applicants are required to possess the necessary qualifications for appointment as a Fellow in the Department of Pediatrics.

Application and Interviews

The application deadline is December 8, 2024.

Virtual interviews (45-60 min sessions) will be conducted on January 20, 2025 or January 24, 2025.

There will also be an additional optional virtual session to learn more about the program and talk with our current fellows on January 15, 2025 (5-6:30pm EST) or January 17, 2025 (3-4:30 EST).

Applications will be processed using the APPIC Psychology Postdoctoral Application – Centralized Application System (APPA-CAS).

Click here to access the APPA CAS (APPIC Psychology Postdoctoral Application). Complete the basic demographic, education, clinical training information and transcripts required of all applicants for all APPA CAS programs. Then select the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Pediatric Neuropsychology program. APPA CAS allows you to request letters of recommendation electronically which are then uploaded by the letter writer. Note: APPA CAS refers to letters of recommendation as "Evaluations”. The specific requirements for the program are indicated below as well as within the APPA CAS system. More explicit instructions can be found within APPA CAS.

The following application requirements must be included (uploaded) in the APPA CAS in order for your application to be reviewed:

• Letter of interest
• Curriculum vitae
• Graduate transcript
• Copies of two test reports
• Three letters of recommendation

Interviews will be arranged after initial screening of applications. All interviews will be conducted virtually.

The residency program participates in the APPCN match program conducted by National Matching Services, Inc. All applicants to APPCN programs should register for the match; information about registration can be found at this website.

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.

Background Check and Drug Screen

Our patients’ health and safety is in our hands. Upon hire, all new employees at Nationwide Children’s must complete and pass a background check and drug screen. The background check will include reference checking and a criminal background search complete with finger printing. Nationwide Children's follows the Ohio Revised Code to determine whether a felony or misdemeanor conviction or guilty plea is a disqualifying offense for applicants to the Internship in Professional Psychology. For applicants to the Internship in Professional Psychology, Nationwide Children's primarily relies on the background check requirements found in Ohio Revised Code Sections 3701.881, 2151.86, and 109.572 and Ohio Administrative Code Section 5101:2-5-09. 

All job candidates are required to successfully complete a drug screen as a condition of employment. Nationwide Children's is a drug-free workplace, and our 9-panel drug screen tests for:

• Amphetamine/Methamphetamine
• Barbiturates
• Benzodiazepines
• Cannabinoids (including medicinal marijuana)
• Cocaine
• Methadone
• Oxycodone
• Opiates

Further information about the Association of Postdoctoral Programs in Clinical Neuropsychology (APPCN) is available at its website.

Further information about The Ohio State University is available at its website.

Inquiries regarding the pediatric neuropsychology training program should be directed to Kelly.McNally@NationwideChildrens.org.