The program is administered through the Neuroscience Institute, a merger of the neurology and neurosurgery departments at Nuvance Health. The fellowship program aims to accept one resident per year. In this way, there should be a first year (junior) and second year (senior) resident at all times. These residents join neuropsychology externs and neurology and psychiatry residents. Fellows will have training in adult neuropsychological assessment with a diverse clinical population.

The program is housed within the department of Neurology primarily in the Danbury campus. Fellows can expect to receive referrals from neurology, neurosurgery, geriatrics, psychiatry and primary care, and follow a more generalist model of training. Residents with specific interests can rotate through our Hudson Valley Campus where they will have the opportunity to select more focused rotations in movement disorders/DBS, stroke, and/or epilepsy/neurosurgery. Fellows will have access to a workspace, personal and testing computers, and medical library. Trainees are granted full remote access to our electronic medical record system, neuropsychology shared drives, and email. Case preparation, report-writing and some supervision may be done remotely, should the fellow wish to do so.

We are part of a large, well-established outpatient neurology practice in southwestern Connecticut and Hudson Valley. The main focus of our work is outpatient neuropsychological assessment of adults with neurological disorders. We see a large number of individuals with neurodegenerative conditions, movement disorders, multiple sclerosis, brain tumors, and stroke. We see patients from several multidisciplinary clinics including outpatient neurology, movement disorders, stroke, headache and concussion/TBI clinics. The neuropsychology service also sees individuals with epilepsy and seizure disorders. We perform pre and post-operative assessments for individuals undergoing DBS placement surgery and shunt placement in NPH. Our role is to provide individual assessment, feedback to patients, families, and team members, and cognitive assessment for clinical trials. Additionally, a fellow has the opportunity to see individuals or groups for psychotherapy or psychoeducation groups, though this is not a requirement of the fellowship. After an initial orientation period, the fellow will be responsible for 4-5 clinic slots per week engaged in outpatient neuropsychological assessment. The program focuses primarily on adult assessment, but all patients are viewed with a life-span developmental focus, and there may be some opportunities to see pediatric cases if there is interest on the part of the resident.

An incoming fellow will already have training in assessment, interpretation, report writing, and principles of brain-behavior relationships. Our fellowship is designed to provide the large and varied clinical experience necessary to prepare individuals for independent practice. Residents will also have the opportunity to see complex, rare neurological syndromes typically seen in large, University-based Medical Centers (e.g., recent fellow cases have included Hashimoto’s encephalopathy and corticobasal degeneration) while also developing expertise in classic syndromes and neurodegenerative disorders by working as an integral member of our interdisciplinary neurology practice.

Fellows will rotate among at least three different supervisors over the course of their residency, with options for tailoring their experience based on interests and training goals. Residents will be expected to conduct their own testing on the majority of patients, although tiered supervision of extern level is avialable and expected.

While this is a primarily clinically-focused fellowship, residents are expected to complete one to two research projects over the course of their fellowship. Research projects may include investigator driven projects, collaborative projects, educational projects, and/or program development and evaluation projects. Projects can be presented at Nuvance Health CME and Quality Improvement conferences, the Neuroscience Institute Symposium day, and/or an annual neuropsychology conference presentation. Preparation of manuscripts for publication is highly encouraged. Fellows are invited to collaborate with us on existing research or develop independent projects.

In compliance with the Houston Conference Guidelines, the fellowship is designed to provide advanced clinical, didactic, and academic training in clinical neuropsychology. Didactic experiences include: Group Supervision, Neuropsychology Seminar, Neurology Grand Rounds, Stroke Conference, Neurology Morbidity and Mortality Conference, and Psychiatry and Psychopathology Seminars and Psychiatry Grand Rounds. Other didactics include Epilepsy Surgery Conference, DBS Surgery Conference, Movement disorders meetings, and weekly medicine rounds.

Journal club (with a focus on clinically relevant literature), weekly case conference review, along with mock fact-finding exercises are held regularly to prepare students for board certification and independent practice. There are also opportunities to discuss cases with professionals in other disciplines (e.g., epilepsy or child assessment). Opportunities to sit on neurosurgery, neurology and psychiatry grand rounds, participate in movement disorders treatment team meetings are available to all fellows. Our primary faculty is comprised of several neuropsychologists and secondary faculty include neurologists, psychiatrists and neuropsychologists in the wider Nuvance Health and WCHN community.

Fellows participate in individual and group supervision where they have the opportunity to interact with faculty and interdisciplinary teams. Each fellow will have at minimum of three faculty neuropsychology supervisors for individual supervision and will be exposed to a range of supervisory styles. Most supervision is case-by-case with formal supervision sessions scheduled as needed. Supervision is initially more “hands on” (e.g., full participation during interview and feedback) and then decreases as the fellow progresses. There is an open-door supervision style and supervisors are always available for discussion and problem-solving throughout a clinic day. There is also weekly group supervision. As a small highly individualized program, the fellowship also provides continuous evaluation and feedback. The supervisor has professional responsibility for all services provided to patients. The amount of supervision meets and typically exceeds APA and state licensure requirements.

Postdoctoral fellows also have opportunity for tiered supervision of neuropsychology externs and psychiatry residents rotating through our department.

During the first training year, it is recommended that the fellow spend time preparing for both the EPPP examination and the Connecticut Jurisprudence Examination for state licensure, which can typically be taken by the midpoint of the first training year, depending on prior training experiences. Achieving licensure will not impact the training structure of the program but will aid the resident in subsequent employment

The fellow’s salary is commensurate with residents. In addition to salary, residents are provided with medical education/professional development funds. Health insurance is available with employer contribution. Vacation, sick leave, family leave, and professional leave are aconsistent with existing Nuvance Health GME Residents and Fellowship policies. All residents receive 20 days of PTO. More benefits information can be found here:
https://learning.nuvancehealth.org/prospective-residents

The Nuvance Health Neurospychology Fellowshp Program thaks you for your interst in applying to our program. We accept all applications via email. Candidates who are interested in applying, please submit the following documents for consideration:

1. cover letter
2. up-to-date curriculum vitae
3. three letters of reference
4. two sample neuropyschological reports

Application materials should be sent by email to anna.gertsberg@nuvancehealth.org

Timeline: we will interview candidates during select dates in