Our structured two-year postdoctoral fellowship in clinical neuropsychology is through TIRR Memorial Hermann in affiliation with several hospitals and medical programs in the Texas Medical Center. The fellowship is aligned with a scientist practitioner model and follows Houston Conference guidelines for specialty training in neuropsychology. TIRR Memorial Hermann is known for offering advanced training in brain injury rehabilitation, within top-ranked inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation settings. In addition, it is our goal to offer a balance of training opportunities in other rehabilitation or neurological sites within the Texas Medical Center, so that we may prepare fellows for future positions within a range of clinical and academic settings. The interested fellow is able to customize his or her training by selecting experiences across settings, including inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation, neurology and oncology, facilitated through the individualized training plan developed at the outset of the first year of fellowship.
The Neuropsychology Fellowship program is also designed to prepare the fellow for American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) certification in clinical neuropsychology upon completion of our program. These core training goals are achieved through:
Across the two-year program, fellows complete four six-month major rotations three days a week, for a total of 24 hours a week. Three of the major rotations are pre-selected and required of the fellow: 1) TIRR Memorial Hermann Inpatient Neuropsychology, 2) TIRR Memorial Hermann Outpatient General Neuropsychology, and 3) TIRR Memorial Hermann Challenge Program. The fourth major rotation will be chosen from appropriate options within the TIRR Memorial Hermann Rehabilitation Network and may serve to fill a gap in training or be utilized as a preparation for future professional endeavors.
In addition to major rotations, the program allows for three six-month minor rotation experiences chosen by the fellow. The minor rotation will comprise one day or eight hours of clinical time per week. The minor rotation requirement is suspended during the fellow’s second rotation period to accommodate time completing the formal education/neuroanatomy course requirement.
| Year 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Three Months | Three Months | Six Months |
|
TIRR Memorial Hermann - TMC Inpatient Supervisor 1 Minor 1: Fellowship Choice |
TIRR Memorial Hermann - TMC Inpatient Supervisor 2 Minor 1: Fellowship Choice |
TIRR Memorial Hermann Outpatient Neuropsychology Minor 2: Neuroanatomy Course |
| Year 2 | |
|---|---|
| Six Months | Six Months |
|
TIRR Memorial Hermann Challenge Program Minor 3: Fellow Choice |
Fellow Choice Minor 4: Fellow Choice |
| Clinical Rotations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | September - February | March - August |
| Year 1 |
3 days/60% time - Inpatient Clinical Rotation 1 day/ 20% time - Minor Clinical Rotation 1 day/ 20% time - Research and Didactic Activities |
3 days/60% time - Outpatient Clinical Rotation 1 day/ 20% time - Neuroanatomy Course 1 day/ 20% time - Research and Didactic Activities |
| Year | September - February | March - August |
| Year 2 |
3 days/60% time - Challenge Clinical Rotation 1 day/ 20% time - Minor Clinical Rotation 1 day/ 20% time - Research and Didactic Activities |
3 days/60% time - Elective Clinical Rotation 1 day/ 20% time - Minor Clinical Rotation 1 day/ 20% time - Research and Didactic Activities |
Postdoctoral Neuropsychology Seminar: Fellows attend and help organize the Neuropsychology Postdoc Seminar (weekly). The seminar is attended by additional trainees and faculty. The fellows are responsible for the coordination and administrative aspects of the seminar in order to play an active part in shaping their didactic experience. In addition to presenting at least two didactic lectures per year, the seminar features experiences in mock fact-finding, mock ethics, and case presentations by each fellow in preparation for ABPP certification.
Medical Neuroscience Course: Successful completion of a medical Functional Neuroanatomy Course is a requirement of the fellowship program. Participation in the course provides the fellow with comprehensive, in-depth training in neuroanatomy through participation in wet lab dissection, as well as a regular lecture series with case examples of neurological syndromes.
Multidisciplinary lecture series provided by members of other disciplines at TIRR Memorial Hermann, including Third Thursdays lecture series, VA Neuropsychology Didactics, Spinal Cord Injury Grand Rounds, PM&R Grand Rounds, Pediatric Grand Rounds, Oncology Grand Rounds, etc.
As the program is located in one of the world’s largest medical centers, the fellow will have access to numerous research supervisors who are leaders in their areas of investigation. Fellows are guided to choose research supervisors and projects in line with their fellowship goals during their orientation period with the aid of training directors.
Internal research mentorship may be provided by faculty at the TIRR Memorial Hermann Brain Injury Research Center (BIRC) on ongoing projects that are funded through numerous National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research grants. TIRR Memorial Hermann is designated as a Traumatic Brain Injury and Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems site and brings together world-renowned investigators to study the complicated facets of recovery from brain injury and spinal cord injury. Funding for research support can be granted on a competitive basis through the TIRR Memorial Hermann Innovation Grants program held once a year, with applications typically due in early October. See additional information on current BIRC projects and recent publications.
Fellows are expected to devote approximately 20% of their time to research and didactics, and are typically provided protected research time of a half day per week. By the end of the program, fellows should be able to demonstrate an understanding and knowledge of strategies of scholarly inquiry. Fellows are expected to begin research activities their first year. The minimum requirement is active participation in one study over the course of two years with submission to a professional meeting or for publication, though many of our trainees have easily exceeded this requirement. Development of a grant proposal and submitting it for funding would also meet the research requirement, but may be ambitious given the clinical load of the program.
The application deadline is January 1 of the respective year. We encourage applicants to send in materials as soon as they are ready, as applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. In compliance with APPCN guidelines, all individuals who complete a full application will be notified of their interview status in a timely manner. Interviews are conducted during the time of the annual International Neuropsychological Society (INS) meeting. During the COVID-19 pandemic, interviews have transitioned to a virtual process and determinations regarding resuming in-person interviews will be made closer to the next interview cycle. For those applicants who may be local to the Houston, Texas area, we welcome but do not require on-site visits.
The first five (5) items should be emailed in a single PDF file. Letters of recommendation should be emailed directly from the letter writers. It is preferred that graduate transcripts also be received via email directly from the applicant’s institution, but paper-based transcripts are acceptable.
Application materials should be emailed to the attention of the Fellowship Coordinator, at TIRRPsychology@memorialhermann.org.
If necessary to use paper mail, please address to:
TIRR Memorial Hermann
1333 Moursund St.
Dept. of Psychology/Neuropsychology H124
Attn: Fellowship Coordinator
Houston, TX 77030-3405