Clinical Rotations – Neuropsychology track

Neuropsychology track

Neuropsychology intern rotations are within the Neurology Department at the University of Pennsylvania Health System and located at three hospitals, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Presbyterian Hospital, and Pennsylvania Hospital. The rotations will be available as 1 or 2 day per week placements, for 6 or 12-month rotations, based on availability and preference. Some rotations may also offer opportunities to provide supervision to more junior trainees. The neuropsychology track interns may have the option to take one 6-month rotation outside of the neuropsychology track, based on availability and training goals.

Neuropsychology Intern Rotations

Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center (PD&MDC): The PD&MDC at the University of Pennsylvania has been recognized by the National Parkinson Foundation as one of 45 worldwide "Centers of Excellence" and is among the largest of its kind in the country. The center provides comprehensive evaluation, diagnosis, treatment, and management for a range of movement disorders, including but not limited to Parkinson’s disease, atypical and secondary parkinsonism, Huntington’s disease, essential tremor, ataxia, and functional movement disorders. Neuropsychological evaluations are conducted to assess cognitive and neuropsychiatric functioning and to assist with clarifying diagnosis and treatment planning, such as appropriateness for deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery and other interventional procedures. In addition to weekly supervision, the intern will be involved in monthly DBS case conference meetings. Primary Supervisor: Baochan Tran, PsyD

General Neuropsychology Rotations: There are two available general neuropsychology rotations, each of which has a different minor area of focus. Penn Neurology has multiple specialty centers for assessing and treating patients with neurodegenerative disease (e.g. Penn Memory Center and Frontotemporal Degeneration Center), MS, and stroke, as well as a dedicated Post-COVID Assessment and Recovery Clinic, Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, and specialty center for evaluation and treatment of patients with Traumatic Brain Injury. Patients are referred to the general neuropsychology clinic from all these clinics.

1. This rotation will include the opportunity to perform evaluations with Spanish-speaking patients for those interns who are fluent in Spanish. Supervisor: Katya Rascovsky, PhD
2. This rotation will also include transplant and neuro-oncology evaluations, DBS candidacy evaluations, and attendance at the DBS consensus conference. Supervisor: Yinka Read, PsyD

Traumatic Brain Injury, Presbyterian Hospital: The traumatic brain injury (TBI) clinic is housed at Penn Medicine University City (PMUC), Presbyterian Hospital, and includes collaboration with rehabilitation providers at Good Shephard Penn Partners (GSPP). This rotation primarily includes evaluation of individuals with a history of a mild TBI, though other rehabilitation patient populations are also served (e.g. CVA, moderate to severe injuries). Supervisor: Eileen Moran, PhD

Penn Memory Center, Anti-Amyloid Therapy Clinic, Brief Assessment Rotation: The Penn Memory Center (PMC) is made up of a multidisciplinary team with expertise in neurology, gerontology, psychiatry, neuropsychology and social work. The PMC serves as a unified Penn Medicine source for those age 65 and older seeking evaluation, diagnosis, treatment, information, and research opportunities related to symptoms of progressive memory loss, and accompanying changes in thinking, communication and personality. This rotation includes brief clinical assessments for individuals with Alzheimer's Disease who are being evaluated for treatment with anti-amyloid therapies. The intern will attend weekly consensus conference and present the cognitive assessments to the multidisciplinary team. Supervisor: Dawn Mechanic-Hamilton, PhD, ABPP/CN

Cognitive Remediation Intervention Group: This rotation includes cofacilitating intervention groups for individuals with mild to moderate cognitive symptoms. The cognitive remediation groups target strategies to improve various executive functioning skills, including building attention and focus, supporting working memory, and improving organization, and decision making. This program aims to increase understanding about goal management problems and helps individuals establish a vocabulary to describe these problems, as well as a set of techniques to compensate for them. Attention training is implemented using mindfulness exercises and strategies, and this group further employs an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) tools. Supervisor: Eileen Moran, PhD

Penn Memory Center, Psychotherapeutic Intervention in MCI Rotation: This rotation includes co-facilitating the Cognitive Fitness Psychotherapy Group, an 8-week intervention group for individuals with MCI, who are experiencing symptoms of depression and/or anxiety. The group employs an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) approach to address distressing thoughts and feelings and incorporates compensatory strategies to implement use of ACT tools. Supervisor: Dawn Mechanic-Hamilton, PhD, ABPP/CN

Research Opportunities: The neuropsychology track interns will have the opportunity to engage in a research project once their dissertation is complete. There are ample opportunities within the Neurology Department, associated centers (e.g. Penn Memory Center, Penn Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center) and with several rotation supervisors to find a match for the intern’s area of research interest.

Didactics/Case Conferences: In addition to rotation specific didactic training and consensus conferences noted within the rotations, there is a dedicated Neuropsychology Seminar Series on Monday afternoons. This seminar series is a joint effort between neuropsychologists in the Penn Neurology Department, the Philadelphia VAMC, Bancroft NeuroRehabilitation and Temple University and includes neuropsychology-relevant topics 2x per month and fact-finding and professional development discussions 1x per month. The neuropsychology division meets weekly in a hybrid format, on Friday afternoons, for an informal case conference with faculty and trainees. Additionally, there are formal neuropsychology division case presentations every other month, led by a neuropsychology division trainee, including externs, interns, and postdoctoral fellows.