Neuropsychology Supplemental Practicum
Neuropsychological Assessment Experience & Goals
San Mateo Medical Center (SMMC) is an approximately 100-bed county hospital that provides inpatient and outpatient medical and psychiatric services to low income individuals residing within San Mateo County.
Training Goal and Model The goal of San Mateo Medical Center’s (SMMC) Neuropsychology supplemental practicum is to develop the trainee’s skills according to the current standards of clinical neuropsychology with a focus on cross-cultural assessment. The trainee will be exposed to supervised clinical neuropsychological experiences with a licensed clinical neuropsychologist. There will also be opportunities for professional development in the practice of Clinical Neuropsychology. The training opportunity is designed to foster multicultural competence and gain knowledge in providing services to individuals of various ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientation status, and religious affiliations as well as to provide services to the underserved. SMMC’s mission is to provide culturally sensitive and compassionate care to those in need, regardless of their ability to pay.
Training Responsibilities The practicum trainee will have the opportunity to observe and conduct comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations, which includes the clinical interview, test selection, scoring, and administration, integrated report writing, and feedback. About 50% of SMMC’s patient population is non-English speaking. The practicum trainee will also have the opportunity to work with a medical interpreter in assessing these patients utilizing normative data and measures (if available) designed for the specific population. Furthermore, the trainee will further develop their knowledge in ethics in assessment, neuropathology, neuroanatomy, and other medical conditions. An initial period of shadow training and close supervision is required to ensure proper understanding of test administration.
Referral Conditions/Disorders The Neuropsychology Department at SMMC is generally an outpatient clinic that receives referrals for a variety of medical, neurological, and psychiatric concerns including Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy body dementia, dementia due to HIV, vascular risk factors, and TBI. There may also be opportunities to conduct bedside capacity evaluations with patients hospitalized at the Skilled Nursing Unit or other inpatient units within the hospital.
Patient Population SMMC serves a diverse patient population including individuals from a variety of cultural, linguistic, religious, and ethnic backgrounds. Although the majority of the work will be carried out in an outpatient geriatric clinic, most of the cases will involve adults of various cultural backgrounds including monolingual and bilingual Spanish-, Tagalog-, Mandarin-, Arabic- speakers, African-Americans, and other BIPOC.
Practicum Trainee Goals In addition to the goals that the practicum trainee brings to the program, specific site goals include: timely and concise preparation of reports within 2 weeks turnaround times, flexibility in handling individuals with diverse needs, assessing and providing feedback using sensitive approaches given some of our difficult patient characteristics, and developing comfort and improved knowledge in dealing with individuals from diverse backgrounds.
Teleneuropsychology There are some opportunities to conduct evaluations via telehealth. However, the majority of evaluations are conducted in-person or an in-office hybrid telehealth model.
Requirements:
Prior neuropsychology clinical experience is required, with preference given to advanced practicum trainees (incoming 4th years or above) who are in the neuropsychology track. This practicum is for trainees who have the flexibility of 2 days per week. Candidates should have clinical and/or research interests in neuropsychology. Preference will be given to those with experience or strong interest in medical settings, neuropsychology, and behavioral health.
Placement details:
San Mateo Medical Center (SMMC) is an approximately 100-bed county hospital that provides inpatient and outpatient medical and psychiatric services to low income individuals residing within San Mateo County.
Training Goal and Model The goal of San Mateo Medical Center’s (SMMC) Neuropsychology supplemental practicum is to develop the trainee’s skills according to the current standards of clinical neuropsychology with a focus on cross-cultural assessment. The trainee will be exposed to supervised clinical neuropsychological experiences with a licensed clinical neuropsychologist. There will also be opportunities for professional development in the practice of Clinical Neuropsychology. The training opportunity is designed to foster multicultural competence and gain knowledge in providing services to individuals of various ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientation status, and religious affiliations as well as to provide services to the underserved. SMMC’s mission is to provide culturally sensitive and compassionate care to those in need, regardless of their ability to pay.
Training Responsibilities The practicum trainee will have the opportunity to observe and conduct comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations, which includes the clinical interview, test selection, scoring, and administration, integrated report writing, and feedback. About 50% of SMMC’s patient population is non-English speaking. The practicum trainee will also have the opportunity to work with a medical interpreter in assessing these patients utilizing normative data and measures (if available) designed for the specific population. Furthermore, the trainee will further develop their knowledge in ethics in assessment, neuropathology, neuroanatomy, and other medical conditions. An initial period of shadow training and close supervision is required to ensure proper understanding of test administration.
Referral Conditions/Disorders The Neuropsychology Department at SMMC is generally an outpatient clinic that receives referrals for a variety of medical, neurological, and psychiatric concerns including Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy body dementia, dementia due to HIV, vascular risk factors, and TBI. There may also be opportunities to conduct bedside capacity evaluations with patients hospitalized at the Skilled Nursing Unit or other inpatient units within the hospital.
Patient Population SMMC serves a diverse patient population including individuals from a variety of cultural, linguistic, religious, and ethnic backgrounds. Although the majority of the work will be carried out in an outpatient geriatric clinic, most of the cases will involve adults of various cultural backgrounds including monolingual and bilingual Spanish-, Tagalog-, Mandarin-, Arabic- speakers, African-Americans, and other BIPOC.
Practicum Trainee Goals In addition to the goals that the practicum trainee brings to the program, specific site goals include: timely and concise preparation of reports within 2 weeks turnaround times, flexibility in handling individuals with diverse needs, assessing and providing feedback using sensitive approaches given some of our difficult patient characteristics, and developing comfort and improved knowledge in dealing with individuals from diverse backgrounds.
Teleneuropsychology There are some opportunities to conduct evaluations via telehealth. However, the majority of evaluations are conducted in-person or an in-office hybrid telehealth model.
Requirements:
Prior neuropsychology clinical experience is required, with preference given to advanced practicum trainees (incoming 4th years or above) who are in the neuropsychology track. This practicum is for trainees who have the flexibility of 2 days per week. Candidates should have clinical and/or research interests in neuropsychology. Preference will be given to those with experience or strong interest in medical settings, neuropsychology, and behavioral health.
Placement details:
- Start date: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis
- Duration: 12 months
- Time commitment: 16 hours per week; clinic hours are 8AM to 5PM. Must be available on either a Monday, Tuesday, or Thursday as well as either Wednesday or Friday. At least 50% of practicum hours to be allocated to clinical work.
- Location: San Mateo Medical Center; 222 West 39th Ave. San Mateo, CA 94403.
- Supervision: Minimum of one-hour individual supervision per week with a licensed psychologist.
- This is a supplemental practicum which means we do not offer the traditional requirements of a clinical practicum including additional group supervision or case conferences.