WAMC for a neuro internship

[neurocurious]

I'm a rising 5th year in a deent PhD clinical psych program that doesn't have a neuro focus. I discovered a love for assessment late in my 2nd year and have been trying to pivot in a neuro direction but feel like I'm playing catch-up. My program is pretty limited in their ability to advise me on neuropsych internships but I have been able to speak with a few post-docs, albeit with sometimes conflicting advice. I'm planning to apply to internship this year and am looking for feedback on preparedness.

Here's where I anticipate being by November:
Intervention Hours = 400 (adult individual only; 0 group)
Assessment Hours = 350 (practically all neuro)
Reports = 60
Publications = 13 (4 first-authored)
Coursework = psych assessment, neuro assessment, basic functional neuroanatomy, and brain & behavior (12 credits all together)
Comps done; dissertation proposed and on track to defend in the spring

So far, I've had two in-house assessment practica and two externships, both in neurology departments (epilepsy & movement disorders). I've only worked with adults (18-90) and only had a handful of inpatient cases at the epilepsy center. No rehab experience. I'm wrapping up a part-time therapy externship now but have the opportunity to continue seeing 1-2 patients/week.

Will my lack of coursework, group-work, rehab, and/or potentially hours hold me back? If so, is there anything I could do in the meantime (e.g., online coursework, continuing to see therapy patients) to bolster my application? I could wait an additional year but would strongly prefer not to. Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

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[szymk1sm]

Quick anecdotes as I run out the door:

I had no rehab experience applying to internship a few years ago and ended up at a site with 3-month outpatient NP and 3-month inpatient NP ... I used my lack of NP inpatient / rehab experience as an "area of growth" in my statements.... also had no experience with group prior to internship (so again, you can use this as an area of growth).

My stats were similar to yours (with the exception of closer to 90 reports).... since it looks like you don't have experience with dementia differential diagnosis, I recommend you also use that as a growth point in your essays (and honestly, this is what you'll be doing in most outpatient NP clinics anyways). I also had 0 peds experience, so I don't think it's necessary to get prior to internship (and I still have 0 peds experience - lol).

 

[neurocurious]

Quick anecdotes as I run out the door:

I had no rehab experience applying to internship a few years ago and ended up at a site with 3-month outpatient NP and 3-month inpatient NP ... I used my lack of NP inpatient / rehab experience as an "area of growth" in my statements.... also had no experience with group prior to internship (so again, you can use this as an area of growth).

My stats were similar to yours (with the exception of closer to 90 reports).... since it looks like you don't have experience with dementia differential diagnosis, I recommend you also use that as a growth point in your essays (and honestly, this is what you'll be doing in most outpatient NP clinics anyways). I also had 0 peds experience, so I don't think it's necessary to get prior to internship (and I still have 0 peds experience - lol).

Thank you! This is good advice and reassuring to hear. I've been told by my current supervisor that we have some dementia referrals in the pipeline but definitely an area I can grow. Peds is definitely not in my future lol

 

[bcliff]

I'm a rising 5th year in a deent PhD clinical psych program that doesn't have a neuro focus. I discovered a love for assessment late in my 2nd year and have been trying to pivot in a neuro direction but feel like I'm playing catch-up. My program is pretty limited in their ability to advise me on neuropsych internships but I have been able to speak with a few post-docs, albeit with sometimes conflicting advice. I'm planning to apply to internship this year and am looking for feedback on preparedness.

Here's where I anticipate being by November:
Intervention Hours = 400 (adult individual only; 0 group)
Assessment Hours = 350 (practically all neuro)
Reports = 60
Publications = 13 (4 first-authored)
Coursework = psych assessment, neuro assessment, basic functional neuroanatomy, and brain & behavior (12 credits all together)
Comps done; dissertation proposed and on track to defend in the spring

So far, I've had two in-house assessment practica and two externships, both in neurology departments (epilepsy & movement disorders). I've only worked with adults (18-90) and only had a handful of inpatient cases at the epilepsy center. No rehab experience. I'm wrapping up a part-time therapy externship now but have the opportunity to continue seeing 1-2 patients/week.

Will my lack of coursework, group-work, rehab, and/or potentially hours hold me back? If so, is there anything I could do in the meantime (e.g., online coursework, continuing to see therapy patients) to bolster my application? I could wait an additional year but would strongly prefer not to. Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

I'm sure you'll be fine -- I would maybe expect a slightly higher number of assessment hours given how many reports you've written (i.e., the ratio between the two is a little low, IMO), but I completed my training at sites where batteries were particularly long, so that might have something to do with my reaction. Plus, I always forget that report writing time doesn't count towards assessment hours, so that may also be why the ratio seems a little wonky to me.

Long story short - Your competitive hours-wise, research-wise, and academic-wise. Be sure to apply to a wide range of sites (not just super research-y ones). I encourage all students (who can) to apply to VAs for internship. If you're interested, VA internship training will also inevitably provide you with the opportunity to gain more experience running groups; there may also be opportunities for inpatient work, too. I completed a VA internship and AMC fellowship and felt like that was the right "fit" for me, and my background was similar-ish to yours when I was applying. Feel free to PM if you're interested in chatting more about sites, etc.

 

[Zazulator]

A peer of mine who graduated from my current program was successful in getting an internship with strong neuro rotations followed by a neuro postdoc and our program definitely does not have strong neuro training. They were able to get externship experience that did provide quite a lot of neuropsych assessment experience, including dementia differential diagnoses, in an outpatient setting prior to predoc. However, they also were in your shoes and worried that they would not have a shot at a predoc with neuro training and they were very succesful. I would say, much like applying to grad school, be willing to be flexible in the physical locations of where you apply. They went to a not very exciting location for predoc in order to get the neuro experience and then went to an amazing place for postdoc in neuropsych.

 

[summerbabe]

I would recommend looking at internships that don't necessarily advertise themselves as neuro focused (e.g., dedicated neuro track) but may actually provide their interns with as much, if not more, neuro clinical experiences and have a track record of sending interns to neuro postdocs and eventually board certification.

For example, the Iowa City VA (last I heard) fits this rubric and I'm sure there are plenty of other sites like this as well. If brochures are unclear on whether you can get enough neuro to be competitive for postdoc, you can reach out to internship training directors during the application process or ask during interviews.

Where these internships may suffer is with didactics (think about a site that has 4+ board certified neuropsychs on faculty plus access to other specialists like neurologists versus a site that has 2 neuropsychs total) so you may have more ground to pick up via self-study and during postdoc. Good luck!

 

[MPRage]

Echoing others here, I am applying this year but know peers from my program (very similar to yours) with less dedicated NP coursework, less structure to our neuropsych track, less combined clinical hours, less practica diversity, and less pubs have placed at VA's and very competitive neuropsych sites/postdocs. This is all to say... it sounds like you're in a very good spot to apply and land an internship of your choice!

 

[PsyNeuro37]

I was involved in app review for the first time last cycle for a competitive neuropsych track internship at an AMC. You should be competitive for most neuropsych track internships as long as the rest of your application materials check out. Your experiences are consistent with many applicants we invited for an interview. Make sure you do a good job identifying fit and expressing that through your materials. As long as you have a site list with a range of site competitiveness, your experiences should be fine.

 

[neurocurious]

Thank you all so much for your insights and detailed responses!