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Emory University School of Medicine and Children's Pediatric Neuropsychology Fellowship

About the Program

Emory University School of Medicine and the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Neuropsychology department offers postdoctoral training in pediatric neuropsychology. The training program is a member of the Association of Postdoctoral Programs in Clinical Neuropsychology (APPCN) and is designed to meet criteria set forth by the Houston Conference on Specialty Education and Training in Clinical Neuropsychology guidelines.

The Pediatric Neuropsychology Fellowship Program builds competency in the assessment and treatment of children with a wide range of central nervous system and developmental disorders. The patient population ranges from newborns to young adults. Upon completion of the two-year, full-time program, participants will have gained the necessary clinical and research skills required for independent practice and/or academic pursuits in pediatric neuropsychology. They will also obtain the necessary experiences required to pursue board certification from the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP-CN).

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Areas of Training

Clinical training consists primarily of supervised neuropsychological evaluations of inpatients and outpatients with various neurological, developmental and psychiatric disorders. Rotations are taken in the following clinical services:

Inpatient Rehabilitation Rotation
This rotation consists of an initial assessment, family education and staff consultation of children following traumatic or acquired brain injuries. The clinical population consists of patients who are admitted to the Comprehensive Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit (CIRU). The resident will participate in interdisciplinary team treatment. Responsibilities include performing neuropsychological evaluations, providing education to family and staff, and assisting with treatment and discharge planning. The CIRU is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF).

Day Rehabilitation Rotation
The Day Rehabilitation program is a continuation of rehabilitation services and is available to appropriate patients following discharge from the CIRU. This program affords the resident the opportunity to provide brain injury education and support to patients and families. Comprehensive discharge neuropsychological evaluations, to assist with school and community re-entry, also are provided to patients. The Day Rehabilitation program is accredited by CARF.

Epilepsy
Epilepsy services benefit patients undergoing inpatient surgical assessments, evaluations to provide differential diagnostic information and routine outpatient assessments for children with epilepsy. This is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary rotation that requires the resident to interact and consult with neurologists, neurosurgeons, radiologists, radiology technicians, social workers, child life specialists and nursing staff.

INPATIENT SURGICAL EPILEPSY PROGRAM: All patients undergoing inpatient video electroencephalogram (EEG) monitoring receive a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation as part of their presurgical planning. Residents participate in presurgical evaluations, the Wada test, cortical mapping of the speech and sensory motor cortex and follow-up cognitive remediation with patients following surgery.
OUTPATIENT EPILEPSY EVALUATIONS: Patients diagnosed with epilepsy are assessed in an outpatient setting. Referral questions include obtaining better information about medication monitoring and assisting the Children’s Neurology department on determining the efficacy of various antiepileptic drugs. Comparisons to baseline assessments and consultation with the patient’s school are frequently indicated. Participation in grant funded medication trials is also part of the program.
OUTPATIENT EPILEPSY SOCIAL SUPPORT GROUP: The resident leads a monthly social support group for epilepsy patients. This involves supportive counseling, educational presentations and social skills support.

Outpatient Medical/Neurological Rotation
This rotation will focus on the evaluation of children ages 2 to 18 who have a wide range of congenital and acquired brain disorders, including cerebral palsy, genetic disorders, spina bifida, epilepsy, stroke, and learning and attention disorders. Referral questions focus on the neurocognitive impact of these disorders on a child’s functioning.

Inpatient Neuropsychological Consultation
Each resident will provide brief neuropsychological consultations to patients with a variety of neurological conditions, including mild traumatic brain injury, hydrocephalus, brain tumors, migraines and pseudoseizures and conversion disorders.

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Research Training

Residents need to have completed formal courses in research methods and statistics, and concluded an empirical dissertation during graduate training. Postdoctoral residents are required to participate in and/or develop a research topic within the field of pediatric neuropsychology, and collaborate with neuropsychologists. Residents are encouraged to present at national professional meetings. The resident is expected to participate in all steps of the research process, including securing Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval. The following research areas are currently in place:

– Outpatient clinical database
– Learning and memory functioning of children with epilepsy
– Cognitive and family functioning of children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy
– Memory and executive functioning, including ecological validation studies, in children with traumatic brain injury
– Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in children diagnosed with frontal and temporal lobe epilepsy
– Executive functioning of children with sleep apnea and frontal lobe epilepsy, including imaging studies (i.e., morphometry)

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New Technology

Children’s is committed to providing state-of-the-art technology to facilitate research. The newest equipment includes dense array EEG, fMRI, intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging (iMRI), single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) scans and SISCOM— all of which are utilized for epilepsy surgical patients and those identified with cortical lesions and/or brain tumors. These technologies are being used to make clinical decisions and generate research questions to further the field of neuroscience. In addition to Emory University School of Medicine, alliances are being formed with Georgia Institute of Technology and Georgia State University to partner in these efforts.

Didactic Training

Activities include:

– A weekly student-based didactic meeting that is
coordinated by the residents with input from the
predoctoral intern.

– Weekly life span case series, as well as didactic
and fact-finding sessions in conjunction with Emory
University Center for Rehabilitation Medicine and
Wesley Woods Geriatric Facility at Emory University.

– Pediatric grand rounds

– Neuroscience radiology rounds at the Aflac Cancer
Center and Blood Disorders Service of Children’s
Healthcare of Atlanta

– Neurosurgery and neuroradiology conferences

– Rehabilitation rounds

– Neuropathology rounds at the Emory University School
of Medicine (in the Emory University Hospital morgue
with the Department of Pathology)

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Supervision and Evaluation

Postdoctoral residents receive supervision from faculty in both individual (two to four hours per week) and group (one hour each month) formats. Each resident’s primary supervisor provides a written evaluation of the resident’s progress following each rotation.

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Clinical Staff

Thomas G. Burns, Psy.D., ABPP-CN, Director
Kathleen O’Toole, Ph.D., ABPP-CN, Training Coordinator
Jackie Kiefel, Ph.D.
Grace Fong, Ph.D.
Stacey Woodrome, Ph.D.
David Marcus, Ph.D.
Kristine Whigham, Psy.D.
Dawn Ilardi, Ph.D.

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Stipend and Benefits

The Children’s Pediatric Neuropsychology Residency program is flexible on the start date, which can range from July to September. The current yearly stipend is $37,500. Benefits include full medical, dental and vision insurance as well as two weeks vacation, plus major holidays.

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Application Guidelines

The Emory University School of Medicine and Children’s Pediatric Neuropsychology Fellowship program participates in the Association of Postdoctoral Programs in Clinical Neuropsychology (APPCN) Resident Matching Program. Visit http://www.appcn.org/ for more information about the APPCN Resident Matching Program.

All applicants for the program must register with National Natching Services.

Additionally, applicants for the program must submit the following:

Letter of interest (no longer than two single-spaced pages) stating professional and academic preparation and work experiences, along with career goals and interests
Curriculum vitae
Graduate transcripts
Three letters of reference
Copies of any publications
Two examples of assessment reports—at least one should be an assessment of a child

The deadline for receipt of all materials, including letters of recommendation, is Jan. 18, 2010. Interviews for the neuropsychology fellowship will be available on-site and remotely. Start dates are between July 1 - September 1, 2010.

All application materials and tour inquiries should be sent to:

Kathleen O’Toole, Ph.D., ABPP-CN
Training Coordinator
Pediatric Neuropsychology Residency program
Neuropsychology department
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
1001 Johnson Ferry Road NE
Atlanta, GA 30342-1600
E-mail: kathleen.otoole@choa.org
Phone: 404-785-2855

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Some physicians and affiliated healthcare professionals who perform services at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta are independent providers and are not hospital employees.