Neuropsychology Postdoctoral Residency – Redwood City
Neuropsychology Consortium (Vallejo, Walnut Creek and Redwood City)
Redwood City lies on a peninsula on the northern edge of Silicon Valley, approximately 25 miles south of San Francisco and 6 miles north of Stanford University. A center of high-tech industry, Redwood City is home to several global technology companies including Oracle, Electronic Arts (EA), and Evernote. Redwood City enjoys a mild Mediterranean climate, moderated by the effects of the San Francisco Bay to the east and the Pacific Ocean over the coastal range to the west. It is the third largest city in the County of San Mateo, with 86,000 residents. Incorporated in 1867, Redwood City is home to the San Mateo County History Museum, and the only active deep-water port within the south bay of San Francisco. For outdoor enthusiasts, the nearby Edgewood Park and Natural Preserve provides miles of hiking trails and site seeing opportunities.
The new Kaiser Permanente Redwood City Medical Center opened in 2014. It a regional center for neurological care and surgery. The patient population falls along a broad ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic spectrum and includes Medi-Cal enrollees who are part of the San Mateo County Partnership.
Program Curriculum
Equity, Inclusion & Diversity
We are committed to nurturing and integrating diversity training into all aspects of our neuropsychology postdoctoral residency program by:
- Providing residents with opportunities to work with patients who represent various aspects of diversity, including age, religion, gender, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, values, lifestyle and disability status.
- Placing a high value on residents’ willingness to engage in self-reflection and learning and supporting the exploration of attitudes, beliefs and therapeutic postures that could impact clinical interactions.
- Neuropsychology Residents are invited to participate in the Regional Mental Health Training Program EID Committee’s advanced trainings on topics related to cultural sensitivity and competence along with a forum to reflect on and discuss their varied experiences in a safe environment.
Didactic Training
- Two hours of weekly training that includes a case review and a topic in advanced neuropsychology
- One day per month of a full-day seminar on neuroanatomy and other topics that prepare Residents for board certification
- Two hours per month of neurorehabilitation-specific training during Grand Rounds and/or multidisciplinary journal club
- Monthly regional didactics on advanced psychology practice
Supervision
- Individual supervision is as needed (i.e., immediately after scoring data and/or prior to writing reports or assessments) and averages approximately 3 to 4 hours per week.
- Group supervision is also available and in excess of 2 hours per week.
- Daily meeting with all trainees to review cases, develop testing batteries, and have impromptu didactics based on caseload diagnoses and clinical needs.
Community Partnership Program
Reflecting Kaiser Permanente’s core commitment to mental health and wellness in our communities, each trainee will spend at least 32 hours during their training year on a Community Partnership Project that focuses on improving health and/or mental health in the local community beyond our Kaiser Permanente patient members.
The goal of this project is to provide outreach to underserved populations. Anchors for the project include developing alliances with individuals and/or systems to improve the lives of those served; providing education and training based on the empirical literature; and presenting relevant outcomes data to partnership stakeholders.
Neuropsychology residents have worked with local schools and club sports programs to provide students, parents, coaches, and teachers with psychoeducation on sports-related concussions, return-to-play, and accommodations to ensure academic success.
Psychological Assessment
During the first year of training at Kaiser Redwood City, the Resident’s training experience focuses on outpatient neuropsychological evaluations to help clarify neurological diagnoses and/or assist with planning and recovery from neurosurgical interventions.
During the second year of training at Kaiser Permanente Vallejo, assessments are brief (1-2 hours) and focus on specific referral questions to help with community, academic, and vocational re-integration.
Tracks and Rotations
Year One at Kaiser Redwood City
Residents will spend time between the Department of Psychiatry and the Advanced Neuroscience Center, where they will complete two adult (ages 18 and older) outpatient neuropsychological assessments per week – typically one in each department. Patients primarily reside in the Peninsula to South Bay regions of the San Francisco Bay Area, though some patients travel to KP Redwood City for specialty neurosurgical care.
Neuropsychology consultations within the Department of Psychiatry are requested from multiple departments across the medical center (e.g., Neurology, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Geriatrics, and Primary Care) and referrals range in presentation and breadth, including dementia (all causes), traumatic brain injury, demyelinating disorders, and autoimmune disorders, among others. Referrals within the Advanced Neuroscience Center are primarily neuro-surgical in nature, including pre- and post-surgical neuropsychological evaluations for patients with medically refractory epilepsy and tumor resections.
Attendance at the monthly Epilepsy Surgical Case Conference is a required activity. Other supplementary experiences (if desired) include participation in a Brain Tumor Support Group and/or intra-operative and bedside language mapping.
Year Two at Kaiser Foundation Rehabilitation Center – Vallejo
KFRC is a CARF-accredited, regional neurorehabilitation center serving patients across the Northern California region. Patients served are ages 14 and older and represent the diversity of the greater Bay Area. Represented diagnoses include stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, and demyelinating conditions.
Residents will be the primary contact for one inpatient, multidisciplinary treatment team of approximately 10 patients. Services provided are based on patient need and may include assessment, psychoeducation, behavior management, and/or brief-treatment psychotherapy. Residents will also have an opportunity to conduct outpatient neuropsychological evaluations referred through Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
Schedule
Year One: Monday through Friday, 8-5; no after-hour or on-call responsibilities, work uses a hybrid model (i.e., 3 days in person)
Year Two: Monday through Friday, 8-5; no after-hour or on-call responsibilities, all work is in-person
Program Graduates
2022-2024 Cohort
Graduate | University/Institute | Track/Specialty Rotation | Current Position, Specialty & Location |
---|---|---|---|
Carisha Kelsey | Pacific University School of Graduate Psychology | San Francisco and Vallejo |
2021-2023 Cohort
Graduate | University/Institute | Track/Specialty Rotation | Current Position, Specialty & Location |
---|---|---|---|
Alicia Ranucci | University of San Francisco | San Francisco and Vallejo | Neuropsychologist at UC Davis |
2020-2021 Cohort
Graduate | University/Institute | Track/Specialty Rotation | Current Position, Specialty & Location |
---|---|---|---|
Carolyn Resner | Palo Alto University | San Francisco and Vallejo | Private Practice |
Current Opportunities
Position | Track(s) |
---|---|
First year: Outpatient Neuropsychology and Inpatient Neurorehabilitation (1yr RWC, 2yr Vallejo) | Neuropsychology |