PSY6209 - Intermediate placement and case analysis (clinical neuropsychology) - 2018

In the intermediate placement it is anticipated that students will be consolidating key neuropsychological skills such as test administration, scoring and interpretation, while requiring less support from their supervisor for these activities. Students should be developing competencies in history taking, hypothesis-testing, case formulation, giving feedback and interventions. At this stage, students will be expected to carry a client load with moderate supervisory support. Opportunities for student and supervisor observation are recommended to facilitate skill development, although emphasis of direct supervision may shift to observation of more complex aspects of practice (e.g., history-taking,feedback) rather than observation of testing. Students are expected to develop a deeper understanding of the psychologist's role within the service and to show increased independent thought in supervision sessions.

Students will observe and actively participate in case formulation, interpretation and discussion of potential interventions based on oral case presentations given by other students and will each present a case from their placement to the class. They will be exposed to a variety of different presentation styles designed to cater for specific audiences and will learn to evaluate case material in an objective and critical manner. They will participate in discussions of clinical issues and recent developments in the field of Clinical Neuropsychology and will be challenged to remain informed about such developments and issues.

On completion of this unit students will:

1. Have developed skill and confidence in applying their theoretical knowledge to the neuropsychological assessment and treatment of individuals with relatively uncomplicated neurological, psychiatric, developmental and general medical issues;
2. Become proficient in establishing rapport with patients, administering and scoring the commonly used neuropsychological tests, integrating the results with the history, and providing appropriate oral and written reports;
3. Have an improved ability to formulate hypotheses, select appropriate tests, interpret findings, integrate findings to respond to referral questions and formulate a management plan for a variety of neuropsychological referrals and discuss this with the class;
4. Be able to independently run a neuropsychological assessment by the end of this placement, although supervisor input may be required with more complex cases particularly during history taking;
5. Be more likely to be contributing information in feedback sessions with clients;
6. Have the ability to demonstrate an understanding of the complexities of the agency's role in service delivery and to service delivery and to independently contribute to the development of strategies for improved service delivery;
7. Become more informed about current issues in the field of clinical neuropsychology;
8. Expand knowledge and skills in ethics, legal and professional issues relevant to clinical practice.

Case Analysis:

• Case Presentation (Pass/Fail)
• Class Participation (Hurdle Requirement)

Intermediate Placement:

• Placement Contract (Hurdle Requirement)
• Mid-Placement Review (Hurdle Requirement)
• Student Diary (Hurdle Requirement)
• Student Case/Logbook (Hurdle Requirement)
• Final Student Assessment Report (Hurdle Requirement)
• Participation in OSCE (Hurdle Requirement)

Psychology