Neuropsychology Career Progression

Neurology is one of the most unexplored fields in medicine; however, more recently there has been a spike in the amount of research being done in this specialty. This is because people are becoming more interested in neuroscience, including myself. I attended a pre-medical vocational high school, which exposed me to a greater amount of knowledge pertaining to the basics of anatomy and physiology, along with hands-on opportunities in a medical setting. It was here where I realized that I wanted to pursue a career in medicine; however, due to the fact medical field is very broad, I had no set specialty. This changed when I was exposed to the cruel manifestations of Parkinson’s Disease. During, sophomore year of high school, my grandfather passed away due to complications of Parkinson’s Disease. The way that a neurodegenerative disease was able to overtake a person in the manner that it did was shocking, and while it brought me great grief initially, it later intrigued me. I took up an interest in neuroscience and began to do my own research which culminated in various projects and applications throughout the remainder of my time in high school. These experiences have culminated in my decision to work toward a Cell Biology and

Become a Licensed Clinical Neuropsychologist: My career goal is to become a clinical neuropsychologist. For that reason, I am enrolled in the Ph.D. program in Clinical Psychology at PAU. In addition, I will be applying for the Neuropsychology track at the end of this quarter. Throughout this year and next year, I will be taking the courses related to the neuropsychology track. Hopefully, in my second and third year I will be doing practicums at the Palo Alto VA and the San Francisco Institute on Aging. Those practicums sites will provide me with assessment hours as well as allowing me to be exposed to the populations I want to work with in the future. Moreover, I will be doing my dissertation in a project related to the neuropsychology field. For that reason, now in my second year, I will be having meetings with my advisor in order to narrow my dissertation project. Additionally, I am planning to do my internship in a neuro site. Afterwards, I am planning to do a post-doc in the field. Eventually, I want to go back to Spain and work as a Clinical Neuropsychologist

According to Georgetown University Medical Center, the study of neuroscience is what the nervous system does, how it develops and the structure. The focus is mainly on the impact of the brain on cognitive and behavior functions (Nordqvist, 2017). Neuroscience looks at how the nervous system reacts to people who have neurological, neurodevelopmental, psychiatric disorders (Nordqvist, 2017). Researchers Combs-Orme, Egan, and Neely-Barnes mention that neuroscience can enrich what we understand of the brains role within human development and behavior. New perceptions into “biology’s contributions to our multilayered biopsychosocial model” can be provided by neuroscience (Comb-Orme et al., 2011). The support

From that point onwards, I pursued time outside of school to hone my skills in scientific research, focusing on topics that related to the brain. In the future, I would like to advance my studies in neuroscience. I relished the time I spent in the cell bio-imaging labs at Arizona State University and the time I currently spend at Barrow’s Neurological Center in Phoenix, but I am always curious

Despite my dissertation research and previous research experiences, being more wet bench training. The exposure brings uniqueness to my scientific journey as educational neuroscientist. I have been prepared to be self-sufficient, innovative and highly inquisitive individual. My research have trained me in behavioral studies and experimental design. Through my dissertation studies, I gained a profound love for cognitive neuroscience. I sought out opportunities that has allow me to become engrossed in the field such as attending annual cognitive neuroscience conferences, volunteering for Jumpstart, completing CDA training courses and becoming a graduate reviewer for Society for Research in Child Development. My long-term career goal is to become an academic professor on the tenure track at undergraduate or graduate institution. Based on my interests, I would like to teach introduction to neuroscience, developmental neuroscience, cognitive neuroscience or child development courses. In addition, I intend to establish learning development centers for birth through pre-K ages that implement brain-based learning paradigms. The centers will serve as a longitudinal study, the children will be followed from birth through kindergarten

This led me to take additional psychology classes as electives, and eventually this passion to learn more about the brain became so strong that I decided to add a Psychology minor to accent my Medical Laboratory Sciences major. I am very happy with this decision, as it allows me to learn about what I am truly interested in: the human body and human brain, and their endless connections to each other. Neuroscience is a field which encompasses the human body and brain thoroughly, and I am very interested in learning more about it. I am also strongly considering pursuing a career in biomedical research as I recognize its importance for advances in modern medicine, and it is a field which aims to improve lives. On a personal note, I am attracted to entering research as it is intellectually challenging and is constantly evolving. This program is second to none for the experience with researching neurological disorders and stroke that it offers. It would help me solidify my future career plans, as I plan to pursue a Ph.D. in a biomedical field, and have been strongly considering

Landrum, R. E., & Davis, S. F. (2014). The Psychology Major: Career Options and Strategies

I have always had a passion and interest in working with the unknown. When I was in high school, I always made sure I was taking science classes that interested me, and would help me decide on what I wanted to major in college. I chose neuroscience as my major because it is a subject that continues to fascinate me. Neuroscience is the study of how the nervous system develops, its structure, and what it does. I want to focus on the brain and its impact on behavior and cognitive functions. I want to go into clinical neuroscience (looking at the disorders of the nervous system) or cognitive neuroscience, which studies the higher cognitive functions and underlying neural bases. With a neuroscience major, I would like to pursue a career in clinical research, do research for the National Institute of Health, work for the CDC and specialize in neurological disease, and/or run a clinical research project in another country. I want to pursue a career in one of these areas because I want to dedicate my knowledge, skills, and time to helping people and the world of science. I want my work to make a positive impact on society and be beneficial for the forthcoming generations. I want to help people and discover new things that will help those in need. I am motivated every day to continue working hard by realizing there are still more things to be discovered and that it could be done by me.

In order to become a neuroscientist an individual is required to obtain a PhD and complete up to two years of postdoctoral training. Most scientists complete a four-year bachelor’s degree in biology, chemistry, or psychology, along with four- or five-year doctoral programs in cognitive, biological, or molecular neuroscience. Graduates usually obtain postdoctoral fellowships at universities, private research institutions or pharmaceutical companies, where they work alongside experience

My inclination for the sciences started to be evident during my first years of high school; however, the dreams of being a “scientist” seem far from being reached when growing up in a third world country. When I came to the United States, I faced not only a whole new world of opportunities, but I also encountered the difficulties of a language barrier and a cultural gap. Throughout my last years of high school and my first year of college, my preference for the sciences, specifically Biology and Chemistry became clearer. Neuroscience had always been in the back of my head, and it was here, at Wake Forest University, during the first semester of my second year that I took my first Neuroscience class together with a lab on the subject. Two classes

Thus, I firmly believe that an integration of various academic disciplines is the most accurate approach to psychopathologies. Likewise, neuroscience is a multidisciplinary science that is primarily concerned with the study of the structure and function of the nervous system. Hence, the Neuroscience major seems to fit my passions and ardor very well.

Ever since my later adolescence years, I have always been intrigued by the diverse complexity of the human brain. Numerous days I have sat down obtrusively observing my surroundings just to satisfy my curiosity on how individuals think, reason and problem solve everyday life happenings. As such, when it was time to attend university, I decided to study psychology as a means of gaining knowledge and understanding about individuals’ cognitive processes and their behavior. During my undergraduate studies, for a particular reason, I was struck by Abnormal Psychology and spent hours thinking about the various disorders captured by the then Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM IV). I spent an awful lot of time trying to understand the differing disorders and how their impact on the behavior and thinking processes of individuals that are diagnosed with them.

Neuropsychology is another field in which both psychology and biology play a major role. Neuropsychology studies the structure and function of the brain as it relates to specific psychological processes and behaviors. It is a clinical and experimental field of psychology that aims to study, assess, understand and treat behaviors directly related to brain functioning. Neuropsychology studies and applies research to the functions and the dysfunctions of the brain and how they affect the body as well as the personality. This has helped us to not only define mental disorders and cognitive impairments, but to develop different treatment

Attain a GPA of 5.5 for all future Level 2 & 3 psychology courses by the end of the 2018 academic year (University of South Australia, 2016). This will stand me in good stead to achieve the

This, I led me too a love of psychology. How wonderful was it that there was a whole science devoted just to that one mystical organ? Studying the brain, we can unlock the doors to human