The American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology, National Academy of Neuropsychology, and Society for Clinical Neuropsychology (APA Division 40) 2015TCNProfessional Practice and ‘Salary Survey’: Professional Practices, Beliefs, and Incomes of U.S. Neuropsychologists

Abstract

Objective: The current survey updated professional practice and income information pertaining to clinical neuropsychology. Methods: Doctoral-level members of the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology, Division 40 (Clinical Neuropsychology) of the American Psychological Association, and the National Academy of Neuropsychology and other neuropsychologists, as well as postdoctoral trainees in the Association of Postdoctoral Programs in Clinical Neuropsychology and at other training sites were invited to participate in a web-based survey in early 2015. The sample of 1777 respondents, of whom 1579 were doctoral-level practitioners and 198 were postdoctoral trainees, was larger than the prior 2010 income and practice survey. Results: The substantial proportional change in gender has continued, with women now a clear majority in the postdoctoral trainee sample as well as in the practitioner sample. Dissimilar from the median age trajectory of American Psychological Association members, the median age of clinical neuropsychologists remains essentially unchanged since 1989, indicating a substantial annual influx of young neuropsychologists. The question of whether the Houston Conference training model has become an important influence in the specialty can now be considered settled in the affirmative among postdoctoral trainees and practitioners. Testing assistant usage remains commonplace, and continues to be more common in institutions. The vast majority of clinical neuropsychologists work full-time and very few are unemployed and seeking employment. The numbers of neuropsychologists planning to retire in the coming 5-10 years do not suggest a "baby boomer" effect or an unexpected bolus of planned retirements in the next 10 years that would be large enough to be worrisome. Average length of time reported for evaluations appears to be increasing across time. The most common factors affecting evaluation length were identified, with the top three being: (1) goal of evaluation, (2) stamina/health of examinee, and (3) age of examinee. Pediatric specialists remain more likely than others to work part-time, more likely to work in institutions, report lower incomes than respondents with a lifespan professional identity, and are far more likely to be women. Incomes continue to vary considerably by years of clinical practice, work setting, amount of forensic practice, state, and region of country. Neurologists are the number one referral source in institutions and in private practice, as well as for pediatric, adult, and lifespan practitioners. Learning disability is no longer among the top five conditions seen by pediatric neuropsychologists; traumatic brain injury and seizure disorder are common reasons for clinical evaluations at all age ranges. There is a continued increase in The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 2015 Vol. 29, No. 8, 1069-1162, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13854046.2016 forensic practice and a clear consensus on the use of validity testing. There is a substantial interest in subspecialization board certificat...

2015 American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology (AACN) student affairs committee survey of neuropsychology trainees

“…programs. These results were comparable to the postdoctoral trainees recently surveyed in Sweet et al (2015) and with the proportion of Ph.D. to Psy.D. programs with self-declared neuropsychology training It was not possible to determine the specific response rate to the survey, given that there is no objective listing of all neuropsychology trainees in North America.…”

“…trainees having more than $200,000 in debt. Most trainees reported the likely starting salary after postdoctoral fellowship to be between $80 and 100,000 annually, which is consistent with the most recent neuropsychology salary survey (Sweet et al, 2015). This financial burden in neuropsychology trainees, given the gap that may occur between debt and salary, has also been discussed extensively within the AACN Community listservs and is a concern as indicated by the 76 posts related to this topic in January 2016 and further posts in April 2016.…”

“…Doran et al (2016) provided data on student debt and starting salary data for doctoral-level psychology students and found generally consistent results with this survey. One slightly encouraging sign from Sweet et al (2015) is that starting salaries for early-career neuropsychologists are higher (approximately $80,000) compared to starting salaries for general health service provider psychologists (approximately $63,000). Nonetheless, the significant concerns profession-wide about the large increase in student debt clearly extend to neuropsychology.…”

“…Interestingly, respondents were 75% female, suggesting more female trainees responded to this survey compared to the proportion of professional neuropsychologists (Sweet et al, 2015) and supervisors (Shultz et al, 2014) previously surveyed. Additionally, although most internship and postdoctoral trainees secured APA-accredited internships, more Ph.D. than Psy.D.…”

Concentration Endurance Test (d2): Normative data for Spanish-speaking pediatric population

“…Prior research has demonstrated that up to 40% of children aged four years old already exhibit difficulties with attention to warrant teacher and parent concern (Palfrey, Levine, Walker, & Sullivan, 1985). Moreover, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder has emerged as one of the most common childhood conditions and one of the top reasons for neuropsychological referral (Sweet, Benson, Nelson, & Moberg, 2015). Given that attention plays a fundamental role in all cognitive, social, and emotional processes, impairments in these skills are associated with poor adaptive functioning, reduced quality of life, and a variety of academic problems (Isquith, Crawford, Espy, & Gioia, 2005;Miller & Hinshaw, 2010).…”