Clinical Neuropsychologists
In the Clinical Neuropsychologists occupation, workers assess and diagnose patients with neurobehavioral problems related to acquired or developmental disorders of the nervous system, such as neurodegenerative disorders, traumatic brain injury, seizure disorders, and learning disabilities. A regular part of the work is to interview patients to obtain comprehensive medical histories. The strongest interest signal is Investigative (7.0 of 7), then Social (5.7) and Conventional, which gives it the code ISC. Plan on graduate school and often five years or more of related experience; O*NET labels this extensive preparation. Strength in active listening, critical thinking, and social perceptiveness helps most here. People who want research, analysis and working through hard problems usually fit better here than those who need leading, persuading and making business decisions.
What they do
Assess and diagnose patients with neurobehavioral problems related to acquired or developmental disorders of the nervous system, such as neurodegenerative disorders, traumatic brain injury, seizure disorders, and learning disabilities. Recommend treatment after diagnosis, such as therapy, medication, or surgery. Assist with evaluation before and after neurosurgical procedures, such as deep brain stimulation.
Main tasks
- Interview patients to obtain comprehensive medical histories.
- Write or prepare detailed clinical neuropsychological reports, using data from psychological or neuropsychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct observations, or interviews.
- Conduct neuropsychological evaluations such as assessments of intelligence, academic ability, attention, concentration, sensorimotor function, language, learning, and memory.
- Diagnose and treat conditions involving injury to the central nervous system, such as cerebrovascular accidents, neoplasms, infectious or inflammatory diseases, degenerative diseases, head traumas, demyelinating diseases, and various forms of dementing illnesses.
- Diagnose and treat pediatric populations for conditions such as learning disabilities with developmental or organic bases.
- Provide education or counseling to individuals and families.
Skills
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Social Perceptiveness
- Reading Comprehension
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Speaking
Who this career fits
May suit you if
- You enjoy working out why something happens, not just what happened.
- You get energy from helping other people move forward.
- You are prepared for graduate-level study and a long training path.
- You are comfortable relying on active listening and critical thinking.
May not suit you if
- You lose interest when a job asks for long stretches of analysis.
- You want to lead people or run the business side. Enterprising rates 2.1 out of 7 here.
- You want to be working in the field within the next few years.
Interest profile
O*NET rates each occupation from 1 to 7 on six interest types. The code ISC takes the three highest, and Investigative comes first here.
Preparation
Extensive preparation. Many jobs here need graduate study, and people often spend five years or more building specialist experience.
Most-reported requirement in the O*NET survey: Post-Doctoral Training. This reflects what workers reported most often and is not a legal minimum. Licensing rules can differ by state or industry, so confirm what applies where you plan to work.
Also called
- Aviation Neuropsychologist
- Board Certified Clinical Neuropsychologist
- Clinical Neuropsychologist
- Neuropsychology Medical Consultant
- Pediatric Clinical Neuropsychologist
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This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.