PHD Clinical Psychology Pediatric Neuropsychology

A Pediatric Neuropsychologist electronically examines a young male patient

The greatest contribution that I might be able to make to society would be to improve the quality of life of children who have suffered brain damage. To this end I want to devote my professional life to research in pediatric neuropsychology.  I knew immediately that neurophysiology was the right career path for me when I saw how it could be combined with pediatrics. And I have been fortunate to work with one of the most distinguished professors and authorities in the field, Dr. ____, from whom I have learned a great deal. As a pediatric neuropsychologist, I hope to make scientific advances in the field that will help to increase the quality of life of brain damaged children and their families, helping them to better understand and cope with neuropsychological disorders.  

I find research to be tremendously exciting. As I stood in the operating room that day not long ago, for example, observing a Wada test, I felt the overwhelming urge to pinch myself to make sure that this was really happening. I observed a variety of important neuropsychological tests at the University of ____, and this has set me on a professional course for the rest of my life, solidifying my desire to pursue a lifelong career in pediatric neuropsychology. Dr. ____ helped me to gain broad exposure to the practice of neuropsychology in the hospital setting. And I especially enjoyed working on a research project alongside a graduate student at ____ on the test-retest reliability and validity of various neuropsychological tests.

This past summer, I was 1 of 25 students chosen from around the country to attend the ____ Summer Neuroscience Institute at the University of ____. This opportunity enabled me to attend dozens of lectures by experts in related areas and to learn my way around the many labs associated with neuroscience, especially the brain lab. I have also been heavily involved with the National Symposium on Child Abuse where I was honored for a paper that I wrote and was able to participate in various roundtable discussions.

I have worked under the supervision of Dr. ____, a psychology professor at ____ University who studies the Impact of Childhood Factors on Various Aspects of Neurological development. She serves me as a role model as I also want very much to specialize in effects of parenting styles, abuse, etc.  Last year, in 2009, I had the opportunity to learn a great deal from ____, a physiotherapist with whom I performed an observership of several sessions lasting between 60 and 90 minutes each and was exposed to the practice of pediatrics in the community setting assessment and discussion regarding normal development, neuro-developmental handling techniques, treatment planning, and goal setting.

The University of ____ is my first choice for graduate school since I hope to study under Dr. ____because I am also very much interested in pediatrics, learning, and leukemia are closely related to my own. My GPA suggests that I can excel in your program, despite my low GRE scores, since I am on track to graduate with honors in May with a B.S. in Counseling Psychology. My profound love for children is my perennial and most critical source of inspiration.

PHD Clinical Psychology Pediatric Neuropsychology