An initial review of doctoral clinical neuropsychology coursework syllabi: common trends and core competencies

Findings revealed broad consistencies across categories of topics, training depth, and textbooks used. Topics consistently included Diseases & Disorders, Cognitive/Neuroscientific Theories, and Practical Clinical Skills, and often implemented more basic levels of learning. Variability within these categories may need further exploration to elucidate the effectiveness and long-term impact of how foundational CN knowledge is taught. From these findings, there are at least two possible interpretations: (1) a greater emphasis on certain course topics and opportunities to incorporate higher-order thinking skills is needed; and (2) that CN coursework may indeed be delivering the recommended foundational knowledge, with the intent that clinical and research practica supplement training. Future studies should investigate this distinction by evaluating information beyond that of coursework syllabi (e.g. student handbook).