VA Medical Center partnership offers students invaluable learning opportunities

At Roanoke, learning isn't limited to the classroom or the lab. Through a unique partnership with the Salem Veterans Affairs Medical Center, students get opportunities to do real-world work in an important medical setting.

The collaboration, established in 2010, allows students to work as research assistants and interns learning firsthand from the Salem VA's staff of dozens of mental health providers and lead researchers.

Dr. Lauren Ratcliffe ’17 assisted VA researchers with several projects and completed an honors thesis examining the impact of cognitive impairment on treatment efficacy in veterans with trauma symptoms. Her project earned her an invitation to present at a National Veterans Affairs Research Week event.

Ratcliffe went on to get her doctorate in clinical psychology from Mercer University and completed her predoctoral internship at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System. Her doctoral dissertation went on to win the National Academy of Neuropsychology's Outstanding Dissertation Award.  

She completed a year of postdoctoral fellowship training in clinical neuropsychology at Wake Forest School of Medicine, where she co-established a neuropsychology service on the inpatient brain injury rehabilitation unit, and she completed her second year of postdoctoral training at Shepherd Center in Atlanta.

She’s currently a clinical neuropsychologist and assistant professor within the Department of Neurology at the Medical University of South Carolina. She serves with several professional organizations, has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and has presented her research at national and international conferences. 

The many early opportunities offered to her at Roanoke College helped hone her skills and set her apart from other applicants.

"Graduate school is all about seeking out other opportunities to enhance your training, so starting that in undergrad is a great way to show your tenacity and willingness to learn," she said.