UF College of Health Professions establishes its first program at Shands Jacksonville campus

The appointment of neuropsychologist Tannahill Glen, Psy.D., to the Neuroscience Institute at Shands Jacksonville, marks the University of Florida College of Health Professions’ first clinical and educational endeavor on the UF Health Science Center’s Jacksonville campus.

A clinical assistant professor in the college’s clinical and health psychology department, Glen is developing a new clinical neuropsychology service that will incorporate inpatient and outpatient consultation, research, and training opportunities for psychology students, medical students, interns and residents.

“The addition of Dr. Glen to our department, and her new role at Shands Jacksonville, brings the tradition of our high-quality neuropsychological services to a broader range of patients and continues to open the door for further research activities for our faculty and graduate students,” said Ronald Rozensky, Ph.D., clinical and health psychology chairman.

For Glen, the chance to develop a clinical, educational and research program on an urban campus is her idea of a dream job.

“I have the challenge of providing the highest quality clinical services to a population that has not been able to benefit from customary neuropsychological care for some time, and I have to make the venture physician- and customer-friendly and financially viable,” Glen said. “Furthermore, this is a teaching hospital with strong academic and scientific resources, which helps me provide modern, empirically based evaluations and interventions.”

As a neuropsychologist, Glen evaluates memory, problem solving, attention, language, motor function, academic skills and psychosocial functioning in patients who have suffered a traumatic brain injury or have been diagnosed with stroke, epilepsy, brain tumor, Parkinson’s disease, dementia or other conditions that may affect brain function.

Her patient evaluations are used to provide a thorough description of a patient’s strengths and needs, document the course of illness or recovery, chart the effects of treatment and determine a patient’s ability to return to work or school.

“Interventions we might propose to referring physicians include the occasional medication recommendation, return-to-work rehabilitation programs, cognitive remediation, traditional psychotherapy for higher-functioning patients and behavior therapy,” Glen said.

Glen said educational opportunities at the Jacksonville campus are nearly limitless. She plans to provide lectures and presentations to medical and psychology students and hopes to offer a research and training position to an intern or postdoctoral fellow within the year.

“It is my goal to provide the most enthusiastic and encouraging learning environment in the city,” Glen said.