Consultation Liaison Psychiatry Fellowship

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Overview

The University of Pennsylvania Department of Psychiatry offers a fully accredited Consultation — Liaison Psychiatry training program to qualified psychiatrists.  Penn’s program provides the Fellow with one of the nation’s most unique and challenging training experiences.  Fellows will train on both the General Inpatient Consultation Service and seven Outpatient Subspecialty Clinics in the fields of Solid Organ Transplantation, Women’s Mental Health, Neurology/Epilepsy, Anesthesia/Pain, Oncology and Gastroenterology.

Founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school, The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine is at the heart of a world-renowned institution dedicated to the advancement of science and excellence in patient care.  Penn Psychiatry is committed to the science of medicine, the art and practice of behavioral health care, professionalism and humanism. 

Location

Fellowship activities are primarily at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (75% HUP) and the Philadelphia Veterans Administration Medical Center (25% PVAMC). HUP is a 700-bed acute care hospital and the PVAMC has over 150 acute care beds. There are 720 medical students and over 1,000 residents and postdoctoral fellows within 58 departments, divisions and centers in the School of Medicine.

Duration

The Fellowship is a one-year full time position.

Stipend

PGY5: $83,041.00

PGY6: $86,534.00

Stipend toward yearly trip to the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Consultation — Liaison Psychiatry

Additional information pertaining to salary rates and benefits can be found here 

Program Goals

The Fellowship emphasizes the development of clinical, teaching, and scholarly skills necessary to prepare the candidate for a career in academic Consultation — Liaison Psychiatry or clinical practice. In addition, this program provides the experience necessary to prepare the candidate to successfully pass the ABPN sub-specialty certification exam in Psychosomatic Medicine.

Clinical Services

General Consultation

Consultation — Liaison Psychiatry Fellows gain administrative skills and clinical experience by directing rounds and participating in walk-rounds in the mornings and afternoons. Individualized teaching regarding patient management takes place with Consultation — Liaison Psychiatry Attendings, medical students and PGY 1, 2, and 3 Psychiatry Residents. Fellows also train with Residents from Neurology.

Consultation — Liaison Psychiatry Fellows are trained to deliver a variety of psychotherapeutic modalities at the bedside. Examples include Supportive Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Crisis Management and Motivational Enhancement Therapy.  Fellows learn to implement cutting edge pharmacotherapies in the care of the complex medically ill. Inpatients are seen in the Emergency Department, Intensive Care Units, Surgical and Medical Step-down units and all acute care floors.

Specialty Consultation Service

Fellows train for a 4.5-month block in each of the following outpatient Specialty Consultation Services.  Outpatient Specialty Consultation Services include:

  • Solid Organ Transplant

The Penn Transplant Institute stands among the top 10 transplant programs in the United States and has won numerous awards for exceptional patient care and performance. HUP's surgical teams perform over 500 liver, kidney, lung and heart transplantations per year. Fellows conduct pre- transplant psychiatric evaluations for prospective transplant recipients from each of the major solid organ systems (liver, heart, lung, kidney). Fellows also evaluate potential living donors for renal and liver transplantation. Fellows become proficient in the treatment of pre- and post-transplant patients for a variety of psychiatric conditions in outpatient and inpatient settings.

  • Women’s Mental Health

Fellows participate in evaluations in the primary outpatient Ob/Gyn clinic and learn to manage the psychiatric care of pregnant and postpartum women. Fellows conduct psychiatric evaluations and treat women with premenstrual, perinatal and perimenopausal disorders in the context of other primary psychiatric disorders in the Obstetrical clinic and the Medical Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic. 

  • Anesthesia/Pain Management Clinic

Penn's Pain Management Service is a multidisciplinary team consisting of leading experts in the field of pain management from across the country. Fellows learn leading edge pharmacologic and interventional treatment regimens for inpatients and outpatients with complex pain syndromes. Embedded in the pain clinic are psychologists specializing in psychodynamics of chronic pain patients who are available for the supervision of fellows. 

  • Neurology Service/Epilepsy

Fellows gain invaluable experience working with outstanding Neurologists in one of preeminent Neurology Departments in nation.  Fellows manage psychiatric complications of neurological illnesses, with emphasis on Epileptiform Disorders. 

  • Psych-GI Clinic

Fellows will spend two afternoons per month, during their Ambulatory Clinic Rotation, in the Psych-GI Clinic which is staffed by a faculty member in the Consultation/Psychosomatic Section. This clinic is "nested" in the Gastroenterology Clinic at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. The patient population presents with a wide spectrum of clinical disorders characterized by combined GI and Psychiatric co-morbidity.

  • Cancer Center

The Abramson Cancer Center is one of a select group of cancer centers in the country awarded the prestigious designation of Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute. This status reflects our outstanding research, clinical services, education and information services and community outreach. Fellows learn effective strategies to manage complex psychiatric syndromes in patients with cancer, and often follow patients between the inpatient and outpatient settings.

  • Sleep Clinic

This specialized clinic will train fellows in diagnosis and management of clinical issues at the intersection of psychiatric illness and sleep disorders.  Sleep-related disorders such as insomnia and hypersomnia cut across nearly all psychiatric disease.  Recognition and appropriate treatment of sleep issues is critical for optimal outcomes in a psychiatric patient population.  Fellows will gain competency in diagnosis of a broad range of sleep disorders, an understanding of management from the perspective of sleep medicine and psychiatry, and exposure to multiple modes of intervention.  Graduates of this program will be equipped to integrate diagnosis and treatment of sleep-related issues into their practices.

Longitudinal Training Experience

  • Outpatient Medical-Psychiatry Clinic

Fellows provide comprehensive psychiatric care including medication management and psychotherapy to outpatients with Medical-Psychiatry problems in this weekly clinic.  This setting offers a unique opportunity to provide continuity of care to patients initially treated by the Fellows on the inpatient service while learning the skills necessary to build a Consultation — Liaison Psychiatry practice. 

  • Academic and Research Opportunities

Fellows are expected to pursue an academic endeavor which may include writing a literature review, collecting and presenting data at the yearly Academy of Consultation — Liaison Psychiatry Meeting, or publishing a case report.  The academic curriculum follows a syllabus of key concepts in Consultation — Liaison Psychiatry throughout training.  Attending Physicians provide individual teaching and academic mentoring.  A monthly Consultation — Liaison Interest Group Meeting is attended by the Penn Faculty and Psychiatrists in private outpatient Consultation — Liaison Psychiatry practices.  Presentations of ongoing and developing research, case studies and current topics of clinical and academic interest are discussed over lunch.  Research opportunities in each of the Specialty Clinics are available to the candidate or may be developed as part of the Fellow's goals.  

  • Education

Fellows are responsible for the direct supervision of medical students and provide assistance to residents rotating on the consultation service. They are responsible for a weekly morning didactic while at HUP, choosing a weekly case and evidenced based article for presentation for students and residents.

 


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