Training & Education
NIMH PGY4 Psychiatry Residency and Clinical Fellowship Programs
Overview
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Division of Intramural Research Programs offers both an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) approved residency program for the fourth year of post graduate psychiatric training (PGY4) and a non-accredited post-residency research fellowship program. These allied programs offer full-time research training on the campus of NIH in Bethesda, Maryland. The PGY4 Residency and Clinical Fellowship programs are designed to attract and train physician-scientists for successful research careers in clinical neuroscience. Both programs offer extensive training opportunities in clinical, translational and basic research that focuses on the neurobiology of mental illnesses. The core training program is mentorship-driven with the goal to acquire and refine research skills, including the evaluation and clinical care of research participants, development of research protocols, performance of clinical and/or laboratory research studies, and the analysis and presentation of study results. Residents and Clinical Fellows join specialty research groups that study the mechanisms or treatments of major psychiatric illnesses in adults or children. Emphasis in these programs is on psychopharmacology; novel therapeutics; behavioral endocrinology; neurobiology; neurodevelopment; functional, structural and molecular brain imaging; and neurogenetics.
Program Structure
Those who enter the program as PGY4 residents, transfer from ACGME accredited psychiatry residency programs having completed their general psychiatry residency requirements in their first three years. Clinical and research training are integrated during the PGY4 year and lead to board eligibility in General Psychiatry.
Clinical fellow applicants can come from psychiatry residencies, subspecialty fellowships, e.g. child and adolescent psychiatry, or graduate medical training in related fields, e.g. neurology.
The 3-year full-time training program is mentorship driven and individually tailored. Skills are developed through close interactions with experienced research mentors, and hands-on experience conducting research. Each fellow develops an Individual Development Plan that defines their specific training goals and activities.
Fellows assume responsibility for the evaluation and clinical care of inpatient and/or outpatient research participants in addition to providing on-call psychiatric consultations to NIH Clinical Center patients. Research design, methodology, statistical analysis, and data presentation skills are developed through interaction with mentors, didactic sessions, and practical experiences. Trainees have opportunities to undertake specialized coursework including the Principles and Practice of Clinical Research, Statistics, Grant-Writing and Clinical Research Bioethics. For trainees with primarily laboratory interests, basic research training opportunities are also available.
Additional Information
NIH Graduate Medical Education Programs
NIMH Psychiatry Residency and Clinical Fellowship Programs
Application Information
Successful candidates have strong background in research, a specific research interest and commitment to a research career. PGY4 applicants must successfully complete three years in an approved ACGME general psychiatry residency (including all clinical requirements for certification) by the time they enter the program. Interested applicants are encouraged to apply early in their PGY-3 training year. The expected length of stay for residents participating in the program is three years (an additional two years of fellowship follow the conclusion of residency training).
OCD Staff
Lisa Cullins, M.D.
Program Director
301-827-6871
Haniya Raza, D.O., MPH
Associate Program Director
301-827-7117
Affiliated Fellowship Training Program in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry
Georgetown University Department of Psychiatry sponsors a subspecialty fellowship program in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry (Psychosomatic Medicine) which is affiliated with the Psychiatric Consultation Liaison Service of the NIMH Office of the Clinical Director. Fellows in this program rotate for six months at the NIH Clinical Center as part of this one-year fellowship. For more information see the Georgetown University Hospital CL Fellowship.