Office of the Clinical Director-Psychiatry Clinical Research Training

National Institute Of Mental Health

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

Clinical Fellowship Programs: During FY21, there were seven NIMH IRP residents/fellows. The academic year generally starts in July so this number can include new, current and departing trainees from our programs. Of the seven trainees, four entered through the PGY-4 ACGME accredited psychiatry residency program. We added two new PGY-4 trainees in FY21. In FY2020, several clinical fellows transitioned to new positions in industry, academia and continued post-doctoral training. Some resident/fellow members as well as trainees and staff in the NIMH OCD collaborated with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) on a longitudinal study of COVID-19 survivors and controls, A Longitudinal Study of COVID-19 Sequelae and Immunity, Laboratory of Immunoregulation, NIAID/NIH. PI Michael Sneller (P205068). Several residents/fellows participated in other online COVID-19 online studies with their Principal Investigators that were rapidly initiated in Spring 2020. Administrative duties: A recent past president of the NIH Graduate Medical Education Committee (GMEC), the Program Director for the PGY4 residency and clinical fellowship program serves on GMEC as the NIMH representative. Program Director duties include dissemination of information about the training programs, recruitment of new residents and fellows, identification of NIMH Principal Investigators to serve as research mentors, and guidance on career development for trainees at all levels. Other affiliated training programs: NIH Clinical Center Hospice and Palliative Medicine (HPM) fellowship program: this one year ACGME-accredited subspecialty program is sponsored under the PGY4 psychiatry residency program and hosts one fellow annually. Research electives for psychiatry residents and child psychiatry fellows: The NIMH OCD offers elective rotations to residents/fellows from local psychiatry training programs to gain exposure to neuroscience based research. For patient and staff safety this program was on hold from March 2020 through Sept 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Consultation-Liaison (CL) Psychiatry fellowship program: This one-year ACGME-accredited subspecialty fellowship is conducted in partnership with MedStar Georgetown University Hospital and Washington Hospital Center and has two fellowship positions per year. The CL fellows rotate on the NIMH Psychiatric Consultation Liaison Service at the NIH Clinical Center, each for six months. Two joint program CL fellows were trained in FY 2020-21. Neuropsychology Training Opportunities: Up to 4 graduate students from neighboring university clinical psychology graduate programs (e.g., USUHS, American, Gallaudet, Howard, UMBC) are selected to come to NIH to assist with evaluations, while learning the practice of neuropsychology. Neuropsychology seminars, clinical interviewing, trainings on psychometric testing, test administration and scoring (e.g., Wechsler tests of intelligence and memory, brief tests of intelligence, NIH Toolbox, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test) are provided. Training is also given to NIMH IRP Intramural Research Training Awardees (IRTAS) on test administration (including NIH Toolbox, and Kaufman Brief Test of Intelligence 2). Staff counsel interested students and IRTAs on career options in psychology. This year staff created and presented at the annual NIMH IRP Clinical Psychology PhD Program Application Workshop. Medical Student Programs: The Clinical Electives Program (CEP) at the NIH Clinical Center provides fourth year medical students opportunities to apply for 4-8 week clinical neuroscience research or consultation liaison rotations. The OCD helps coordinate medical student rotations in the NIMH IRP. For patient and trainee safety this program was on hold from March 2020 through Sept 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Medical Research Scholars Program (MRSP) at the NIH Clinical Center is a selective year-long elective research experience for medical students who live and work on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland. The Deputy Clinical Director and NIMH IRP faculty have served as mentors or been on the MRSP Board of Advisors. Advisors interview and select students for the program and help them identify a research mentor. Clinical Neuroscience Initiatives: The OCD oversees NIMH national initiatives that promote psychiatrists-in-training to choose and succeed in research and academic careers. The NIMH Outstanding Resident Award Program (ORAP) was started in 1988 and is a highly coveted and competitive annual award for promising young psychiatrists-in-training. The ORAP awardees are psychiatry residents with outstanding academic potential who are selected from among the top residencies across the U.S. and who have been nominated by their training directors as PGY2s. This award is given to a small number of residents each year for past achievements, current efforts, and future contributions to the field of psychiatry. In Fall 2020, 12 award recipients and 12 honorable mention residents participated in a two-day virtual program that featured presentations by NIMH investigators, extramural program staff and a virtual tour of NIMH facilities. In addition, in December 2020, The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) announced the Deeda Blair Research Initiative for Disorders of the Brain which gave 3 research initiative awards to previous outstanding ORAP recipients. In June 2021, a new group of 13 ORAP residents was selected with 9 honorable mentions. Trans-NIH Initiatives: The NIMH Office of the Clinical Director continues to work collaboratively with the Clinical Center, OCRTME and the NIH Office of the Director to address issues of physician and staff wellbeing, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.