Office of the Clinical Director-Psychiatry Clinical Research Training

National Institute Of Mental Health

Investigators

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Abstract

Clinical Fellowship Programs: During FY22, there were eight 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 eight trainees, seven entered through the PGY-4 ACGME accredited psychiatry residency program. We added four new PGY-4 trainees in FY22. Several clinical fellows may transition to new positions within the next fiscal year 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. Several residents/fellows participated in other online COVID-19 online studies with their Principal Investigators that were rapidly initiated in Spring 2020. Program Director Administrative Duties: The Program Director for the PGY4 residency and clinical fellowship program departed NIMH OCD in May 2022 to become the Executive Director for NIH Graduate Medical Education and the Designated Institutional Official for the NIH Clinical Center. She was replaced by a highly qualified and experienced Program Director from within the NIMH IRP on May 1, 2022. Program Director duties include dissemination of information about the training programs, recruitment of diverse 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 and Adolescent 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 2021-22. 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. They also created a new NIH-wide clinical psychology practicum for students in clinical psychology training. 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 psychiatry 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 students have returned for rotations through NIMH labs as COVID restrictions shifted; in 2021-2022, we hosted two medical students. 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 participates in 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 the top psychiatry residents with outstanding academic potential who are selected from among residencies across the U.S. and Puerto Rico 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 2021, 13 award recipients and 9 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 June 2022, a new group of ORAP residents and honorable mention residents were selected. The OCD is involved with education on neuroscience for psychiatrists. The Program Director of the PGY4 residency and clinical fellowship program has been a regular faculty member for the NIMH-funded National Neuroscience Curriculum Initiative course given at the American Association of Directors of Psychiatry Residency Programs (AADPRT) and Society of Biological Psychiatry annual meetings. In Winter 2021, the OCD also assisted with outreach for the Inaugural Deeda Blair Research Initiative for Disorders of the Brain facilitated through the Foundation of the National Institutes of Health which gave three awards for novel research by early career investigators. Trans-NIH Initiatives: Understanding the importance of the wellbeing of all NIH staff, especially health care employees, reached an inflection point during the pandemic. The National Academy of Medicine and the U.S. Surgeon General have issued advisories and calls for action around clinician wellbeing and burnout. The NIMH Office of the Clinical Director continues to work collaboratively with the NIH Clinical Center, other institutes, centers and offices, the Office of Clinical Research Training and Medical Education, the NIH Office of Intramural Training and Education, and the NIH Office of the Director to address issues of physician, staff and trainee wellbeing, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring the importance of integrating mental health into all wellbeing efforts and advocating for systematic responses across the institution. In addition, the NIMH has taken on a leadership role at the Graduate Medical Education Committee level in its work in the wellbeing space for all NIH residents, fellows and faculty, standing up new initiatives including tracking and intervening around resident burnout.