Clinical Settings
Inpatient CL – Fellows consult on patients at Inova Fairfax Hospital who are admitted to medical, neurological, surgical, critical care and Ob/Gyn services. Medical students and residents are assigned to a specific fellow, forming a consult team who the fellow teaches and directs, while also seeing patients directly. Guidance, support, and education pertaining to inpatient consults are available throughout the day on an informal basis in addition to structured teaching rounds. Specific guidance is aimed at building the skills necessary to manage liaison issues, including effective communication and care coordination with family members, nurses, physicians, other consulting services, legal and administrative departments, as well as outside agencies.
Outpatient CL – An important component of CL fellowship training is the opportunity to see patients in longitudinal outpatient medical settings. This includes the Inova Psychooncology Clinic, where fellows provide short term psychotherapy and psychopharmacology. Another opportunity involves co-leading a support group for patients with recurrent breast cancer with a therapist from the Life with Cancer program. Both are unique opportunities to learn how functioning patients cope with chronic and life-threatening medical conditions. Fellows provide assessments and pharmacologic care for HIV patients through the Inova Juniper Clinics, where they collaborate with counselors and medical providers to coordinate care. Inova Cares Clinic for Families is another outpatient site where fellows provide primary care and short term mental health care to underserved patients and unable to afford private health coverage. Fellows provide in-person psychiatric consultations and care as well as indirect consultations, education, and guidance to primary care providers to optimize care of vulnerable patients.
Further elective opportunities for outpatient CL experiences include seeing transplant, VAD, and advanced lung disease patients through the Inova Advanced Heart and Lung Disease Clinics and seeing patients with Dr. Meguid in the Inova Neuropsychiatry Clinic. An added option currently in development is a Women’s Behavioral Health Program that will initially focus on perinatal patients.
Seminars – Seminars are integrated into the fellow’s educational experience and aim to help expand their knowledge base regarding important CL psychiatry topics and bolster their ability to apply this to patient care. Some are held on a weekly basis, while others are bimonthly, monthly, or consist of a time-limited learning series. Topics addressed include core CL psychiatry, neuropsychiatry, liaison psychiatry, transplant psychiatry, perinatal mental health, administrative psychiatry, and evidence-based medicine.
Teaching/ Scholarly Activities – In our program, an emphasis is placed on teaching, with fellows providing instruction to medical students and residents. Besides providing trainees with informal bedside teaching and supervision, fellows can also contribute to formal lecture series for the medical students rotating in psychiatry. Further opportunities to teach residents in other programs such as Ob/Gyn and internal medicine are available and encouraged as we feel the ability to effectively communicate about psychiatric issues to non-psychiatric audiences is vital. Chances to provide teaching to nursing staff, ancillary providers, and patient groups can be pursued.
Scholarly activities are an expectation for each of our fellows and may consist of QI projects, presentation of posters or workshops at annual meetings such as APA or ACLP, writing and publication of chapters, case reports, or updates. Formal research projects are also possible with careful planning and guidance from Drs. Wise and Sheridan.
Recent Graduates from AY 2019-2020
- Jawad Chaudhry, MD – Howard University Hospital, Washington, DC
- Natalie Gugino, MD – State University of New York, Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
- Jacqueline Posada, MD – George Washington University, Washington, DC
Current Fellows for AY 2020-2021
- Nina Ballone, MD – Sidney Kimmel Medical College / Thomas Jefferson University- Philadelphia, PA
- Brenna Emery, MD – George Washington University, Washington, DC
- Aisha Siddiqa, MD – Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital, Washington, DC
Application Process
Below is our checklist for applying for fellowship:
1. Completed Common Program Application (available on ACLP website)
2. Curriculum Vitae
3. Personal Statement
4. Three letters of recommendation, including one from residency program director
5. Copies of USMLE Step 1, 2, and 3 scores
6. ECFMG certificate (if applicable)
We start accepting completed applications in the Spring. Once we receive completed application materials, will then contact you regarding an interview in the Fall.
Questions?
Please do not hesitate to reach out to any of us with questions, but particularly Dr. Catherine Crone at 703-776-3380 or cathy.crone@inova.org, and our academic coordinator, Pamela Crawford at 703-776-3626 or pamela.crawford@inova.org.