Clinical Fellowship Programs: During FY15, there were thirteen NIMH IRP clinical fellows. The academic year generally starts in July so this number includes new, current and departing fellows. Of the thirteen fellows, three were in our PGY-4 ACGME accredited psychiatry residency program. We added three new trainees in FY15, two women and one man, all from excellent residency programs. The emphasis of the program has been to select highly qualified trainees in terms of clinical skills in psychiatry, research background, and commitment to a research career. The clinical fellows are actively involved in conducting mainly clinical research (a small number of trainees conduct basic or translational projects), publishing peer-reviewed articles, presenting their research at national scientific meetings and receiving awards for their work. Four fellows left the program in the past year: one joined the Food and Drug Administration, two joined the clinical faculty at academic medical institutions, and one became a Staff Clinician in the Office of the Clinical Director. PGY4 Psychiatry Residency: The NIMH residency program is a unique one-year program that provides nearly full-time research training while at the same time fulfilling the ACGME requirements of the fourth year of residency. Psychiatry residents who transfer to the program have completed all required clinical rotations prior to coming to NIMH. The PGY-4 psychiatry residency program had its last site visit by the ACGME in January 2013 and was granted a full accreditation with no citations; continued annual accreditation was effective February 13, 2015 and the next self-study visit is expected to be in April 2023. Other affiliated training programs: NIH Hospice and Palliative Medicine fellowship program: this accredited program is sponsored by the NIMH ACGME-approved PGY4 psychiatry residency program. The two programs work to support the clinical training of fellows by joint conferences and clinical rotations. Psychosomatic Medicine fellowship program: this one year subspecialty fellowship is conducted in partnership with Georgetown University Medical Center and Washington Hospital Center and selects two fellows per year. The PM fellows rotate on the NIMH Psychiatric Consultation Liaison Service, each for six months. The three-year combined NIMH/Children's National Medical Center child psychiatry program had one third-year fellow who graduated in June 2015. The combined program was started 14 years ago to recruit and train more child psychiatrist researchers. This past year, the OCD conducted a ten year review of all training programs and found that this program yielded only a very small percentage of child psychiatry recruits for the DIRP. Therefore, the OCD recommended that the Scientific Director discontinue this program effective July 2015. We, instead, will offer elective rotations at NIMH DIRP for child psychiatry fellows who are interested in research. Administrative duties: The Program Director for the PGY4 residency and clinical fellowship program is an active member of the NIH Graduate Medical Education Committee (GMEC) and was elected as vice-chair of GMEC this year; she will become chair of the committee next year. The NIMH OCD appoints one clinical fellow to represent the program on the Clinical Fellows Committee of the NIH Clinical Center and will also have a representative from our ACGME-accredited PGY4 residency program next year. Medical Student Programs: The Clinical Electives Program (CEP) at the NIH Clinical Center provides fourth year medical students with direct exposure to the conduct of clinical research after completion of their core medical school clinical rotations. The OCD helps coordinate medical student rotations in Adult Psychopharmacology, Child Psychopharmacology, and Psychosomatic Medicine; other elective options available on request. Medical Research Scholars Program (MRSP) at the NIH Clinical Center is a selective year-long elective research year for medical students who live and work on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland. The NIMH Clinical Director and Deputy Clinical Director as well as other NIMH DIRP faculty have served on the Board of Advisors for the MRSP. Advisors interview and select students for the program, and help them identify an appropriate research mentor. The advisor also oversees the students overall experience and provides career development guidance. Clinical Neuroscience Initiatives: The NIMH OCD leads two NIMH spearheaded national initiatives that promote psychiatrists-in-training to choose and succeed in clinical neuroscience research as well as conferences that promote neuroscience literacy among psychiatrists. 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 residents in the U.S. and who have been nominated by their training directors. This award is given to approximately 12 residents each year for past achievements, current efforts, and future contributions to the field of psychiatry. In Sept 2014, 13 recipients traveled to Bethesda for a two-day program that featured presentations by NIMH investigators, extramural program staff and a tour of NIMH facilities. In June 2015, a new group of ORAP residents was selected with thirteen awardees and 6 honorable mentions. NIMH Brain Camp is an annual scientific retreat for psychiatry residents with a strong background and interest in research careers. The program, started in 2009 and usually convened at the Banbury Center in Cold Spring Harbor, NY, involves lectures and discussions between residents, invited distinguished faculty and NIMH leadership, on a variety of cutting edge neuroscience topics relevant to psychiatry. Most of the residents who attend Brain Camp are awardees of the previous year's ORAP. Brain Camp programs are seen as a key way in which to nurture and identify a cadre of young clinical neuroscientists who will become the next generation of leaders in psychiatry. The residents value the opportunity to meet like-minded members of their residency cohort and the opportunity to meet and learn from leaders in psychiatry and neuroscience research in an interactive setting. Brain Camp VII was held in May 2015 at Banbury Center in Cold Spring Harbor, NY. National Meetings: The OCD presented at two national meetings on the topic of psychiatric research training. A study group on neuroscience training of psychiatrists was convened by NIMH Director, Thomas Insel, at the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology annual meeting. The NIMH Program Director summarized NIMH neuroscience training programs and initiatives as part of a panel discussion. The Program Director of the PGY4 residency is a member of the American Association of Directors of Psychiatry Residency Programs (AADPRT) and she led a workshop at the AADPRT annual meeting to present training and funding opportunities, especially for minority trainees. She also participated in the second BRAIN pre-conference at the March 2015 AADPRT meeting during which NIMH-funded neuroscience curriculum modules were taught and disseminated.
| Arbuckle, Melissa R; Luo, Sean X; Pincus, Harold Alan et al. (2018) Trends in MD/PhD Graduates Entering Psychiatry: Assessing the Physician-Scientist Pipeline. Acad Psychiatry 42:346-353 |
| Chung, Joyce Y; Insel, Thomas R (2014) Mind the gap: neuroscience literacy and the next generation of psychiatrists. Acad Psychiatry 38:121-3 |
| Chung, Joyce; Pao, Maryland (2013) Stepping stones for psychiatry residents who pursue scientific research careers. Int Rev Psychiatry 25:284-90 |
