Fellowship combines theory, practical experience
Our fellowship offers instruction in psychiatric theory and best practices in clinical settings. Fellows also can earn the required 150 hours of continuing medical education (CME) credits needed to successfully complete the program. The training opportunities include:
- Fellow boot camp
- Introduction and basics of psychiatry
- Overview of psychiatric disorders
- Pediatric psychopharmacology
- Psychiatric pharmacology
- Neurocognitive disorder and geriatric psychiatry
- Substance use disorder management and treatment
- Treatment implementation and intervention
- Crisis intervention and risk management
- Ethical and legal issues
Didactic training
Fellows participate in our didactic sessions taught by Novant Health medical staff or guests lecturers every Thursday afternoon.
Clinical rotations
Practical experience working in clinical settings offers fellows exposure to a range of learning experiences in psychiatric care. Faculty members supervise fellows during clinical rotations to enhance the learning opportunities while providing expert care for patients.
For four-month periods, fellows work a standard 40 hour week, rotating across acute-care settings. Rotations include the following:
- Adult inpatient psychiatry – Fellows become members of the inpatient psychiatric team. This rotation calls on fellows to treat and manage conditions such as acute psychosis, severe depression, catatonia, dementia and substance abuse. Fellows also participate in case management and therapy.
- Consultation-liaison psychiatry – Fellows provide psychiatric consultations to the more than 900 patients at Forsyth Medical Center. This is an opportunity to learn and manage complex medical cases, ranging from acute delirium to rare conditions such as anti-NMDA-receptor encephalitis.
- Emergency psychiatry – Fellows provide services within the largest emergency department in North Carolina. The team operates a 21-bed psychiatric emergency department that is co-managed with the emergency physicians. During this rotation, fellows work with 18 therapists on the emergency room’s behavioral health team, which operates 24/7.
Our fellows also have opportunities to work in psychiatry programs, including:
- Partial hospitalization program
- Intensive outpatient program
- Counseling and Recovery Center program