Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship
The Child and Adolescent Psychiatry training program is a two-year ACGME approved program that integrates experience in a rich acute setting with comprehensive ambulatory training. Our staff have specialized expertise in many areas, such as complex medical issues, autism, acute care psychiatry, LGBT care, mood disorders, school mental health, and clinical research. Exceptional lectures, personalized supervision, research opportunities, and a large range of clinical settings provide a comprehensive training foundation for the new generation of child and adolescent psychiatrists.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement
Cleveland Clinic values a culture where caregivers integrate diversity and inclusion throughout the enterprise. We respect and appreciate our similarities and differences; they enable us to better serve our patients, one another, and our global communities. Our program mission is to provide a robust, diverse educational experience for our fellows, which will allow them to become broadly trained, ethical, and professional psychiatric providers, knowing it is important to understand the community whom they serve and how to deliver healthcare in a meaningful way. We value diversity of patients and caregivers with regards to race, ethnicity, age, socioeconomic status, religion, ability, gender identity/expression, and sexual orientation.
Program Structure
The Child and Adolescent Psychiatry fellowship consists of a two-year curriculum divided into modules lasting four weeks each. Residents may enter any time after completing the PGY-3 level. Our program is primarily a clinical program with opportunities with clinical research and scholarly development. Fellows work closely with the attending psychiatrists, therapists, social workers, psychologists, primary care collaborating doctors and nurses, and nursing to provide comprehensive patient care. In a rapidly changing world, our program strives to adapt to innovative access to care, including telepsychiatry and consultation within primary care clinics. Our program structure is well developed but also able to be adapted to the needs of each fellow.
PGY-4
During the first year, fellows will alternate five modules on our acute child and adolescent inpatient psychiatric inpatient unit, five modules on our child and adolescent consult liaison service, and three modules in diverse ambulatory settings with time for shadowing and exposure to psychotherapy. The goals for the fellow will be to master comprehensive interview techniques, understand evidence-based treatment strategies for complex cases, and work in a multidisciplinary setting. While on the inpatient unit, the fellow will be assessing complex psychiatric disorders and improving ability to integrate evidence-based psychopharmacology with supportive therapy in a multidisciplinary setting. During the consultation liaison rotation, the fellow will be introduced to inpatient pediatric units, including the epilepsy monitoring unit, the pediatric intensive care unit, emergency department consultations as well as pediatric subspecialty patients in hematology, oncology, and transplant services. Throughout the first year, fellows participate in a longitudinal outpatient care track where the fellow will develop skills in managing an outpatient clinical caseload. The fellow again will be the primary contact for the family and have the autonomy to manage patients under the supervision of staff attendance. Dedicated time is given for outpatient clinical days to enhance continuity of care and the educational experience.
PGY-5
The focus shifts in year two to a more ambulatory and community setting. Fellows also return to complete alternating 3 modules in the inpatient and consultation setting as junior attendings functionally “managing” the services. In the second year, the fellows continue their longitudinal outpatient care track through their continuity clinic with the addition of a 2nd community continuity clinic at a local FQHC (Neighborhood Family Practice). At this site, they provide collaborative care with family medicine and work in an integrated behavioral health team. The patient population is diverse and includes recent immigrants and refugees. Training throughout this year is focused on outpatient and specialized services. Fellows spend time each week working in school mental health and/or psychotherapy where they have supervision of their own longitudinal psychotherapy patients. The fellow will receive exposure to pediatric neurology, mood disorder intensive outpatient programs, group CBT/DBT skills, neuropsychology testing clinic, child and adolescent chemical dependency, eating disorders and adolescent medicine, developmental pediatrics, Hanna Perkins (a psychoanalytic therapeutic school), and Cleveland Clinic's Center for Autism. In these settings the fellow will gain valuable experiences outside of the Cleveland Clinic campus. These rotations provide a deeper connection and understanding of the system of services available to patients through multidisciplinary teams. There is also dedicated elective time for subspecialties of the fellow’s choice.
Research Opportunities
A multitude of clinical research opportunities are available throughout the Department of Psychiatry and Psychology and within the Children’s Institute. Each fellow is required to complete an annual academic project throughout his or her tenure within this program which includes a Grand Rounds presentation during the PGY5 year. Scholarly work also consists of a poster presentation and/or journal submission. Fellows have access to research skills training, IRB submission process, and quality improvement initiatives. The Cleveland Clinic offers extensive resources and advanced research skills training for self-directed fellows. If the fellow is more clinically focused, he or she has the option of developing a relevant didactic to present to the section.
Education
Fellows have dedicated time for didactics ½ day a week. These didactics are presented by psychiatry, psychology and specialized medical staff. The Psychiatry and Psychology Departmental grand rounds are held weekly on Thursday. The Children’s Institute also often holds Grand Rounds that are relevant to fellowship trainees. The didactic schedule covers basic tenets of child and adolescent development, learning and family systems, trauma and environmental roots of mental illness, psychopathology, biologic treatment, pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions, and psychotherapeutic interventions as well as more specialized lectures. All faculty participate in these lectures providing a breadth of exposure to different teaching styles. Case conferences are held regularly and include all fellows and faculty. Supervision over all trainee patient care is provided on a one-to-one basis by staff attendance. Education is given priority in all cases over service demands in our program. There is ample protected time for self-study and independent project development across the two years of training.
Training
The Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department not only participates in the training of child and adolescent psychiatry residents, but also fosters the education of general adult psychiatry residents from Cleveland Clinic (Cleveland and Akron General) and the MetroHealth Healthcare System. Medical students from Cleveland Clinic's Lerner College of Medicine and Case Western Reserve University and Ohio University College of Medicine also regularly rotate through our program. Fellows are actively involved and highly valued in the training and teaching of these medical students and residents. We believe strongly that child psychiatry must become integrated with primary care. Our fellows and staff are often asked to provide didactics for other programs, including pediatrics, family medicine, etc.
Application Process
Please contact the Program Coordinator or Program Director for the most updated information on our application process. We remain “outside the match” and fill our program most years before August. Generally, applicants can apply in the July cycle through ERAS.
Training and Education Contacts
- Program Director: Molly Wimbiscus, MD
- Associate Program Director: Jason Lambrese, MD
- Program Coordinator: Sharon Ezzo, MA
Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Fellowship
The ACGME-accredited Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Fellowship at Cleveland Clinic offers a unique training opportunity at one of the most renowned medical centers in the world. Cleveland Clinic is recognized in the U.S. and throughout the world for its expertise and care.
Program Leadership and Faculty
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Leo Pozuelo, MD, MBA, FACP, FACLP |
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Anna P. Shapiro-Krew, MD |
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Jack Owens, MD |
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Nona Nichols, MD |
Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Team
- Brain Health: Kasia Rothenberg, MD, PhD.
- Cardiology: Leo Pozuelo, MD.
- Epilepsy: Anna Shapiro-Krew, MD.
- Movement Disorders: Raghid Charara, MD.
- Psycho-Oncology: Kaleena Chilcote, MD.
- Regional Psychiatry: Jack Owens, MD and Nona Nichols, MD.
- Transgender Clinic: Murat Altinay, MD.
- Transplant: Erin Dean, MD.
- Women’s Health: Adele Viguera, MD.
- Social Work: Karen E. Salerno, MSSA, LISW-S.
- CL Section Coordinator: Aleksandar Jovanovic.
- CL Fellowship Program Manager: Natalie Douglass.
Curriculum Overview
We work on a module schedule. A module is made up of a 4-week block, and there are 13 modules throughout the year.
Inpatient Consultation Liaison
Fellows rotate on inpatient consultation liaison psychiatry for 10.5 modules of the year. The majority of that time is spent on Cleveland Clinic Main Campus, where fellows perform advanced-level consultations, are actively involved in teaching, and have the opportunity to run a team as an acting attending. The main campus consultation liaison service consists of three attending-led teams, residents, medical students, and a dedicated licensed clinical social worker to ensure wrap-around services. The teams see over 3,000 consults per year. In addition to working on Main Campus, fellows will spend one module at one of the Cleveland Clinic Health System regional hospitals, where they will be exposed to consultation liaison psychiatry in a busy tertiary care hospital setting. They will also spend two weeks on a palliative medicine consultation service.
Outpatient Consultation Liaison
Fellows are exposed to both general and specialty consultation-liaison clinics throughout the year. One half-day per week is spent in the CL Fellows' Consultation Clinic (for 12 modules), where fellows see pre-operative referrals for high-utilizing patients or patients with significant psychiatric pathology, second opinion cases, and referrals from specialty clinics. For six modules of the year, fellows spend another half-day rotating through the core immersion specialty clinics, including: movement disorders, transplant, epilepsy, brain health, and psycho-oncology. Fellows will then refine their expertise by spending the four modules in an elective immersion clinic of their choosing. These elective clinics may include any of the core clinics and/or multiple sclerosis, COVID recovery clinic, cardiology, women’s health, transgender surgery, movement disorders, or geropsychiatry. Additional elective clinics are tailored and aligned with the CL fellow’s interests.
View our Consultation-Liaison Fellowship Schedule 2023-2024 (See PDF)
Reasons for consultation on the inpatient CL service include:
- Delirium.
- Crisis Intervention Team/Code Violet.
- Substance Dependence/Withdrawal.
- Depression and Anxiety.
- Capacity Evaluations.
- Catatonia.
- Conversion Disorders.
- Coping with Medical Illness.
- Neuropsychiatric Syndromes.
Consulting services include:
- MICU, SICU, NICU.
- Cardiology.
- Neurology and Neurosurgery.
- Epilepsy Monitoring Unit.
- Colorectal/GI.
- Transplant.
- Oncology.
- Respiratory Institute.
Didactics and Conferences
Weekly conferences include: case conference/journal club, and psychiatry grand rounds. In addition, the CL fellows attend weekly psychosomatic didactics.
The CL fellow also attends the five day Cleveland Clinic Intensive Review of Internal Medicine CME course every June with a complimentary registration.
Research
Fellows will have one month of dedicated research time split into two 2-week blocks during the year. Our fellows have presented their research locally, regionally, and nationally, including poster, oral and workshop presentations at the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry annual meeting, Cleveland Consultation Liaison Society meeting, and the American Psychiatric Association annual meeting.
Call Schedule
There is no obligatory call for our CL fellows. Optional weekend moonlighting is available, consisting of 12 hour shifts on a Cleveland Clinic adult psychiatry inpatient service.
How to Apply
The Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry program is one-year in length and offers two positions annually. All positions are offered through the National Residency Match Program (NRMP) as part of the Psychiatry Fellowship Match. All applicants must have successfully completed an ACGME-accredited residency program, an AOA-approved residency program, a program with ACGME International (ACGME-I) Advanced Specialty Accreditation, or a Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC)-accredited or College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC)-accredited residency program located in Canada.
We accept applications via the Electronic Residency Applications Service (ERAS) and abide by posted timelines. We encourage applicants to apply early within the window as we offer interviews on a rolling basis after a holistic in-depth review of the application. Interviews typically occur in September and October. For a comprehensive guide to the Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Fellowship Match process, please visit the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry website.
Important Dates:
- July 3, 2024: Applicants may begin submitting applications to programs at 9 a.m. ET
- July 17, 2024: Fellowship programs may begin reviewing applications at 9 a.m. ET.
- September 1, 2024: Program Deadline to Submit Applications
- September – October: Virtual Interviews.
- November: NRMP Ranking opens.
- November: Meet our Faculty at the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry.
- December: NRMP Rank Order List Deadline.
- January: Match Day!
Visa Sponsorship: Cleveland Clinic sponsors H1-B and J-1 visas.
Benefits
A comprehensive description of trainee benefits can be found at the Cleveland Clinic Graduate Medical Education website.
Time Away
- Vacation: 3 weeks (15 paid working days).
- Paid Personal Days: 5 days to be used for illness, interviews, or boards.
- Maternity: Up to 12 weeks paid leave.
- Parental: Up to 6 weeks paid leave.
- Caregiver: Up to 6 weeks paid leave.
program-details
Sample Week for Fellows
Program Goals
To develop YOU into the best, most compassionate, committed, curious, evidence-informed, resiliency-focused, developmentally-aware, educated, self-reflective, astute, caring, playful, judicious and resourceful clinical associate psychologist. We encourage scholarly activity and research over the two years of this program and beyond. Our foundational value is to create the most effective clinician who remains a life-long learner and teacher committed to the profession of medicine, advancement of critical investigation and study within the field, and engaged in meaningful service and health promotion within their community.Current Fellows
2024 – 2025 Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
PGY-5
Sarah Richards, MD
Medical School: Northeastern Ohio University College of Medicine
Residency: MetroHealth Main Campus Medical Center
Aastha Singh, MD
Medical School: Baba Farid University of Health Sciences
Residency: Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at Lubbock
PGY-4
Anjali Dagar, MD
Medical School: Maharishi Markandeshwar Institute of Medical Sciences and Research
Residency: Cleveland Clinic
Madalyn Popil, DO
Medical School: Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine
Residency: Cleveland Clinic
2024 – 2025 Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry
Mohamad El Zein, MD
Medical School: LAU Gilbert and Rose-Marie Chagoury School of Medicine
Residency: Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center
Jacob Wardyn, MD
Medical School: University of Nebraska College of Medicine
Residency: University of Texas Medical School at San Antonio
2023 – 2024 Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry
Brian Tong, MD
Medical School: The University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine
Residency: Carle Foundation Hospital
Sukanya Vartak, MD
Medical School: St. George’s University School of Medicine
Residency: Maimonides Medical Center
2022 – 2023 Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry
Edward Hamrick, MD
Medical School: West Virginia University School of Medicine
Residency: West Virginia University Hospitals
Molly Howland, MD
Medical School: Case Western Reserve University
Residency: University of Washington School of Medicine
2021 – 2022 Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry
Raghid Charara, MD
Medical School: American University of Beirut
Residency: American University of Beirut
Columban Heo, DO
Medical School: Touro University Nevada
Residency: Unity Health - White County Medical Center
Living in Cleveland
Cleveland, an ethnically diverse, mid-sized city located on Lake Erie, features a host of cultural attractions, recreational activities, major sporting events and an exploding culinary scene. Cleveland is home to the second largest theater district in the U.S., a park system featuring 23,700 acres in 18 reservations, and is the birthplace of rock ’n’ roll, home to the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Cleveland Clinic is located near the University Circle area, which is the cultural epicenter of Cleveland. This area features Severance Hall and the world-renowned Cleveland Orchestra, the Cleveland Museum of Art, several other museums, and Case Western Reserve University. Downtown Cleveland, home to all major sports venues and an exploding culinary scene, is approximately two miles from Cleveland Clinic’s main campus.
Diversity & Inclusion
The Center for Graduate Medical Education and Cleveland Clinic are united in a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in education as well as in the communities we serve. We value all people regardless of the many dimensions of identity and how those identities may intersect.
Discover more about the role diversity and inclusion plays and about our diversity and inclusion efforts.
