Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV, Forensic Psychiatric Fellowship

Program Description: The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is accepting applications for a new Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship program for the 2021-2022 academic year. The one-year training program will include forensic experiences in multiple settings, as well as didactics addressing legal concepts, landmark cases, and ethical issues.
Featured training sites within the program will include Stein Forensic Hospital, Clark County Detention Center, the Southern Nevada Adult Mental Health Services Assisted Outpatient Treatment program, and a private practice component. Through these sites, the fellow will learn to write competency evaluations and risk assessments, as well as follow patients in an outpatient, court-ordered civil commitment program. In addition, the fellow will gain familiarity with testifying in court (civil and criminal) and learn to manage psychiatric care for acute and chronically ill patients in a correctional environment.
The fellow will have teaching and leadership opportunities as they work with general psychiatry residents and medical students. In addition, the fellow will also benefit from the many other academic disciplines associated with UNLV, such as the William S. Boyd School of Law and the Department of Psychology.
The fellow will find that Las Vegas provides a unique setting to study forensic psychiatry, as the city regularly draws visitors from across the country and world. The city has long been associated with impulsivity due to association with gambling and the Las Vegas Strip. Patients in the Las Vegas metropolitan area come from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds and represent an array of pathologies and legal issues of varying severities.

Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services, Michigan State University, Michigan State University Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship

As the third-largest free standing behavioral health facility in the nation, Pine Rest provides an excellent opportunity to train forensic fellows. In addition to generally taught didactics, fellows will have the opportunity to practice in a correctional facility, to participate in IME’s, risk assessments, FAA and pre-employment evaluations in the Pine Rest Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology Services unit, and to provide capacity consultations at Pine Rest and Corewell Health hospitals. Fellows are Michigan State University Faculty, and receive all benefits and opportunities that the university has to offer, in addition to the full support and unique training experience of practicing and learning in a free-standing psychiatric hospital.

Located in Grand Rapids, MI, Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services is the third-largest free-standing behavioral health facility in the nation. The campus hosts a 198-bed inpatient facility, partial hospitalization services, telepsychiatry, and a Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology Services unit, in addition to partnerships with local medical hospitals for consultation experiences.

HMH Jersey Shore University Medical Center/Ocean University Medical Center, Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship Program

The Department of Psychiatry at Ocean University Medical Center (OUMC) offers a one year ACGME Accredited Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship Program. With the six core competencies established by the ACGME in mind, the Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship program has been designed to provide a comprehensive and innovative clinical environment. Fellows will learn to work individually and in interdisciplinary teams with patients, and with a variety of systems of care; how to approach cases through a developmental lens; and so much more!

Oklahoma State University, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

The Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship in partnership with the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services provides an extensive one-year training in both civil and criminal forensic psychiatry. The teaching staff consists of two forensic psychiatrists, one forensic psychologist, one attorney who is also a clinical psychologist, one forensic neuropsychologist, and one child and adolescent psychiatrist.

The forensic fellows receive their clinical training at Oklahoma Forensic Center providing patient care for those previously adjudicated Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity/Mental Illness as well as patients receiving competency to stand trial restoration. The fellows will conduct regular forensic evaluations, including both adjudicative competence and violence risk assessments, through the Oklahoma Forensic Center. Fellows will also perform legally complex forensic psychiatry consultations through Tulsa Center for Behavioral Health and Oklahoma State University Medical Center. Additionally, fellows will have the opportunity to work with legal counsel performing forensic psychiatric consultation services.

The weekly forensic psychiatry didactic courses include a Landmark Case Seminar, a Forensic Case Seminar (covering criminal, civil, adult and juvenile cases), a Forensic Topics Didactic Seminar, and a Forensic Psychological Testing/Research Seminar. Extensive supervision is provided in forensic report writing and testifying in legal settings. In addition, fellows are trained to administer, score, and testify on a range of structured assessment instruments including the assessment of general and sexual violence risk, malingering of psychosis, traumatic reactions, and cognitive impairment, competency to stand trial, and juvenile competency and risk assessment.

Apart from annual stipend and benefits, program benefits also include a fully paid trip to attend the annual meeting of AAPL and the three day review course immediately preceding the meeting.

Baylor College of Medicine

The Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship at the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine is a full-time one-year training program that accepts two fellows per year. Our program is an Accreditation Council of Graduation Medical Education accredited fellowship. Fellows will receive thorough training in civil, criminal, correctional/carceral, and other legal aspects related to the practice of forensic and general psychiatry. This training will be through seminars learning the theory, law, and background for practicing psychiatry while learning and demonstrating the practical clinical and consultative skills inherent to expert forensic psychiatric practice. Additionally, fellows will learn skills related to advocacy and public policy. By the end of training, fellows will be well equipped to practice forensic psychiatry at the highest level and prepared to successfully pass the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology’s Forensic Psychiatry certification exam.
Our program’s mission is to train exceptional forensic psychiatrists that provide high-quality care to a diverse patient population, particularly those who are underserved or incarcerated, and that embody high standards of ethics, leadership, scholarship, and professionalism. We intend for our fellows to become physician leaders who excel in the interface between psychiatry and the law with an eye towards advancing the cause of forensic psychiatry, and psychiatry as a whole, in Texas and the larger United States.
Seminars will cover a variety of civil and criminal forensic psychiatry topics, a landmark case series, mock trial, and health equity series. Residents will rotate at multiple sites, including the Harris County Jail, the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, the Menninger Clinic, and the Baylor Psychiatry Clinic. Fellows will also have the opportunity to volunteer with the local chapter of Physicians for Human Rights. The faculty include 5 ABPN board-certified forensic psychiatrists, multiple of whom have extensive experience working with residents. Fringe benefits include paid support for the annual meeting of AAPL, the AAPL Forensic Psychiatry Review Course, and additional educational funds.

John S. Dunn Behavioral Sciences Center at UTHealth Houston

The Louis A. Faillace, MD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at UTHealth Houston at McGovern Medical School offers an ACGME-accredited one-year, full-time Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship Program designed to cultivate expertise in forensic psychiatry. Recognized as a subspecialty by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN), our program offers world-class training at the intersection of mental health and the law, which covers civil, criminal, and administrative law, as well as the evaluation and specialized treatment of individuals involved with the legal system, including those in jails, participating in the sex offender clinic and forensic psychiatric hospitals. Through a combination of a comprehensive didactic curriculum and supervised clinical experiences, fellows gain proficiency in all aspects of forensic psychiatry, learning to provide expert services in civil and criminal forensic evaluations to enhance the understanding of psychiatric treatment principles within forensic settings.
The program is partnering with Rice University’s Department of Bioethics to provide a shared experience of bioethics with the graduate students of the Medical Humanities Program. The classes are led by Dr. Samuel Reis-Dennis, Assistant professor of the Department of Philosophy, Director of Graduate Studies, and Assistant Professor for the Medical Humanities Program at Rice University.

Ohio State University, Fellowship in Forensic Psychiatry

The Ohio State University offers an ACGME approved fellowship in forensic psychiatry. In conjunction with Ohio’s only maximum security forensic hospital at Twin Valley Behavioral Healthcare and the world renowned Nationwide Children’s Hospital, this fellowship offers specialized training in the intersection of psychiatry and the law. Fellows will have the unique opportunity to be involved in many different aspects of forensic patients’ assessment and evaluation. Fellows will aid in evaluation of defendants’ competency and sanity at the time of the act both in jail and hospital settings. Treatment opportunities will be available in the maximum security forensic unit as well as on an outpatient basis for mentally ill offenders who have worked their way through the hospital system. Juvenile evaluations will consist of both bind-over to adult court and recommendations to the court for treatment. Civil cases will include a mix of fitness for duty, disability, malpractice, and consults to other physicians on challenging patients. Additionally, there are opportunities for interested fellows to become involved in advocacy and policy matters at the state level through the Ohio Department of Mental Health also located in Columbus.

University of Iowa

This accredited fellowship uses resources from the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, University of Iowa Law School, Iowa Department of Corrections, and Iowa City Veterans Administration Hospital. The University of Iowa Department of Psychiatry is a dynamic clinical, research, and training program with active Grand Rounds, Research Rounds, and recurring Case Conferences. Iowa City is a culturally diverse and accessible area, consistently ranked among the top ten cities in the United States.

Clinical experiences allow the fellow to conduct pretrial criminal evaluations, rotate through subspecialty neurology clinics, provide forensic psychiatry consultation, assist in the preparation of civil cases, and provide treatment to a small number of incarcerated and community offenders using telepsychiatry and traditional services. Research is strongly supported and encouraged.

The curriculum is a blend of didactic experiences and seminar based courses. It includes reading landmark cases, understanding the role of an expert witness in the court system, exploring the history of forensic psychiatry, discovering the complexities of legal systems, examining issues in juvenile justice and family court, and presenting various topics in criminal and civil forensic psychiatry. Fellows may serve as experts in mock trials at the University of Iowa Law School.

Medical University of South Carolina

The Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship at the Medical University of South Carolina is a 12-month accredited program that provides a diverse training experience in matters of psychiatry and the law. Our program is committed to educating fellows in forensic psychiatry and allowing them to cultivate their own individual interests while having support and guidance from our faculty, who have a wealth of expertise in the field.
Fellows have the opportunity to conduct a variety of criminal evaluations, including competency to stand trial evaluations and criminal responsibility evaluations for adult and juvenile populations. Additionally, fellows are exposed to a variety of civil forensic cases, including disability evaluations, fitness-for-duty evaluations, guardianship and conservatorship, parental fitness, child custody, gun rights restoration evaluations, and sexually violent predator evaluations.
Fellows also gain experience in the probate court serving as designated examiners for both mental health and chemical dependency judicial commitment hearings. They have the opportunity to provide consultative services for specific cases within the MUSC Department of Psychiatry, generally related to suicide and/or violence risk assessments for hospitalized patients. Clinical experiences occur primarily in the correctional setting, working with adults at the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) as well as youth at the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ).
Unique to MUSC, a fellow’s forensic training can be tailored to fit their personal interests. We also work closely with forensic psychologists and this interdisciplinary environment fosters a deeper understanding of the field. Forensic psychologists provide additional expertise on psychometric testing while also helping to supervise and teach the forensic psychiatry fellows. There is also a forensic psychology fellowship in our division and psychiatry and psychology fellows have specific opportunities to work and learn together.
Didactics include a weekly landmark case series and courses in the basics of law and psychiatry. Mock trials and office case conferences are utilized to prepare fellows to present testimony in court. As a part of the academic component of the program, fellows complete a quality improvement project under the direction of the program director. Fellows also present during grand rounds each year and this is historically one of the most popular talks in the department. Additional benefits include a funded trip to the Annual Meeting of AAPL as well as attendance at the Forensic Psychiatry Review Course. And of course, living in Charleston, South Carolina for the year is a special perk, with beaches, wonderful culinary experiences, and a variety of interests in our beautiful historic city. Please feel free to reach out to us directly with any questions!

University of Texas Health Science Center – San Antonio

The Department of Psychiatry at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio offers a one year, full-time fellowship training program in Forensic Psychiatry. The program has major clinical rotations at the Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital, Kerrville State Hospital, Bexar County District Court Clinic, Bexar County Juvenile Detention Center, and a private practice rotation for civil forensic cases with forensic psychiatry faculty in the community (adult and child cases). These rotations provide the fellow with a broad-based experience and supervision in criminal and civil forensic psychiatry.

The core didactic curriculum includes a landmark case seminar, case conferences, and lecture series on tort law; civil competency; risk assessment for suicide and violence; medical malpractice; criminal competency; criminal responsibility; sexual offenders; children and families; correctional psychiatry; occupational psychiatry; and administrative psychiatry. Experienced faculty provide extensive individual and group supervision.

Psychiatrists interested in the fellowship should go to the website listed above for information on applying to the program. Qualified candidates will be invited to San Antonio for an interview. Medical licensure in the state of Texas is required.