University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine

The purpose of the fellowship is to train psychiatrists who will devote their careers to practice, research and teaching in public sector forensic psychiatry. By completing this intensive one-year experience, the fellow will have acquired first-hand knowledge of the major issues and experiences in law and psychiatry and have ample opportunities for research. The fellowship will prepare the fellow for the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology’s added qualification examination in Forensic Psychiatry.

The fellowship is sponsored by the Northwest Missouri Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center, the Western Missouri Mental Health Center, the Missouri Department of Mental Health, the Department of Psychiatry in the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) School of Medicine and the UMKC School of Law.

Candidates for the fellowship in forensic psychiatry must have completed at least a four-year program of General Psychiatry Residency Training, demonstrate a substantial interest in a career in forensic psychiatry, and be able to obtain a full and unrestricted license to practice medicine in Missouri. Candidates must also have excellent written and oral communication skills. Three letters of reference are required, one of which should be from the candidate’s immediate supervisor (e.g., Director of Residency Training or Clinical Director), and the others should be from other psychiatrist who know the candidate and candidate’s work well.

The fellowship is a fifth-year post-graduate program that is part of the Residency Training Program in the UMKC School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry. The Residency Training Program is approved by the American Medical Association Council on Education and the Accreditation Council on Graduate medical Education. The fellow will be provided $50,000 per annum and benefits, The fellow may earn additional income outside the expected 40-hour work week. The directors of the fellowship are David L. Vlach, M.D., Northwest Missouri Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center, and Steven A. Mandracchia, Ph.D., Western Missouri Mental Health Center.