Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Residency Program

Overview

The Residency in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts Medical School is fully accredited by the ACGME and accepts two residents in each year.  The residency is located in a culturally diverse geographic area that is underserved by child psychiatry, facilitating exposure to a broad range of clinical experiences. The training program provides a multifaceted exposure to the private and public sector, involving long-term inpatient, acute diversionary, crisis intervention, and psychotherapy experiences. The UMass Department of Psychiatry is one of the largest public sector departments in the East, with over 200 faculty on its staff.  The Child Psychiatry Fellowship is thus a small program in a large department.  The size of the department offers residents a large array of experiences from which to choose.  By accepting only 2 fellows per year, the child faculty is able to devote focused attention to the individual fellow’s career development. There is no in-house night call, and call from home is limited.

The Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry has an unusually close relationship with the UMass Department of Pediatrics, significantly enhancing the quality of the pediatric consultation-liaison and infant psychiatry experiences. Specialty experiences occur in a variety of nearby community settings, including day care, schools, courts, and juvenile corrections.

The Residency in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry is strongly supported by the Department of Psychiatry and UMass Memorial Health Care, its clinical partner. Revenues generated by resident clinical activity are not necessary to support resident salaries. Resident salaries are very competitive with other programs and include an excellent benefits package.  All the clinical rotations are carefully chosen to maximize educational value to our fellows, rather than to fill clinical service needs.

The program emphasizes direct observation in the training process, both of residents by faculty and faculty by residents. This is accomplished by the use of one-way mirrors and direct observation.  The ratio of child psychiatry department supervisors to fellows is approximately 5:1.  The Division's (and Department's) overall theoretical orientation is deliberately eclectic, using a culturally competent biopsychosocial model.  Numerous opportunities exist for residents to teach and supervise medical students, general psychiatry residents, and pediatric residents.

Elective time is allocated for the pursuit of individual interests.  The program emphasizes the development of administrative and leadership skills in the PGY-5 year.  The three primary research centers at UMass are the Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute, the Shriver Center, and the Center for Mental Health Research.  Research may be done within one of those centers or with a selected mentor.  Residents may choose to do a project under the supervision of a mentor from outside the Department of Psychiatry.

Application Requirements

Our program participates in the Child Psychiatry national residency match program (NRMP).  To apply for our program, please complete the application and submit all required documentation as follows:

• Application 
• CV
• Personal Statement
• 3 Letters of Recommendation (one letter must be from your current Resident Training Director)
• Letter from you Training Director stating what rotations you will have completed by the end of your current PG year.
• USMLE Steps 1-3 scores

CONTACT: 

Child Residency Training Coordinator
Department of Psychiatry
University of Massachusetts Medical School
55 Lake Avenue North
Worcester MA 01655
Email:   MaryJune.Courtois2@umassmed.edu 
Phone: (508) 856-1256
Fax: (508) 856-6426
TRAINING DIRECTOR: W. Peter Metz, MD (Peter.Metz@umassmed.edu, voice mail 508-856-5956)
CHIEF RESIDENT: Theresa Randazzo-Burton, MD (RandazzT@ummhc.org, voice mail 508-856-8964)