Brown Clinical Psychology Training Consortium
Post-Doctoral Fellowship in the Methods to Improve Diagnostic Assessment and Services (MIDAS) Project
Site:
Rhode Island Hospital, Outpatient Psychiatry Department
Supervisor(s):
Mark Zimmerman, M.D.
Iwona Chelminski, Ph.D.
Diane Young, Ph.D.
Joseph McGlinchey, Ph.D.
Description of Site
Rhode Island Hospital is a private, 719-bed, not-for-profit, acute care hospital and academic medical center founded in 1863. It is the largest of the state's general acute care hospitals, providing comprehensive health services, and serving as a primary teaching hospital for Brown Medical School. The adult outpatient programs have shown steady growth to over 50,000 visits per year. Outpatient Mental Health services are in short supply in our region and we continue to grow to accommodate the needs. Services are delivered by a multidisciplinary group of board certified psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers.
Fellowship Aims
- To provide the fellow with broad post-doctoral training in the area of diagnostic precision and psychiatric comorbidity.
- To provide the fellow with a strong working knowledge of assessment, clinical scale development, treatment decision-making, and treatment outcome research conducted with adult population presenting with diverse psychiatric problems.
- To prepare the fellow for a research career by active participation in research projects, grant writing, data collection, data management and analysis, development and implementation of a research proposal, with the goal of presenting research results at national meetings, and writing peer-reviewed manuscripts.
- To enable the fellow to accrue hours toward Rhode Island licensure through clinical research activities
Fellowship Timeline
This is a two-year fellowship, renewable after one year contingent upon satisfactory progress. The anticipated start date is July-September, 2007.
Research Activity Plan
The fellowship is primarily a research position; 75% is research work and 25% is clinical work. The fellow will be exposed to various aspects of clinical and research work related to adult populations. This will be achieved by participation in the following activities:
- Study coordination: The fellow will collaborate with the Principal Investigator within the MIDAS project, which has successfully integrated a research program into clinical practice. Psychiatric outpatients presenting for treatment will be comprehensively evaluated with semistructured diagnostic interviews including the SCID for Axis I disorders, SIDP for Axis II disorders, family history of psychiatric disorders, and psychosocial functioning. Development and investigation of newly constructed measures for clinician ratings of symptom severity/impairment and self-report questionnaires for patients will also be included. Other, ongoing research projects within the MIDAS, in which fellows might be involved, include Bariatric Surgery Program and Rhode Island Gambling Treatment Program. All these activities will involve approximately 45%-50% time effort.
- Grant writing: The fellow will be encouraged to develop a grant idea and submit a grant proposal by the end of the fellowship term. This will involve approximately 10-15% time effort.
- Manuscript preparation and submission: The fellow will be encouraged to collaborate on manuscript preparation and poster submissions at national conferences such as ABCT and APA conventions. Individually tailored goals will be established in this area. This will involve approximately 20% of time allocated for manuscript-related activities.
- The fellow will be required to participate in weekly journal club meetings conducted at the Bayside Medical Center, where most resent research findings are discussed and critiqued.
- The fellow will be required to participate in weekly research staff meetings conducted at the Bayside Medical Center.
- The fellow may participate in the weekly postdoctoral research seminars offered through the Brown University Post Doctoral Training Program. These include seminars on grant writing and other clinical research topics and will involve approximately 5% effort.
Clinical Activity Plan
- Treatment and clinical assessment services:
The fellow will provide clinical services including individual and/or group therapy for outpatients presenting for treatment as-usual, as well as those participating in the Bariatric Surgery Program and the Rhode Island Gambling Treatment Program. The total time effort will not exceed 20%. The face-to face contact with MIDAS research participants (i.e., the diagnostic evaluations) is also considered a clinical activity.
The fellow will be required to participate in weekly case presentations conducted at the Bayside Medical Center.
The fellow will be required to participate in monthly departmental case conference meetings conducted at the RIH auditorium.
Supervision and Evaluation
Supervision will be provided for both, research and clinical activities. The fellow will have weekly individual meetings with Dr. Zimmerman. Research mentoring is also readily available from Drs. Chelminski, Young, and McGlinchey. Weekly individual clinical supervision will be provided by Drs. Chelminski and McGlinchey, depending upon which clinical activities are involved.
The Fellow will also have access to several additional forums for direct and indirect supervision through optional participation in regularly scheduled rounds and case conferences.
The Fellow and supervisors will develop fellowship goals and learning objectives early on in the first year. At the conclusion and midpoint of the fellowship, the fellow and the supervisors are requested to provide formal evaluations, and evaluations of the program relative to the goals and learning objectives of the fellowship.
Resource Requirements
Fellow will be provided with the following resources:
- Private office space
- Free parking
- A personal desktop computer and project specific software
- Internet access
- Library services through Brown Medical School
- Telephone
- Access to copying equipment and fax
- Travel funds for research presentations