Fellowship Overview

The VA Office of Academic Affiliations is offering the VA Advanced Fellowship Program in Mental Illness Research and Treatment at 23 VA sites through MIRECC, SMITREC (Serious Mental Illness Treatment Research and Evaluation Center), NCPTSD (National Center for PTSD), and COEs (Centers of Excellence). Specific Sites are listed on the tabs MIRECC contacts and COE contacts. VISN links take you to the homepage of the VISN. Other links in the lists let you jump to director information for that site.

These sites participate in the program. Each year, one MD Fellow from psychiatry, neurology, radiology, internal medicine, or other areas of medicine and one Allied Health Fellow from clinical psychology, counseling psychology, or pharmacy are accepted at each site. The VISN 21 MIRECC serves as the national coordinating center for the program, directed by Ruth O’Hara, Ph.D.

The primary goal of the fellowship program is to train psychiatrists and psychologists to become leading clinical researchers in high priority areas of mental health. Over the course of the two-year program, fellows are trained in academic and health systems research, advanced clinical care service delivery, and program administration in an interdisciplinary setting. The fellowship combines individual mentored research and clinical training with state-of-the-art educational experiences.

A special emphasis of the fellowship program is to train fellows to conduct translational research that brings basic science to clinical practice. For example, fellows learn how genetic factors are linked to clinical outcomes and how innovative research methodologies yield more clinically relevant information.

One highly successful aspect of training has been the video conference seminar series. Twice a month a leading expert in the field presents to fellows at all sites through the video conferencing system. The didactic emphasize two main areas. One includes presentations on all aspects of career development from grant and manuscript preparation to the role of mentorship. The second emphasis is on the most recent advances in conducting specific components of clinical research in mental health, from genetics to designing the best interventions.

There is also a strong emphasis on state-of-the-art methodological approaches to mental health research and practice. Seminar topics last year included VA career development, funding and resources, behavioral genetics, health informatics, and designing clinical trials of behavioral therapies. Past seminars have featured presentations on funding mechanisms and career development awards by Theresa Gleason, Ph.D., from VA R&D, Jovier Evans, Ph.D., from the NIMH, and Molly Wagster, M.D., from the NIA.

Ongoing multi-site workshops on manuscript and grant preparation are also provided to the Fellows in addition to ongoing weekly biostatistical consultation through the coordinating center.

For more information about the fellowship program, contact us by email at: Bevin.DeMuth@va.gov or bevin.demuth@stanford.edu

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Fellowship Program Announcement

The Office of Academic Affiliations, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), announces its two-year, post residency, specialized training program in Advanced Mental Illness Research and Treatment at 23 VA sites through MIRECC, SMITREC, NCPTSD, and COE located across the country. This is an interdisciplinary program that aims to train MDs, psychologists and other allied health professionals to become outstanding clinical researchers in high priority areas of mental health research and practice.

The program combines individualized, mentored research and clinical training with a state-of-the-art curriculum that emphasizes research methods; statistics; epidemiology; mental health systems; quality improvement methods; education and service delivery. Each site is affiliated with a MIRECC, SMITREC, NCPTSD, or COE, and an affiliate academic institution. Fellowship sites are linked electronically for didactic, academic, and research efforts.

Fellows devote 75% time to research and educational activities and 25% to clinical training. In collaboration with their mentors, Fellows will develop and implement a research project, publish and present findings, participate in grant writing, and utilize the latest technology for educational activities and clinical service delivery.

Special Announcement - Applications must be received by November 15, 2012

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS Palo Alto WRIISC Special Fellowship Program (PhD or MD track) with Research Interests in Complementary and Alternative Medicine (VAPA-WRIISC-SFP)

Download the announcement

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Requirements

MDs

MD applicants must have completed ACGME-accredited training, be board eligible or board certified, and have an active, unrestricted U.S. license to practice. International medical graduates must also have a current visa and an ECFMG certificate that is valid indefinitely. Applicants on a J-1 visa must also have current ECFMG sponsorship.

Stipends will be based on years of previously completed residency training accredited by the Accrediting Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and index rates approved at the respective VA facility and affiliated university.

Allied Health Professionals

Eligible psychologists must be U.S. citizens. They must have graduated from an American Psychological Association (APA) accredited doctoral program in clinical or counseling psychology. Completion of an APA accredited internship in clinical or counseling psychology also is required.

Stipend rates are currently $42,239 to $50,006 per annum for the first year of the program with a stipend increase in the second year. These stipends are reviewed biannually and are adjusted according to rates paid by comparable non-VA postdoctoral fellowship programs.

For the eligibility requirements for other Allied Health disciplines, please contact Sherry.Beaudreau@va.gov

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Applications

Interested MDs, psychologists, and allied health professionals who meet the eligibility requirements should send a cover letter and curriculum vita to the MIRECC, SMITREC, NCPTSD, or COE Fellowship site/s of their choice.

The VA Office of Academic Affiliations has more information at http://www4.va.gov/oaa/specialfellows/default.asp. Towards the bottom of that page click on: Nomination, Submission, and Application Instructions for VA Advanced Fellowships in Mental Illness Research and Education (Advanced Psychiatry and Psychology).

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