Curriculum
The Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship at CHKD provides a comprehensive, education-focused training experience that prepares fellows for a wide range of clinical settings.
Fellows gain exposure to both traditional mental health environments and innovative models of care. Because the program is designed around learning rather than service coverage, fellows have flexibility to individualize their clinical experiences and patient populations while meeting all ACGME requirements.
First Year
During the first year, fellows concentrate on acute care experiences, including inpatient psychiatry, partial hospitalization, and pediatric consultation-liaison services. Training is delivered within interdisciplinary teams and emphasizes a family-centered approach. Fellows build strong skills in developmentally informed assessment and learn to apply a full range of treatment strategies, including psychopharmacology and evidence-based therapies.
Fellows also begin a longitudinal outpatient therapy clinic in their first year, which continues throughout the program. Through both clinical work and structured teaching, fellows develop a deeper understanding of normal development, the ways psychiatric conditions present across developmental stages, and how children and families adapt to illness.
Learn more about first year rotation clinics
Second Year
The second year emphasizes continuity of care in the outpatient setting. Fellows expand their experience in individual and family therapy, multidisciplinary team-based care, crisis assessment, and early childhood mental health. A longitudinal elective allows fellows to explore specific clinical or academic interests. Across settings, fellows further strengthen their diagnostic, psychopharmacologic, and therapeutic skills.
Because of the program’s small size and strong educational focus, fellows have meaningful opportunities to tailor their training to align with their career goals while fulfilling all required competencies.
Learn more about second year rotation clinics
Call Schedule
Clinical services at CHKD operate independently of fellows, so call responsibilities are designed purely as a learning experience.
- First-year fellows complete one weekend of call during each of their three inpatient rotations. Overnight call is not required.
- Second-year fellows do not take call.
- Optional moonlighting opportunities are available at a competitive rate.
Didactics
Fellows participate in a protected half-day of didactic education each week throughout the fellowship.
The curriculum is organized around monthly themes, allowing for an in-depth, immersive learning experience. Each topic is explored through multiple lenses, including foundational theories, diagnostic approaches, landmark research, and both pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic treatments. Sessions emphasize practical application to support fellows in delivering high-quality patient care.
In addition to weekly didactics, fellows participate in journal clubs and quality improvement sessions throughout the year. They also attend regular morbidity and mortality conferences and institutional grand rounds.
Additional Educational Opportunities
- Child Psychiatry Grand Rounds: Monthly presentations by local and visiting experts
- Schwartz Rounds: Quarterly interdisciplinary discussions focused on compassionate care and communication
- Clinical Skills Verification (CSV): Annual program-wide assessments, with additional opportunities during rotations
- Psychiatry Grand Rounds (optional): Monthly lectures
- Pediatric Grand Rounds (optional): Weekly lectures
- Insights into Autism (optional): Annual regional conference featuring national speakers
- Professional Development: Fellows are encouraged to attend the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) Annual Meeting and Advocacy Day