Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship

ACGME Clinical Fellowship in Geriatric Psychiatry

This one-year, ACGME-accredited clinical fellowship in Geriatric Psychiatry trains two psychiatrists each academic year. The objective of this program is to enable its fellows to develop knowledge, skills and attitudes in the clinical practice of Geriatric Psychiatry, to present and write scholarly papers, and to teach junior trainees.

We expect graduates of our program to become leaders in geriatric psychiatry. To this end, the program offers intensive training in diverse clinical and clinical research settings, an extensive curriculum of formal didactics, expert faculty supervision, an administrative/leadership experience, supervision in scholarly presentations and papers for publication, and a teaching experience and supervision of junior Weill Cornell Psychiatry residents and medical students.

Strengths of the program

• More than 35 years’ of experience in offering a Clinical Fellowship in Geriatric Psychiatry.
• Large, full-time faculty of board-certified geriatric psychiatrists with clinical expertise, training experience, and NIMH supported clinical research.
• Teaching by Weill Cornell faculty of Medicine, Neurology, Neuropsychology, Psycho-oncology, Psychosomatic Medicine, and Psychiatric Consultation-Liaison.
• Intensely staffed academic hospital service (22 bed inpatient geriatric psychiatry unit)), a geriatric psychiatry clinical research clinic, a consultation-liaison service, and a geriatric nursing home consultation program with the primary mission of training and research.
• Diverse clinical patient population based in Westchester County, NY and New York City.
• Strong relationships with both county and state-sponsored community facilities and regulatory bodies.

Rotations

Each rotation is led and supervised by clinical researchers with extensive clinical experience and a strong publication record.

The Inpatient Geriatric Psychiatry Unit, Weill Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry

This service is located at New York Presbyterian, Westchester Division and consists of a 22-bed acute unit dedicated to the assessment and treatment of geriatric psychiatry inpatients. Fellows rotating in this Unit receive supervision by two full-time, faculty members who are board-certified geriatric psychiatrists.

The ECT Service at New York-Presbyterian-Westchester

Geriatric psychiatry fellows receive didactic and hands-on technical instruction to administer ECT under the direct supervision of a Weill Cornell Professor, board-certified in Geriatric Psychiatry. This is a unique educational experience, as residents treat their own patients with ECT. Fellows may also be credentialled to perform ECT independently once they meet ECT training requirements.

The Outpatient Specialized Unit for Older Adults, Weill Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry

This is an academic outpatient program with integrated clinical and research activities, where many of the Institute’s NIMH supported studies are implemented. Fellows treat a diverse group of geriatric outpatients and participate in clinical research studies. Several full-time, board-certified geriatric psychiatrists supervise this rotation.

The Nursing Home

The Nursing Home is located in New York City and provides care to its long-term residents as well as short- and long-term rehabilitation care.  It has an Adult Day Care Center that serves many community residents daily.  Geriatric Psychiatry Fellows see patients together with a full-time Weill Cornell faculty member who is a board-certified geriatric psychiatrist.

The Consultation-Liaison Program, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center

The Consultation Liaison Service is located in Manhattan at the NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center on East 68th Street in Manhattan.  Geriatric Psychiatry Fellows provide consultation and liaison services to elderly patients on medical, surgical, physical medicine and rehabilitation floors, intensive care units and the emergency room.  They are supervised by and receive didactics by consultation-liaison psychiatrists, full-time faculty of Weill Cornell, who are board-certified in Psychosomatic Medicine. 

The Psycho-Oncology/Palliative Care Rotation at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC)

The Psycho-Oncology/Palliative Care Rotation is offered at MSKCC in Manhattan.  Geriatric Psychiatry Fellows develop skills in psycho-oncology/palliative care evaluation and the use of psychotherapeutic and psychopharmacologic treatment approaches to geriatric patients in an acute cancer hospital setting. Fellows also consult on special problems of geriatric cancer patients such as delirium, capacity assessment, bereavement, geriatric cancer pain management, drug intolerance and drug interactions. The supervising faculty consists of two full-time consultation-liaison psychiatrists, expert in psycho-oncology and palliative care. One of the faculty members is board-certified in both geriatric psychiatry and psychosomatic medicine.

The House Call Program of Weill Cornell Geriatric Medicine

This rotation is part of a pioneering academic psychiatric outreach service for the homebound elderly supported by private donations and grants. A multidisciplinary team provides comprehensive medical care to homebound elders residing on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Geriatric Psychiatry Fellows see patients in their homes along with geriatric medicine faculty and residents of medicine and are exposed to bi-directional clinical training. A full time, board-certified geriatric psychiatrist provides supervision. 

For more information and for applications, please contact Carolyn Sedotti, Assistant to Jimmy Avari, M.D. (Program Director) at (914) 997-5970 or cvs2002@med.cornell.edu