As the elderly population continues to grow, there is an increased need for psychiatrists with expertise in treating these particular mental health needs. Our division is responding head-on, and our one-year training program will position you at the forefront of this expanding field.
Mount Sinai is committed to addressing racism and its effects on our faculty, staff, students, trainees, patients, visitors, and the communities we serve. Learn about the Psychiatry DEI Steering Committee here, and the Mount Sinai Office of Diversity and Inclusion here, including our task force to address racism.
Our health system is a world leader in integrated clinical care, education, and research focused on the needs of older adults. During this fellowship, we will prepare you to evaluate, diagnose, and longitudinally treat patients with a range of psychiatric problems in diverse clinical settings. This fellowship provides exposure to patients with anxiety disorders, depression, psychosis, Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy body dementia, frontotemporal dementias, post-stroke neuropsychiatric conditions, and more. You’ll learn from renowned leaders as you care for patients, develop research interests, and collaborate with colleagues in geriatrics, palliative care, rehabilitation medicine, and neurology. You’ll walk away with the following knowledge:
- Phenomenology of psychiatric illness in older adults and how it differs from younger patients.
- Psychosocial aspects of aging including adaptation to retirement, loss of spouse, loneliness and alienation, and societal ageism.
- Proficiency with neuropsychological assessments.
- Teaching and team leadership skills.
- How to evaluate geriatric psychiatry literature from an evidence-based perspective.
- Familiarity with the design and implementation of clinical research in progress throughout the Mount Sinai Health System.
Clinical Rotations
Your time will be divided into two six-month segments: the first is at the Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, and the second is at the James J. Peters VA Medical Center in the Bronx.
The Mount Sinai Hospital
During your first six months, you will divide your time between the Outpatient Geriatric Psychiatry Clinic, the Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) Service, and the Inpatient Geriatric Psychiatry Unit.
- Outpatient Geriatric Psychiatry Clinic. This clinic is home to a multidisciplinary team of dedicated professionals who provide comprehensive neuropsychiatric assessments, psychopharmacology, individual and group therapy, ECT, and patient and caregiver support groups.
- ECT Service. We offer referrals for ECT evaluation on both an outpatient and inpatient basis (Mount Sinai is one of only a few hospitals in New York City that offers a full range of outpatient ECT). Our team of psychiatrists, anesthesiologists, and psychiatric nurses provides state-of-the-art care for patients with severe mood and psychotic disorders.
- Inpatient Geriatric Psychiatry Unit. This 21-bed unit provides care for older patients suffering from neuropsychiatric illness that requires intensive evaluation and treatment. Our specialized physicians, nurses, social workers, and rehabilitation therapists provide comprehensive neuropsychiatric and medical evaluations, and develop the most effective treatment plan for each patient. The inpatient care we provide includes psychopharmacotherapy, individual and group psychotherapy (including art, drama, and music therapy), ECT, and after-care planning.
James J. Peters VA Medical Center
The James J. Peters VA Medical Center (JJP VAMC) is a Mount Sinai teaching affiliate and serves veterans in Northern New Jersey, the New York City metropolitan area, and the Bronx, Westchester, and Rockland counties. It contains a comprehensive cancer center; a national center for Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, and alcohol abuse; a spinal cord injury center; and a PTSD center. Fellows spend these six months in the outpatient geriatric psychiatry clinic and the onsite nursing home, as well as the neurology, rehab medicine, and palliative care clinics. During this time, you’ll also have the opportunity to work in the Icahn School of Medicine’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) assessing research subjects. (We provide shuttle service throughout the day between The Mount Sinai Hospital and the JJP VAMC for trainees.)
Didactics
Fellows are given protected time to attend a series of lectures designed for all advanced psychiatry fellows at The Mount Sinai Hospital. We provide weekly lectures, and faculty rotates from Geriatric Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine, and Addiction Psychiatry. We also encourage fellows to attend ADRC case conferences and the weekly geriatric medicine seminar for fellows in the Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine.
Faculty
Corbett Schimming, MD
Amy Aloysi, MD
Karen Dahlman, PhD
Sam Gandy, MD, PhD
Hillel Grossman, MD
Matthew Majeske, MD
Jane Martin, PhD
Mary Sano, PhD
Laili Soleimani, MD
How to Apply
To be considered for this fellowship, you must have completed (or be on track to complete) a residency in general psychiatry and be licensed (or eligible for a license) in the state of New York.
Please send the application, your CV, three letters of reference (one should be from your current training director), and a personal statement detailing your interest in geriatric psychiatry to corbett.schimming@mssm.edu.
The application deadline is Oct. 1; however, we will consider later applications on an individual basis.
This fellowship is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.