Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship

Message from the Program Director

Sponsoring Institution

  • University of Tennessee College of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry

Primary Clinical Sites

  • Saint Francis Hospital
  • Memphis Veterans Administration Hospital
  • 2 Nursing Homes (affiliated with the hospitals above)

Program Structure

2 PGY-5 residents spend 6 months at each primary hospital site. Residents must have an unrestricted Tennessee medical license to begin. An orientation handbook is provided to residents. This is an ACGME accredited program.

Seminars and Conferences

  • Geriatrics 01 Gerontology: Late life development/Social Issues (monthly, 12 sessions)
  • Geriatrics 02 Biologic Treatments in Geriatric Psychiatry (monthly, 12 sessions)
  • Geriatrics 03 Cognitive Aging and Dementia (monthly, 12 sessions)
  • Geriatrics 04 Psychiatric Syndromes and Treatments in Aging (monthly, 12 sessions)
  • Geriatrics 05 Case Conference (occurs quarterly when there is a 5th week in a month)
  • Geriatrics 06 Geriatric Medicine (elective participation in Geriatric Medicine seminars) If the Geriatric Medicine Fellowship does not begin, a self study American Geriatrics Society (AGS) Geriatrics Review Syllabus, A CD-ROM will be used for self-study.
  • Geriatrics 07 Neuropsychology Seminar (elective participation in Neuropsychology seminars) Ad Hoc Neuroscience Center Lecture series, Grand Round series in Psychiatry and Neurology, Neuroimaging Conference while at the VA

Call

There is no on-site call; however, fellows must be available for emergency calls about existing patients from the 24-hour answering service. St. Francis requires a telephone call about once per week for un-referred patients through their emergency room. Patients must be seen within 24 hours. At both the VA and St. Francis, residents have one day per week.

Primary Faculty (Full-time Board Certified in Geriatric Psychiatry)

  • Kenneth Sakauye, M.D. – Director of Geriatric Psychiatry
  • James Greene, M.D. – Supervisor and Chairman of Psychiatry
  • Sandra Baltz, M.D. – Supervisor and Training Director in Psychiatry at the VA
  • Bilal Ahmed, M.D. - Assistant Professor,Fellowship Director

Auxiliary Faculty

  • Alexander Auchus, M.D. (Behavioral Neurology and AD – VA)
  • Jeffrey Mark Brint, M.D. (Geriatric Medicine – VA)
  • James Dale, M.D. (Geriatric Medicine – UT)
  • Mohan Gehi, M.D. (Geriatric Medicine - Family Medicine – Saint Francis)
  • Cliff Nasdahl, Ph.D. (Pharmacy – VA)
  • Ashok Rao, M.D. (Psychiatry – Saint Francis)
  • Steven Rice, M.D. (Psychiatry – Saint Francis)
  • Brad Roper, Ph.D. (Neuropsychology – VA)
  • James Wood, M.D. (Neuroradiology – VA)

Evaluations

Evaluations will be sought quarterly from primary supervisors, using the standard psychiatry residency rating form for six core competencies (patient care, medical knowledge, practice based learning and improvement, interpersonal and communication skills, professionalism, and system based learning). The standard residency rating form allows the same domains to be rated based on higher skill expectations as residents progress. Attendance will be kept for all seminars. 360° reviews from non-doctoral staff coordinators employed by each site the resident is assigned to will be obtained every six months regarding professionalism, apparent knowledge, ability to work with multidisciplinary teams, and helpfulness. Written feedback from residents about the program will be obtained at the end of the Fellowship. Because the fellowship is so small, and anonymity is not possible, ongoing feedback is encouraged informally throughout the year. No shelf knowledge examination currently exists for Geriatric Psychiatry. Specialty Board passage rates will be monitored following completion of the program.

Oversight

The Psychiatry Residency Training Committee meets twice monthly throughout the year. A minimum of one meeting per year will be devoted to review all geriatric psychiatry teaching (general residency and the Fellowship). The Geriatric Training Director is a regular member of the Residency Training Committee.

Library and computer services are available with online accessibility 24-hours a day. Full text copies can be downloaded through PubMed, OVID, and Scopus. In addition, electronic textbooks are available.

Psychiatry symbol

Primary Faculty

Full-time Board Certified in Geriatric Psychiatry

Kenneth M. Sakauye, M.D.
Professor and Co-Chair of Psychiatry

James Greene, M.D.
Supervisor and Chairman of Psychiatry

Sandra Baltz, M.D.
Supervisor/Training Director of Psychiatry at the VA

Bilal Ahmed, MD
Assistant Professor, Fellowship Director

UTHSC College of Medicine
135 N. Pauline St. #122
Memphis, TN 38105
Phone: 901-448-4572
Fax: 901-448-1684
e-mail: bahmed@utmem.edu