Department Faculty

Susan Bentley, DO

Taylor Black, MD

Jonathan Buchholz, MD

Shaune DeMers, MD

Amelia Dubovsky, MD

Jesse Fann, MD, MPH

Scott Hansen, MD

Mike Huijon, MD

Samuel Jackson, MD

Ryan Kimmel, MD

Alvaro J La Rosa, MD

Beth Labardi, MD

Suzanne Murray, MD

Julia Ruark, MD, MPH

Thomas Soeprono, MD

Mark Sullivan, MD, PhD

Susanne Weber, MD

Ann Felhofer, MD

This fellowship offers both inpatient and outpatient Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry experiences as well as the opportunity to work with the hospice-palliative team and Ethics Consult team. We have enriched outpatient clinical experiences in geriatrics, neurology, oncology, transplants, pain, HIV, maternal-infant care, integrated care, ECT, and telemedicine. The inpatient consultation services provide fellows with an opportunity to work with medical students, residents, PhD psychologists, social workers and clinical nurse specialists working in an excellent interdisciplinary training setting.

UW Medicine is a national leader in integrated care and all fellows receive training in integrated models of care providing evidence-based psychiatric treatment in primary care settings. Fellows attend two hours of weekly integrated care didactics, learn to manage an integrated care clinic and have the opportunity to work on an implementation project under expert supervisors, if interested. Fellows receive a certificate in Integrated Care at the completion of their training.

The University of Washington is the birthplace of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy. Fellows have access to Dr. Linehan’s specialized two day workshop and weekly seminar. These skills improve patient outcomes and physician satisfaction in the highly intense setting of inpatient consultation care.

Our department is focused on excellent teaching and several of our faculty have been recognized with prestigious teaching awards. We have excellent opportunities for research and teaching and have the ability to individualize training to meet your interests and needs. The quality of the training and healthy work culture is evidenced in the fact that year after year we retain many of our CL fellows for faculty positions that lead to long and fruitful careers.

Training sites include:

• University of Washington Medical Center – University specialty hospital of mostly organ transplant and cancer care.
• VA Puget Sound Health Care System – Excellent exposure to trauma and addictions treatment.
• Harborview Medical Center – Community hospital and the number one trauma center in the five state area (Washington, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Alaska).
• Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center – Fred Hutch is a state of the art cancer center with cutting edge research and passionate dedicated practitioners.
• Center for Behavioral Health and Learning – A brand new 150 bed psychiatric training facility with the largest neuromodulation center west of the Mississippi.

In addition to Grand Rounds, journal club and clinical case conferences there are four main didactic series throughout the year:

• Core fellowship didactics
• Integrated care didactics
• Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
• Women’s Mental Health

Core Fellowship Didactics
All of the core topics in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry are reviewed in the Thursday morning fellowship meeting with the director.

• C/L Assessment and the Role of C/L Psychiatry
• Ethical Issues
• Psychological Response to Illness
• Maladaptive Behaviors and Behavioral Plans
• Assessing Suicidal Patients
• Legal Issues – Involuntary Treatment, Decisional Capacity, Informed Consent & Surrogate Decision Makers
• Physical Exam for C/L Psychiatry
• Delirium
• Normal Aging
• Aggression and Violence
• Dementia
• Imaging and EEGs
• Geriatric Medicine and C/L Psychiatry
• Depression and Anxiety in the Medical Setting
• Mania, Catatonia and Psychosis
• Eating Disorders
• PTSD in the Medical Setting
• Substance Abuse and C/L Psychiatry
• Psychopharmacology I – Hearts, Livers and Kidneys
• Demoralization and Bedside Psychotherapy
• Deception Syndromes
• Eating Disorders
• Sleep Disorders
• Sexual Disorders
• Obstetrics/Gynecology and C/L Psychiatry
• Palliative Care
• Heart disease
• Lung disease
• Gastrointestinal disorders
• Endocrine and metabolic disorders
• Infectious disease
• Rheumatology
• HIV/AIDS
• Dermatology
• Nephrology and C/L Psychiatry
• Oncology and C/L Psychiatry
• Neurology/TBI and C/L Psychiatry
• Transplant Psychiatry
• Surgery C/L Journal Club
• ICU Psychiatry
• Infectious Diseases and C/L Psychiatry
• Endocrinology and C/L Psychiatry
• Pain Disorders
• Psychopharmacology
• Cross-Cultural and Spiritual Issues in C/L Psychiatry
• Pediatrics
• Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
• Pain
• Electroconvulsive therapy
• Psychosocial treatments
• Biostatistics in the Literature

In addition, in depth series are held in the following topics taught by experts in the field:

• Advanced psychopharmacology
• Geriatric Didactics
• Addictions Medicine
• Psychiatry and the law
• Leadership Seminar
• ICU Psychiatry

Integrated Care Didactics
The Integrated Care Didactics are held weekly for 2 hours, and up to one hour of pre-work is expected for each session. At least 30 faculty have contributed to the didactic portion of the fellowship, creating a rich curriculum with didactics in the following areas:

• Overview and Orientation (2 hours)
• Transition to Practice (minimum of 18 hours)
  • Introduction to Integrated Care
  • Implementation, Hiring, Managing
  • Liability, Leadership
  • Working on an Inter-Professional Team
  • Contracting
  • Continuing Medical Education
• Tele-psychiatry (minimum of 15 hours)
  • Introduction to Model and Practices
  • Policy
  • Models and Best Practices
  • Expanding Opportunities
  • Advanced Topics
• Basic Collaborative Care (minimum of 12 hours)
  • Assessment, Treatment, Depression
  • Bipolar, Anxiety, Safety
  • Advanced Anxiety, Depression, Bipolar
  • Patient Engagement
• Advanced Collaborative Care (minimum of 12 hours)
  • Substance Use Disorders
  • ADHD, Chronic Pain
  • Difficult Patient, Psychosis
  • Harm Reduction
• Collaborative Care for Populations (minimum of 21 hours)
  • Maternal Mental Health
  • Geriatrics
  • Child
  • Child Models
  • Advanced Maternal and Perinatal Topics
  • Outliers
  • Primary Care in Mental Health Settings
• Public Health/Health Services (minimum of 9 hours)
  • Introduction
  • Financing
  • Advanced Topics
• Quality Improvement (minimum of 9 hours)
  • Basics of QI Theory
  • QI vs. Traditional Research, IRB
  • QI and EHR, Publishing
• Brief Behavioral Interventions for Primary Care (minimum of 21 hours)
  • Core Elements
  • Basic Skills and Common Elements
  • PST/CBT for Anxiety/Depression
  • Motivational Interviewing
  • Distress Tolerance Skills
  • Health Behavior Change
  • Advanced Topics

The integrated didactic series culminates with a half day retreat for the final session where all faculty and fellows participate.

The fellowship is a fully accredited, one-year program for residents entering their PGY-5 year after completing an ACGME accredited General Psychiatry Residency Program. We will be selecting three general fellows and one psycho-oncology fellow who will work across three sites (Harborview Medical Center, University of Washington Medical Center, and the VA Puget Sound). Fellowship interviews are conducted between September and October. Positions are offered through the Match only in December.

You must meet the following requirements to be eligible for our fellowship:
• Complete an ACGME-accredited adult psychiatry residency
• Foreign medical graduates must have a valid ECFMG certificate
• Be eligible for an unrestricted Washington medical license

Additional information:
• UW Fellowship Program Agreement (FPA)
• UW Visa Policy
• APM Fellowship Recruitment guidelines

Our program uses the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) to process applications. Visit the ERAS website to learn more.

The application deadline is October 31.

If you have other questions, please contact the program director:
Thomas Soeprono, MD
Director, Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Fellowship
Email: thomasms@uw.edu
Phone: (909) 709-0447

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Our integrated psychosocial oncology program is built on a multidisciplinary collaborative care model. Responsibilities will include being a proactive team member at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, as well as clinical consultation and treatment of oncology patients in the ambulatory and inpatient setting.

Fred Hutch, which is ranked as one of the top cancer centers nationally, is home to three Nobel Prize winners and the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in the Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, Idaho (WWAMI) region. The UW School of Medicine has emerged as the leading public medical school in NIH research funding while simultaneously ranking as the number one rated medical school in primary care training.

This oncology position is extremely similar to the structure and format of the general CL fellowship but with a special focus on patients with oncology. Our psycho-oncology fellows still rotate at all the same sites as the other fellows and are considered part of the general program (like having a CL major with an oncology minor).