Quick Links
Support Us
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry | Fellow Life
Learn MoreMy training at UIC was excellent; I continue to feel like there’s nothing I can’t handle after being taught by leaders in the field who have written practice guidelines & sub specialist. With so many great mentors to emulate I continue to think of who taught me something when I apply it and quote them.
I really enjoyed my time in the IJR. Everybody was so kind and I felt welcomed by everybody from the very first time I entered the building. I remember I interviewed in all of the programs in the area, and UIC was my first choice at the time of making my ranking. I liked that the attendings were very down to earth at the same time of doing great things in their field of work. Child Psychiatrists rely heavily on teamwork and there are lots of opportunities to work with people from other disciplines, also, scholarly activities are numerous and you get full support to participate in academic activities. Attendings are very supportive and they help you to develop your clinical skills allowing you to explore your own personal style. My time in UIC has been one of the most important moments in my career, and I think my training there prepared me to work practically anywhere.
Future plans: Outpatient primary care collaboration in Chicago.
I am interested in working with children who have experienced trauma and better understanding the role of lower socioeconomics with mental health and felt that UIC would be wonderful experience for this. I am also interested in the exposure of teaching and research along with clinical and working to better understand how I might balance these going forward.
I was impressed by the number of previous graduates of the program that had stayed or returned to work for UIC. To me this meant that they had a positive experience as fellows and wanted to continue a relationship with the institution. I also liked the idea of having joint didactics with the Child and Adolescent fellowship program at RUSH. I viewed this as a great way to learn and network with a larger group of people while still maintaining the family and close-knit feeling of being in a small program. Lastly, the energy and vibe of the fellows and faculty were great on interview day, and I could tell they were as enthusiastic about child and adolescent psychiatry as I was.
UIC program provided a solid foundation for me to grow in my career as a child and adolescent psychiatrist and laid the groundwork for continual professional growth. I am indebted to all the dedicated teaching faculties and staff for providing an enriching environment conducive to learning. The program truly fosters a culture of collegiality and a great work-life balance. It also places a great emphasis on treating the vulnerable in our society with compassion. In retrospect, it has been all that I was looking for in a fellowship program.
I am very grateful that I received my training at The University of Illinois Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship Program for several reasons including opening the door to my current position. I work at the Eating Recovery Center Pathlight in Oak Brook, IL (https://www.eatingrecoverycenter.com). It is a partial hospitalization program for adolescents and adults and we treat mood, anxiety, and eating disorders. I am not the first person from UIC to accept a position at this facility and I will probably not be the last
As a native of Chicago and a former alumni of UIC, it was comforting to return for fellowship. The warm environment allowed me to continue to craft my skills as I learned from attendings and peers. Also, as a minority, it was important for me to be able to serve a patient population that includes minorities and UIC does a fabulous job in this regard. Furthermore, the fact that collaboration with other specialties is encouraged and expected highlights how teamwork is personified at UIC. Having this experience is vital as many employment opportunities will have the same expectation.
The University of Illinois Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship Program offers a friendly environment, knowledgeable attendings, a diverse patient population, and space for professional growth through collaboration. If these are the elements you are searching for, UIC is the right place for you too!
The UIC CAP fellowship was amazing thanks to attentive attendings who blended patient care with teaching. The support and supervision from the director, attendings, and staff were an incredible bonus and made my two years there very rewarding. Overall, I enjoyed the diversity of clinical rotations allowing me to obtain a vast amount of knowledge that I can apply to my career moving forward.
The training at UIC is comprehensive and diverse, while also being culturally and socioeconomically broad. Post graduation, fellows possess superb skills for a successful transition into the medical community, whether private or within a collaborative system of care. A critical and ever present resource to the fellow is the administrative team, they are always available to assist during this demanding and busy time for the trainees. Over a decade later, I continue to cherish every moment of my fellowship experience and enjoy the ongoing friendships and mentorship of colleagues at UIC.
UIC's CAP fellowship is one of the best programs in the country. Learning from national experts particularly in the specialty outpatient clinics deeply enhances trainees' clinical acumen. My wonderful experience as a fellow in the Comprehensive ADHD Clinic led to my first attending role as its Director.
Having strong family ties to the city, I knew I wanted to be at an institution that not only allowed for training opportunities that aligned with my academic interests but was also deeply committed to serving the diverse communities of Chicago. The combination of the supportive/family-friendly training environment and unique clinical opportunities (Women’s Mental Health Program selective, Immigrant Family Mental Health Advocacy Program etc..) made it clear that UIC was the right program for me.
Being a child and adolescent psychiatry fellow at UIC was a wonderful experience, I feel rotations and continuity clinic have prepared me well for the future. Everyone was kind and committed to teaching and learning. Attendings are approachable and provide supervision that builds up confidence to go out in practice independently. I particularly enjoyed interdisciplinary collaboration with psychology and social work, there was always a sense of teamwork and support when discussing cases which is essential when working with children. I feel very grateful to have had the opportunity to work with so many amazing people.
CAP fellowship at UIC was the best experience I could have asked for. I was challenged, mentored, and made to feel confident to practice independently. UIC provides an amazing variety of treatment settings and levels of acuity that prepared me to deal with any situation that could arise in psychiatric practice. This has been invaluable as my career path has led me to become a psychiatrist in a high acuity setting; oftentimes seeing treatment resistant teenagers who come to our facility as a last resort. In my opinion, there is no better program to gain the skills and expertise needed to become an excellent child and adolescent psychiatrist. If I had to do it again, I would not hesitate to choose UIC for fellowship. It is my highest recommendation that others deciding which CAP program to attend choose UIC!
