The fellow will learn to perform evaluations within a limited time period on a variety
of forensic outpatients. During this rotation, the fellow will learn how to evaluate
competency to stand trial, criminal responsibility, capacity to conform conduct to
the requirements of the law, and competency to enter post-conviction relief actions.
These patients will include men and women over the age of 14.
The fellow will learn specific usefulness of psychological consultation in performing
forensic evaluations. Also, a working knowledge of specific psychological tests used
in forensic populations will be developed.
The fellow will learn the appropriate use of brain imaging, laboratory blood analysis,
electroencephalography, and neurological consultation in completion of forensic evaluations.
The fellow will learn to communicate results of their forensic evaluations to the
court in a thorough and relevant manner and will learn to support opinions convincingly
in court testimony and reports of their findings.
Civil Rotation
The fellow will learn how to develop a decision process for deciding when to accept
a case. The fellow will become familiar with the intricacies of running a private
practice in forensic psychiatry, including common errors and hazards, the negotiation
of fees, the use of a retainer, and the importance of informed consent in private
forensic evaluations.
The fellow will become familiar with the issues of dual agency (treating doctor vs.
evaluator) and how to avoid dual agency and other ethical pitfalls in a forensic practice.
The fellow will obtain knowledge of the components of an adequate civil forensic examination
in the areas of personal injury, disability, worker's compensation, competency to
handle funds, global competency, testamentary capacity, termination of parental rights,
child custody, and other civil issues.
The fellow will understand the process of discovery, the uses of depositions, and
the scope of courtroom testimony in private civil forensic cases.
The fellow will become familiar with the process of a psychiatric malpractice suit,
the basic tenets of a successful tort, and the use of a forensic psychiatrist's testimony
in establishing standard of care (dereliction of duty), damages, and direct causation.
The fellow will become familiar with the use of a private forensic psychiatry expert
for the evaluation of mental health mitigation in death penalty cases.
Correctional Psychiatry Rotation
During this rotation, fellows will become aware of the philosophies of juvenile and
adult corrections, including the observation of a system in change from a correctional
model to a treatment model.
The fellow will learn, firsthand, the challenges of working in a correctional setting,
including the treatment of adults in high security environments, performing pre-sentencing
assessments, and establishing long term therapeutic alliance with patients behind
bars.
The fellow will learn how to balance the therapeutic needs of individual patients
with the organizational needs of the correctional system, including the impact on
medication costs on formulary development.
The fellow will become familiar with all aspects of a juvenile justice system, from
reception and evaluation to parole boards and release. The fellow will become aware
of the uses of allied health and mental professionals in the multidisciplinary approach
utilized in the psychiatric treatment of mentally ill juvenile offenders.
The fellow will become familiar with outcome measures and their use in budgeting resources
within a correctional system.
Forensic Consultation Liaison Rotation
The fellow will gain a working knowledge of legal issues that arise in the clinical
practice of psychiatry including competency to consent to medical procedures, informed
consent, treatment refusal, the duty to protect, violence risk assessments, confidentiality,
and other issues.
The fellow will gain an appreciation of the safety and legal issues related to the
safe release of criminal defendants found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGRI)
and the process by which such release occur.
The fellow will develop skills necessary to review the appropriateness of hospital
policies and procedures as well as the psychiatric treatment provided in select cases
with adverse clinical outcomes.
Evaluations of Sexual Abuse
The fellow will learn the proper victim interview techniques in the conducting of
forensic interviews for the purpose of investigation allegations of child physical
or sexual abuse.
The fellow will learn the areas of inquiry when completing a comprehensive forensic
interview of alleged child abuse victims.
The fellow will learn how abuse evaluations are used by the family court system and
by investigative authorities.
