Meet Our Current Fellows
My favorite part about being a fellow at Johns Hopkins is the sense of collaboration. In my first year, I always felt supported by my attendings, staff, and co-fellows and I never worried alone. I also found a ton of support for my research interest. My mentor was very patient with me as I learned to write my first grant proposal. I feel like everyone here really wants me to succeed.
Cecilia Albers, Recent alum about first year
Through serendipity, patient safety and quality improvement became a focus of my fellowship experience. In first year, fellows participate in a longitudinal patient safety course led by a faculty mentor. Delving into patient safety issues from our own experience during fellowship brought quality improvement concepts to life. In second year, I chose to continue work on our project through a research lens. Truly, the opportunity to work with a particular faculty mentor drew me to continue the project. Over the past year, I have learned an abundance of research, leadership, and interdisciplinary collaboration skills through working with my mentor. Most importantly, my mentor always provided encouragement and made me feel valued as a colleague—quality improvement at its core.
Maxine Pottenger, Recent alum about second year
Donika Hasanaj, M.D.
Tae Un (Tammy) Kim, D.O.
Akshita Lalendran, M.D.
Michelle Miller, M.D.
Sasha Narayan, M.D.
Anhvu Nguyen, M.D.
Robert Berg, M.D.
Nina Burruss, M.D.
Lawrence Gross, M.D.
Naziya Hassan, M.D.
Elizabeth Kim, D.O.
Diane Ukwuoma, M.D.
Curriculum
First Year of Fellowship
The clinical experience is enhanced by didactics specifically tailored to the knowledge base of the first-year fellow. Structured learning occurs either in the setting of protected didactic time on Thursday afternoon or more informal and interactive “Lunch and Learn” sessions on Mondays and Tuesdays. A Summer Session provides information about policies and procedures for documentation, communication, the initial assessment, engagement strategies when working with youth and families, skills in managing crisis situations, and the essentials of pediatric formulation and psychopharmacology. In addition, throughout the year there are didactics on critical journal reading, the consultation process, child and adolescent psychopharmacology, ethics, forensics, development, and the social determinants of health. There are also lectures on psychotherapy techniques including family therapy, cognitive behavior therapy, parent management training, and dialectical behavioral therapy. Our learning schedule includes:
- Psychopharmacology Case Discussion: A lunchtime biweekly structured case discussion facilitated by expert faculty that focuses on the nuances of diagnosis and psychopharmacology. Fellows have the opportunity to present challenging cases they encounter and receive support and feedback from their peers and faculty.
- Introduction to Formulation: The Perspectives of Psychiatry: Taking place at the start of the summer, this multi-part workshop teaches trainees a systematic and comprehensive approach to clinical formulations, led by a national expert in medical education.
- Clinical Case Conference: A weekly lunchtime faculty-led talk centered around a challenging case. Faculty with expertise in acute care, psychosocial challenges, neuropsychiatry, and pediatric medical comorbidities rotate and share weekly.
- Didactic Presentations: Thursdays from 3-5pm are fully protected for more traditional lectures from faculty.
Second Year of Fellowship
The second year focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of children, adolescents, and their families primarily in the outpatient setting. Fellows develop a deeper understanding of therapeutic interventions in outpatient clinics and have the opportunity to pursue a variety of electives. In addition, there are also opportunities to develop research and writing skills and participate in ongoing research with faculty guidance.
Second Year Rotations
- Collaborative Continuity Clinic (CCC) – one half-day per week and a treatment continuation opportunity with patients from the first year
- Scholarly Activity/Administrative Time – 2 mornings per week
- Therapy experience – equivalent to one half-day per week, with opportunities to practice CBT, Trauma-Focused CBT, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Parent-Child Interaction Training, RUBI-PT (a therapeutic intervention for parents of children with ASD) or the Chicago Parenting Program, all with intensive supervision
- Children’s Mental Health Clinic (CMHC) – one day per week
- Elective Time – one day per week
- Kennedy Krieger Institute (KKI) Center for Autism Services, Science and Innovation (CASSI) or KKI’s Developmental Behavioral Health Program with emphasis on developmental disabilities (DD) or Neuropsychiatry (NP) – one half-day per week
- Home-call coverage – on average once every fourteen evenings throughout the yearSecond Year Didactics
The second year didactics focus on advanced topics of child and adolescent psychiatry and build on the material learned in the first year of fellowship. Expert faculty members are invited to speak on topics including developmental disabilities, neuropsychology, neuroscience, genetics, evidence-based practice, and psychiatric formulation.
Divisional Conference Topics
In addition to the first and second year didactics, additional teaching occurs at the Divisional Conference held on Wednesdays. This weekly conference is a combination of faculty presentations, case discussions, and lectures by invited faculty from the divisions of Pediatrics, Neurology, and the School of Public Health, as well as current second-year child and adolescent psychiatry fellows. The conference covers a variety of “hot topics”, challenging issues, and complex clinical situations.