EDUCATIONAL PRINCIPLES
Education is a primary
function of the Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship in the Department of
Psychiatry. Our faculty’s goal is to further our fellows on their developmental
path towards becoming excellent clinicians, educators, and scholars. Graduates
of the child program are prepared to assume the responsibilities of caring for
children and families; are capable of working collaboratively as an active
treatment team member; are able to assess the quality of empirical evidence in
support of new treatments or scientific hypotheses; and are ready to further the
development of their profession and their professional community. Fellows will
also have further developed their particular interests and abilities in clinical
care, education, and scholarship. The program assumes that the demands of
excellent clinical care and ongoing professional development are best met by
child psychiatrists who are well rounded and able to prepared assume the
responsibility of a lifetime of learning in psychiatric medicine.
The adult psychiatric program endorses a biopsychosocial approach, while
blending in a strong developmental perspective that organizes and guides our
clinical thinking and our interventions, our educational efforts, and our
scholarly endeavors. Clinical experiences, as reviewed below, offer our fellows
broad opportunities to develop medical and psychotherapeutic skills. The
cultural diversity of New Mexico and a large and varied patient population
equips the fellow with a keen awareness and understanding of the cultural
influences on human behavior. A commitment to evidence-based medical principles
lends focus to the complex and rapidly developing field of addiction psychiatry.
The fellowship program values the unique talents and interests of each
individual fellow, and seeks diversity in both applicants and faculty. We make
every effort to expose addiction fellows to the full range of knowledge,
perspectives and practices current in psychiatry today. Fellows learn to
function on interdisciplinary teams, to appreciate the problems of the
community, to teach and learn, to critically review the medical literature, and
to function as a leader. Fellows who desire to do so may also further their
abilities as psychiatric educators, scientists, and leaders.
All graduates of the University of New Mexico addiction psychiatry fellowship
are fully qualified specialists who meet the highest professional standards and
are well prepared for examination in their specialty by the American Board of
Psychiatry and Neurology. Our graduates move into clinical practice, community
service, medical leadership roles and academic careers.
