Child Psychiatry Residency Medical Student Information
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Shayne Tomisato, M.D., Director
Phone: (480) 344-2026
Fax: (480) 344-0219
We would like to welcome students to our Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Residency Training Program. We are a community-based program that is committed to education and the highest level of patient care. Our residents have access to a wide variety of exceptional and unique training experiences. Residents are trained in acute care and psychopharmacology at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, one of the ten largest children’s hospitals in the country. Neurology rotations take place at Barrow Neurological Institute, an internationally recognized leader in neurological research and patient care. Rotations at Childhelp Children’s Center (an integrated investigation and treatment center for child maltreatment), Southwest Human Development (a non-profit agency specializing in treating children ages 0-5) and HuHuKam Memorial Hospital (a health care setting within the Gila River Indian Community) offer unique experiences with specialized populations.
Each third year medical student assigned to the Maricopa Integrated Health System (MIHS) Department of Psychiatry from the University of Arizona will spend one week in child and adolescent psychiatry. Third year medical students from other institutions who are spending a month in adult psychiatry at MIHS may request to spend a day observing one of the child psychiatry faculty. Month-long elective rotations in child and adolescent psychiatry for fourth year students are also available. The main campus for MIHS Child Psychiatry is located at Desert Vista Behavioral Health Center, 570 West Brown Rd., Mesa, AZ 85201.
During their time in child psychiatry, students will observe or participate in the evaluation and treatment of children and families with a wide range of developmental and psychiatric disorders and social challenges. The schedule is different for each day of the week, and includes experience in outpatient, consultation liaison, school-based consultation and treatment, adolescent residential and addiction treatment settings. Students are provided with child psychiatry readings and also attend the weekly multidisciplinary case conference. During month-long elective rotations students attend additional resident-level didactic sessions. Faculty includes child psychiatry clinical staff under the direction of Shayne Tomisato, M.D. Dr. Sheila Wong is the faculty coordinator for medical student rotations, and Daunese Suniga is the training coordinator for child psychiatry.
The MIHS Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Residency Training Program is fully accredited by the ACGME. This two-year training program enrolled its first residents in July 2003. Currently, the program consists of 6 positions, 3 per training year.
The program offers comprehensive training in child and adolescent psychiatry with rotations in a variety of settings, providing a balanced clinical training experience. Rotations include inpatient, residential treatment, outpatient, and specialty clinics. During the residency, all call is from home and moonlighting opportunities are available. Supervision is emphasized and trainees receive a minimum of two hours of weekly ongoing individual supervision, in addition to rotation-specific supervision.
Download MIHS Universal Clerkship Application
Information
To Apply for Position
Applications are accepted as early as 12 months prior to the onset of training. Residents may start their Child Psychiatry Training after completing their third year of an ACGME-accredited General Psychiatry Residency. Residents later in their careers are also accepted. Residents must be eligible for a full Arizona license. The program participates in the National Resident Matching Program.
Resident benefits and contracts are described here.
Download Common Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Residency Application and mail to:
Daunese Suniga
Program Coordinator
570 W. Brown Rd.
Mesa, AZ 85201
Or e-mail to: daunese_suniga@dmgaz.org.
The didactic curriculum is scheduled throughout the two years of training. First and second year residents attend classes together along with fourth-year elective students twice a week, for a total of 8 hours of didactics per week, including psychiatric grand rounds. Time to attend classes is protected. The curriculum is designed to ensure a comprehensive training experience, exposure to the major theories of child development and psychiatry, and integration of different models of care in an evidence-based fashion.
Child & Adolescent Development -This series covers child development from conception to early adulthood. Topics include physical development, CNS development, cognitive development, and gender differences. Classic papers are presented. Theories of personality, social, and intrapsychic development are discussed. Common childhood problems are addressed (fears, sleep, divorce, death, siblings, peers, eating problems). This course is held weekly over a 6-month period each year.
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry - This seminar covers the range of childhood psychiatric disorders as well as contextual presentations of child patients (i.e., family problems, school problems). Skills in evaluating children and adolescents at different developmental stages are taught, with an emphasis on learning board-style presentation skills. Assessment and treatment planning, as well as legal issues and ethics, are discussed. This seminar is held weekly over two years.
Psychopharmacology - This seminar teaches residents psychopharmacologic management of symptoms of child and adolescent psychiatric disorders using case-based, evidence-based, and problem-solving approaches. This seminar is held weekly over two years.
Psychotherapy Conference - Initially, a review of different types of treatment and psychotherapy techniques is conducted. Related reading is assigned, including presentations on different methods of psychotherapy. Readings and video presentations are supplemented with discussion of specific cases. Utilization of resident web-cam recordings of therapy sessions helps residents to refine therapy skills. Models discussed in conference include psychodynamic, play therapy, cognitive-behavioral, family therapy, parent guidance, supportive therapy, group therapy, interpersonal and behavioral approaches. This seminar is held weekly over two years and led by an attending psychiatrist and clinical psychologist.
Clinical Case Conference - During each clinical case conference, one case is reviewed with a focus on diagnoses, formulation, data gathering and therapeutic recommendations. Residents and staff present, with resident and faculty discussion. Legal and ethical issues are discussed when pertinent to the case. Psychological testing and school observations may also be reviewed. Conferences generally occur weekly.
Journal Club - Current articles in child and adolescent psychiatry are assigned. Residents present on varied topics with discussion by residents and faculty. Critical evaluation of papers, studies, and research are covered. Evidence-based practice is emphasized. This seminar occurs monthly.
MIHS Psychiatry Grand Rounds - Weekly grand rounds presentations include research presentations, presentations of topics by selected experts, clinical case material, certification trainings, and faculty/resident presentations. Residents present their literature reviews in this setting during Year 1 and present their research results during Year 2. Residents are expected to attend presentations on child topics. Adult topics are optional.
The following mini-courses are also presented in a 2-year rotation:
- Administrative Psychiatry
- Career Development
- Psychiatry
- Child Neuropsychiatry and Neurodevelopment
- Child Psychiatry and the Law
- Cross-cultural Child Psychiatry
- Ethics in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
- Consult-liaison Psychiatry
- Models of Care
Maricopa Medical Center and 
Desert Vista Behavioral Health Center -Maricopa Medical Center has two campuses. The Desert Vista campus, located at 570 West Brown Road in Mesa, Arizona, is the home site of the MIHS Child Psychiatry Residency. Seminars and primary supervision are provided in this suburban location. Residents are provided with large individual offices (which have a web cam available for taping therapy sessions) and a library at this location. A rich educational experience is offered in the continuity clinic here. Residents see cases with a variety of diagnoses, ages, cultures, and socioeconomic status and provide treatment with a range of modalities. It is in this location that most experience with longer-term therapy is obtained. Residents also accompany faculty in their MedPro Faculty Clinic, allowing residents to experience a busy outpatient setting with a primary focus on psychopharmacology. At the main campus of Maricopa Medical Center, residents receive emergency experience in a medical setting during the MMC Emergency and Consultation Rotation. Residents also rotate at the main campus for their MMC Outpatient Pediatric Consult-liaison and Outpatient Treatment Clinic rotations.
Phoenix Children's Hospital - Phoenix Children's Hospital, affiliated with the University of Arizona College of Medicine, is one of the ten largest children’s hospitals in the country. As a free-standing entity it provides comprehensive medical and psychiatric services to children representative of the diverse populations living in Maricopa County. Residents gain experience in the provision of acute inpatient care to children with serious mental illness as well as pediatric inpatient consultation. In addition to interactions with psychiatric supervisors, nurses, and behavioral health staff, residents have the opportunity to interact with social workers, family therapists, psychologists, special education teachers, and recreational therapists in this setting. Residents attend daily staffings and educational conferences. Faculty members are involved in research, and PCH is
Devereux Arizona - Devereux is a residential treatment center where residents provide care to children and adolescents with severe mental illness. Devereux also has an on-site school for special needs children, which is attended by students from Devereux and from the community. During their inpatient rotation, residents are supervised by the medical director, Robert Shuch, D.O. Residents provide individual psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy treatment to patients as well as participating in team treatment planning, family therapy, group therapy, behavioral therapy, and other interventions. Residents have the unique opportunity of participating in adolescent dialectic behavioral therapy. In addition, residents are trained in the responsibilities of the medical director through modeling and supervision with administrative experiences.
The New Foundation -The New Foundation is a residential treatment center, therapeutic group home, and outpatient site providing organized and comprehensive services to adolescents with substance abuse, psychosocial problems, and psychiatric diagnoses. Residents are accompanied by supervisors Sheila Wong, M.D., Medical Director, and Joanna Kowalik, M.D. Residents gain experience in an environment that specializes in treating dually diagnosed adolescents through a variety of treatment modalities and interventions (including psychotherapy, family therapy, case management, and group therapy). Residents have the opportunity to co-lead substance abuse treatment groups and experience case-based teaching by substance abuse clinicians.
St. Joseph's Hospital / Medical Center
Barrow Neurological Institute (BNI) - Residents gain experience in pediatric neurology under the supervision of highly qualified scholarly faculty at the renowned Barrow Neurological Institute. Residents rotate through an inpatient child neurology unit and child neurology outpatient clinics where they participate in teaching rounds and case discussions with faculty and with adult and child neurology residents.
Children's Rehabilitative Services (CRS) - CRS is part of a statewide program which provides comprehensive rehabilitative services to children and their families. The Phoenix clinic is located on the campus of St. Joseph’s Hospital. The child psychiatry resident works with Dr. Bob Klaehn, the consulting child psychiatrist, and the staff psychologists in providing care to children with developmental, neuropsychiatric, and chronic medical illnesses including mental retardation, pervasive developmental disorders, seizure disorders, neurofibromatosis, cerebral palsy, static encephalopathy, asthma, osteogenesis imperfecta, sickle cell anemia, and diabetes, among others.
Childhelp Children's Center - The Child Maltreatment Rotation is a unique experience in working with a multi-agency child maltreatment team. Pediatricians, social workers, police, and Child Protective Services all participate at the Childhelp Assessment Center. This teaching and observing rotation educates residents about abuse, neglect, domestic violence, forensic interviewing, and court testimony. Residents do not carry independent cases or provide direct treatment. On a given day, residents may observe a forensic interview by a criminologist and physical examinations by pediatricians to evaluate abuse, be involved with medical chart reviews for possible abuse and neglect, participate in formal case conferences and informal case discussions, or observe court testimony.
Southwest Human Development Good FIT (Families, Infants, and Toddlers) Center -The mission of Southwest Human Development is to serve very young children and their families and assist in their development. Residents evaluate and treat toddlers and preschool-age children under the supervision of and accompanied by Erum Ali, M.D. Residents gain experience in the specialized assessment and diagnosis of young children, including the use of the Diagnostic Classification 0-3, developed by the National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families. Specific family and child treatment modalities effective in this population are observed. Residents are involved in psychiatric and developmental evaluations, outpatient treatment, observation and consultation in preschools, collaboration with infant mental health professionals, and exposure to home-based mental health services.
Hu Hu Kam Memorial Hospital -Hu Hu Kam Memorial Hospital is located within the Gila River Indian Community. Residents are supervised by Lisa Cobourn, M.D., who accompanies them at Hu Hu Kam. Residents gain experience in school and systems consult-liaison by providing consultation to schools and hospital/clinic staff. Residents have the unique opportunity to work with Head Start and the local schools in this Indian Community setting, and gain cultural knowledge and understanding. The Native American Community Outpatient elective also trains residents to provide culturally sensitive and effective care to children and families. Residents have the opportunity to work with a traditional Native American healer in this setting.