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We have been hard at work, focusing on recruiting faculty for our clinical services as well as recruiting investigators in translational and clinical research. Our new faculty members for investigation include Ryan Logan, Chris Sheldrick, Nerissa Fuhrmann and Martha Zimmermann, with Stephanie Puig and Lourah Kelly joining this summer. On the clinical side we are thrilled to add Timothy Sannes and Tracie Goodness to our team. This summer, Bennett Wechsler and Taylor Young will join us as well!
At a recent faculty meeting we shared the health care system Press Ganey caregiver survey results. Given how stressful the pandemic has been, we did well although people found it difficult to “turn off” from work. Honestly, I think it is hard to turn off work when we have asked so much of all of you. Still, we would love your thoughts on how we can encourage turning off and we welcome ideas on how to make our department a great place to work.
Just as an aside, one opportunity in the department is to take advantage of professional coaching. We have committed to have some of our faculty trained and that is available through our Career Development and Research Office. There are also resources on the health system side. For personal, academic and leadership development, there are in-person and virtual opportunities for personal development.
UMass makes such work a priority and we are proud of these efforts. Janice Roberts in our CDRO has a list of these opportunities and she can help you find them. Personal and leadership development is not limited to faculty. Many of these courses are open to our staff as well. The gist of this is that as we recover from the effects of the pandemic we want to be a department with well trained and excellent faculty and staff, who love their work place and benefit from personal development.
COVID remains present and persistent, reminding us all to stay vigilant with precautions. Our staff continues to put forth an energetic response to covering illness-related staff absences. Thank you!
Please stay safe and be well this quarter. Spread the word that good things continue to happen in Psychiatry at UMass Chan Medical School / UMass Memorial Health.
Dr. Kimberly Yonkers
Katz Family Chair, Department of Psychiatry
UMass Chan Medical School/UMass Memorial Health
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For the past four months, the psychiatry residency training office has been going through the recruitment process to select the new interns that will join our fantastic group of residents in the summer. This was the third recruitment cycle done entirely virtually. The national trend shows a continuous increase in the number of applications for psychiatry. However, there is a decline in International Medical Graduates applying to psychiatry.
We were fortunate to receive over a thousand applications and interviewed 112 candidates for our three training tracks (general psychiatry, combined adult/child psychiatry, and combined neurology/psychiatry). Our department recently received the Department of Mental Health’s training grant, which allowed us to expand our program and recruit for an additional training position.
The recruitment season is one of the most critical, time-consuming, and involved processes for training programs. It requires the participation of many people in the department. I want to thank the faculty and residents who offered their time to review the candidate’s applications and interview them; the residents and child psychiatry fellows who spent time after work meeting the applicants on Zoom to answer their questions and share their experience in the department; and Linda Gallagher, Andrea Glassman, and Deb Conniff, for helping us run smooth interview days. We couldn’t run the season without everyone’s participation.
We look forward to finding out our Residency Match results in March and will share them with you.
Dr. Auralyd Padilla Candelario
Assistant Professor
UMass Chan Medical School
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Congratulations to Dr. Ryan Logan for receiving the NIH Heal Director's Trailblazer award. The organization states that "this award recognizes HEAL-funded researchers in the early to middle stages of their careers who are applying an innovative approach or creativity in their research or are expanding research into addressing the pain and opioid crisis in new directions." | | |
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Congratulations to Jemima Amankwah for winning the DAISY Nurse Leader Award. The Medical Center says "this annual award recognizes a nurse leader who exemplifies the Medical Center's CARES values and Standards of Respect, is a role model for collaboration and teamwork, and makes a positive difference in the lives of patients, families, employees or our community." | |
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PSYCHIATRY DEPARTMENT RESEARCH DAY
April 27, 2023 11am – 6pm Faculty Conference Room
KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
Wilson Compton, MD, MPE
Deputy Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) of the National Institutes of Health.
In addition to the Keynote Speaker, there will be Symposia, Panels, and a Poster Session!
We do require an RSVP to this in-person event (no Zoom)
Please RSVP to Mariah.Evans@umassmed.edu
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Research Day Poster Abstract Submission Guidelines:
Abstract Format: For each poster, the abstract is limited to a single, 8 ½ x 11 inch page. The text should be single-spaced, with one-inch margins. At the top of each abstract, specify: 1) title of poster 2) authors 3) affiliations 4) email addresses
5) short title in upper right-hand corner. Please ensure that submissions are in Montseratt 10 point font. All correspondence will be via email. Be sure to include the email address for the corresponding author.
Posters on Quality Improvement projects are encouraged. Quality Improvement is the framework used to systematically improve care by standardizing processes and structure to reduce variation, achieve predictable results, and improve outcomes for patients, healthcare systems, and organizations. The best Quality Improvement poster will receive the Excellence in Quality Improvement Award.
Method of Submission: All abstracts must be submitted as an email attachment.
Please email to:
Mariah.Evans@umassmed.edu and anthony.rothschild@umassmemorial.org
Deadline for Submission: Friday, March 10, 2023
Each presenter will be assigned a number that corresponds to the poster session where that poster will be on display. One of the authors must be on site during the
assigned poster session. Poster Boards will be set up in the New Medical School Lobby. The authors will have responsibility for transporting, posting, and removing the poster.
Please note poster dimensions: 4' x 4' for display.
For those who do not have research funding to support a poster, please reach out to Mariah Evans at Mariah.Evans@umassmed.edu about help with covering the cost of the posters.
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PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY JOURNAL CLUB
The Psychopharmacology Journal Club meets on the 4th Wednesday of the month over Zoom from 12pm – 1pm. Each month will feature a different topic and different moderators.
On February 22nd we will discuss (KAR-XT for schizophrenia).
If you would like more information about the journal club or if you would like something discussed, please reach out to Anthony.Rothschild@umassmemorial.org
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iSPARC collaborated with Julie Hugunin, MD/PhD candidate (pictured here) on her National Institutes of General Medical Sciences Medical Scientist Training Program and the National Center for Advancing Translational Science TL1 Training Grant.
Her study focused on the role of primary care services on he mental health of youth aged 16-25 with serious mental illness as well as on the barriers and facilitators to smooth transition from adolescent to adult primary care. The journal article, Established Outpatient Care and Follow-Up After Acute Psychiatric Service Use Among Youths and Young Adults, about this study was announced at an October 11, 2022, press briefing by the American Psychiatric Association. Learn more on iSPARC’s website.
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iSPARC and the Transitions to Adult Center for Research are pleased to share our new podcast, S.T.A.Y. Tuned: Supporting Transition-Age Youth. Funded as part of our NIDILRR Learning & Working RRTC, the podcast is for and made by young adults with mental health conditions. It's designed to share useful information and research to assist transition-age youth/young adults who are navigating school or work. Guests include research collaborators from across the globe. Listen to the podcasts. | | | |
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Lastly, Colleen McKay, MA, CAGS, and Joel D. Corcoran, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer Clubhouse International, co-authored the issue brief, The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Clubhouse Model in which they describe the successful and innovative adaptations that Clubhouses made during the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide.
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Congratulations to Amy Harrington MD, CPE, FAPA on becoming the new Vice Chair of Outpatient Psychiatric Services for the Department of Psychiatry.
She is also the Ambulatory Medical Director and the Psychiatry Physician Quality Officer.
We are so grateful for all your contributions.
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Welcome To Our New Faculty and Staff | |
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Faculty
Narissa Fuhrmann, MD
Attending Psychiatrist, Brockton Multi Service Center
Tracie Goodness, PhD
Assistant Professor, Health Psychology
Russell Livingston, MD
Assistant Professor , DMH Northeast Massachusetts Area Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist
Ryan Logan, PhD
Professor, Psychiatry Research
Timothy Sannes, PhD
Assistant Professor, Health Psychology
Martha Zimmerman, PhD
Assistant Professor Lifeline for Families
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Staff
Christa Drummey
Clinical Research Coordinator
Sharon Gooch-Zebal
Grants and Contract Specialist II
Benjamin Williams
Research Associate III
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Save the Date
The 2023 Annual Massachusetts Department of Mental Health Research Centers of Excellence Conference is Monday, May 1, 2023. It will be hosted by the UMass Chan Medical School Implementation Science & Practice Advances Research Center (iSPARC) and Massachusetts General Hospital Center of Excellence (COE) for Psychosocial and Systemic Research.
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Grand Rounds
Grand Rounds take place every Thursday from 12 pm to 1 pm in the Lazare Auditorium on the first floor of the Medical School Building (S1-607). They are both in person and via Zoom.
For more information visit the Grand Rounds Page
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Dr. Sheldon Benjamin Appreciation Reception | |
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In October, a long overdue appreciation reception for Dr. Sheldon Benjamin was held in person in the Albert Sherman Center. Postponed several times due to the pandemic and social gathering guidelines, Provost Flotte organized the event to recognize and show gratitude to Sheldon for his almost 4 years as Interim Chair of Psychiatry.
Provost Flotte, Dr Dickson and others spoke to what a tremendous job Sheldon did leading the department during a time of much change, and, among other things, an unprecedented pandemic. Provost Flotte presented Sheldon with a chair- seen being tested out by Sheldon below- to commemorate his time, guidance and dedication as Sheldon's family members looked on.
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Other Helpful Information | |
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Faculty, do you want to increase visibility and have your writing reach 19 million readers a month? Then check out The Conversation online.
Many UMass Chan scholars have been published here and you could be next. Articles published in The Conversation reach every newsroom in the US and have been reposted by The Scientific American, PBS News Hour, and The Washington Post. Read more about it on the link above, and be a part of the national conversation with The Conversation.
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UMass Chan Psychiatry Dept
55 Lake Avenue North
Worcester, Massachusetts 01655
508-856-8989
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