APA Minority Fellowships Invites Applicants

Psychiatry residents are invited to apply for APA's Minority Fellowships Program (MFP). The MFP provides educational opportunities not only to minority residents, but to all residents interested in providing quality and effective service to minorities and the underserved.

The fellowships provide funding for psychiatry residents to experience a specialized educational program specifically geared toward building leaders who will be able to improve the quality of mental health care for the following federally recognized ethnic minority groups: American Indians, Native Alaskans, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, Native Pacific Islanders, African Americans, and Hispanics/Latinos. The fellowships are also designed to involve residents in the work of the Association and to give APA the perspective of young psychiatrists.

There are three groups of MFP fellows: APA/SAMHSA Fellows (funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration), APA/SAMHSA Substance Abuse Fellows (funded by the Centers for Substance Abuse Treatment and Substance Abuse Prevention), and APA/Diversity Leadership Fellows (funded by AstraZeneca). Fellows serve for one year, except for the Diversity Leadership Fellows, who serve for two years.

The SAMHSA and Substance Abuse Fellows receive a stipend based on their postgraduate year and availability of federal funds. Diversity Leadership Fellows do not receive stipends; however, travel funds are available for specific APA meetings and special projects. Psychiatry residents must be at least a PGY-2 in July 2011 and remain in training during the entire academic year.

All applicants must be APA members. SAMHSA applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents at the time of application. SAMHSA substance abuse applicants must be in their PGY-5 of training in July 2011 and in a substance abuse training program approved by the affiliated medical school or agency where a significant number of substance abuse patients are from minority and underserved groups. Federal employees are ineligible.

Diversity Leadership applicants do not have to be U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or graduates of a U.S. medical school.

All applicants are welcome to apply regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, or disability.

The deadline for applications is January 31, 2011. More information is available from Marilyn King at (703) 907-8653 or [email protected] or online at <www.psych.org/Resources/OMNA/MFP.aspx>.