{"id":13688,"date":"2024-02-14T14:12:55","date_gmt":"2024-02-14T19:12:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/psych\/?page_id=13688"},"modified":"2026-02-16T14:24:04","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T19:24:04","slug":"curriculum","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/psych\/education\/fellowships\/geriatric-psychiatry-fellowship\/curriculum\/","title":{"rendered":"Curriculum"},"content":{"rendered":"

The core curriculum consists of four three-month blocks.\u00a0 One block focuses on inpatient geriatric psychiatry, one on interventional psychiatry, one on neuropsychiatry, and one on geriatric medicine. \u00a0There are two half-days of outpatient continuity throughout the year, one at the UNC outpatient psychiatry clinic and the other at two different continuing care retirement centers.\u00a0 There are ample opportunities to participate in electives during each block.\u00a0 Fellows will have one full day per week dedicated to didactics and an additional half day per week to focus on scholarly activity.\u00a0 The curriculum is designed to be comprehensive, in-depth, and flexible to meet the unique goals of each fellow.<\/p>\n

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Core Rotations:<\/u><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Inpatient Geropsychiatry Unit<\/strong><\/a> – The inpatient geriatric psychiatry unit is a 10-bed subspecialty unit at UNC where fellows will learn to manage severe mental health conditions, psychotic disorders, and neurocognitive disorders. Fellows will have a 3-month block as an acting attending on the unit.<\/p>\n

Long-term care rotation<\/strong> \u2013 fellows will see psychiatry consults at two continuing care retirement centers (CCRC), The Cedars at Chapel Hill<\/a>\u00a0and Galloway Ridge<\/a>\u00a0a half day every other week throughout the year along with an attending geriatric psychiatrist.\u00a0 They will practice community and environmental assessment by visiting with residents at this facility and will work with families of residents.<\/p>\n

Outpatient continuity clinic<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 fellows see older adults in a UNC geriatric psychiatry outpatient clinic one half-day per week throughout the year. They will learn to manage mental health conditions in late life. They will learn screening cognitive assessments, family and caregiver assessment, and will practice functional assessment. Fellows are supervised by an attending geriatric psychiatrist.<\/p>\n

Interventional psychiatry<\/strong><\/a> – Fellows will get experience with ECT 1-3 days per week during their three-month interventional psychiatry block. There are typically 10-15 patients getting ECT per day.\u00a0 Over the rotation, fellows will develop increasing competence with independently administering ECT and will be supervised by ECT faculty.\u00a0 For fellows interested in more interventional experience, they have the option of additional training in TMS, esketamine, brexanolone, and\/or additional time with the ECT service.<\/p>\n

Memory Disorders<\/strong> \u2013 Fellows will spend a half day per week during two three-month blocks in the Aging Brain clinic<\/a>\u00a0learning to assess cognitive impairment, diagnose, and manage patients with neurocognitive disorders, particularly mild cognitive impairment.\u00a0 They will obtain information from family and other caregivers, will become familiar with imaging, sleep, and other diagnostics<\/p>\n

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Electives:<\/u><\/strong><\/h4>\n