The ACLP joins the American Association of Directors of Psychiatry Residency Training (AADPRT), the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC), many other medical organizations, and most educational institutions in making the following recommendation: All interviews for candidates applying in fall 2023 for Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Fellowships be done by virtual means. Both local and distant applicants should be interviewed only by remote technology. There should be no in-person or second-look visits, but programs may schedule virtual events or tours. If these are offered, they should be offered to all applicants. All-virtual interviewing has been employed successfully since the fall of 2020, fostering increased diversity of applicants and the elimination of travel expenses among the many benefits.
We wish you the best of luck with your pursuit of fellowship training. We do assure you that a wide variety of programs, with different sorts of emphasis and features, in different areas of the US, will welcome your application.
The Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry is the chief professional organization for consultation-liaison (C-L) psychiatry. The website has some resources which may be of interest to you.
But first, if you are a medical student deciding what type of residency is next for you, watch this short video about a third-year med student deciding that very thing. The video shows that choosing a psychiatry residency opens the door to a fellowship and career in the realm of consultation-liaison psychiatry, working with the medical team in treating behavioral conditions in patients with medical/surgical problems.
The APA Council on C-L Psychiatry and ACLP co-hosted Finding a C-L Psychiatry Job 101. In this virtual Q&A, our panelists discussed what C-L jobs look like on the faculty side, inpatient vs outpatient and academic vs private, the timeline for applying for jobs, how to know when to move, and developing your career in C-L. Intended for both trainees and current C-L psychiatrists, this webinar provides practical tips on finding your place in C-L. Watch the recording below.
Consultation-liaison psychiatry (formerly psychosomatic medicine) was recognized as a subspecialty by the American Board of Medical Specialties in 2004. Board certification in C-L Psychiatry requires completion of a one-year accredited fellowship in the field, and passing a written exam in the field. For an overview of the process and the practice of C-L Psychiatry, see “Why Consider Fellowship Training in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry?”
Fellowship programs in C-L Psychiatry are listed on our website in the Directory of U.S. NRMP Match-Participating C-L Psychiatry Fellowship Programs. There are many programs in all areas of the country, with a variety of different approaches to training. If you are interested in C-L Psychiatry, you will have no trouble finding a suitable program. Most applications are submitted in August through October and this is the time that you will have the most choice. Even if you apply later in the year, many programs will still have openings.
Beginning in fall 2013, the fellowship selection process operated as a match through the National Residency Match Program (NRMP) and is similar to the process which you used to match for psychiatry residency. You will need to register for the psychiatry fellowship match. The NRMP website (www.nrmp.org) has information about the match and has links for you to register. Some advice about the application process is given in the paper, So, you want to be a Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Fellow? [PDF].
Meetings are an excellent way to develop and keep up your medical skills. Our annual meeting occurs each November, and details can be found here. The meeting is large enough to offer a range of talks and workshops, but small enough to retain a collegial and welcoming atmosphere. More than 200 trainees typically attend, a number which has been increasing each year. There is a discounted registration fee for residents in training.
Guidelines for education in C-L Psychiatry during residency training in general psychiatry have been developed by our Resident Education Subcommittee. These guidelines are reflected in a set of 13 lectures (PowerPoint presentations) covering core topics in C-L Psychiatry (formerly PM). Viewing the full content of the lectures requires membership in the Academy, but a 13-page PDF preview is available without login.
The Resident Education Subcommittee has also prepared a “Reading/Reference List for Psychiatry Residents Rotating in C-L Psychiatry” [PDF] that does not require ACLP membership to view. “Practice Guidelines for Psychiatric Consultation in the General Medical Setting,” published in our journal Psychosomatics in 1998, are relevant still today.
We invite you to join the Academy. Membership includes a print subscription to the Academy’s journal, Journal of the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry, as well as online access to this journal and two related Elsevier journals, General Hospital Psychiatry and Journal of Psychosomatic Research. Membership also entitles you to reduced registration at the annual meeting, participation in Academy special interest groups and committees, and other benefits as noted in Membership Advantages. The annual membership fee for residents is $55. To join, see How to Join.
The Academy offers several opportunities for outstanding residents and fellows to be recognized with awards.
After 64 years as the Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine, in April 2018 the Academy changed its name to the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry (ACLP). Nearly simultaneously, the change of name for the subspecialty was also adopted by ABMS and ABPN, in a carefully managed and well-publicized strategy to realign the Academy with its original identity.
The “new” name for the subspecialty is actually the old name. Consultation-liaison psychiatry developed several decades ago at a time when most of the clinical work was in inpatient medical-surgical units. For a variety of reasons, the Academy could not adopt the term “consultation-liaison psychiatry” prior to April 2018, but with the strong expression of support of our members, and that of the APA, ABPN and ABMS, the change became possible and was vigorously pursued.
James Rundell, MD, FACLP, Academy president during the name change commented at the time, “changing the Academy’s name to ACLP brings the organization into alignment with the ABMS’s renaming of the subspecialty and expresses the will of a very large majority of our membership. Consultation-Liaison psychiatrists are at the forefront of integrated medical and psychiatric practice, and have the medical knowledge, training and experience to function effectively in all inpatient and outpatient primary care and specialty services in this critically important arena.”
This brief video, developed by ACLP for presentation at the APA 2018 annual meeting, discusses the reasons for the name change and what it means for the Academy and its members.