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Stanford Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship Program

Program Description

Thank you for your interest in Stanford’s forensic psychiatry fellowship program. Our mission is to train the next generation of leaders in forensic psychiatry embodying the highest standards of ethics, scientific rigor, scholarship, and professionalism. While adhering to all ACGME requirements for forensic psychiatry fellowships (e.g. for forensic knowledge and competencies), our program is unique in its focus on neurolaw. Fellows with such training will be ideally positioned to guide legal decision-making, ethical discussions, and public policies that center around questions of neuroscience.

Stanford University is uniquely positioned to train neurolaw specialists, given its outstanding depth and expertise in the fields of neuroscience research, medicine, law, public policy, and neuroethics.

Fellows participate in a wide variety of forensic cases and didactics with faculty, with an emphasis on cases involving the use of neuroscience in the courtroom, for example evaluating the strength and reliability of neuroimaging evidence in determining capacities and mental states relevant to legal questions such as mens rea, mitigation, and criminal responsibility.

Correctional rotations are based in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) system, primarily at San Quentin and CMF (California Medical Facility, a California State prison dedicated to inmates with medical and psychiatric needs). Fellows with a particular interest in exploring a career in correctional psychiatry leadership may elect to rotate with the chief of psychiatry and other administrative leaders in the CDCR to gain deep systems-level knowledge.

Fellows rotate at the VA PM&R inpatient and outpatient units, with the goal of developing particular expertise in evaluating claims of brain damage and other biological factors in leading to offensive behaviors, guiding sentencing determinations, and assessing disability.

Our fellowship is integrated with the Stanford School of Law. Fellows can elect to participate in didactics at the School of Law, which include courses on Neuroethics by Hank Greely, Mental Health Law, and Criminal Law. In addition, fellows will integrate with law students on a wide range of cases as part of the Law Student Clinic.

Fellows have protected time throughout the year to access and participate in a wide range of research efforts in the Law School, School of Medicine, Center for Biomedical Ethics, and Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute. Stanford is fortunate to house all its schools on one unified campus, thus enabling ideal conditions for cross-fertilization and idea incubation, which drive innovation and scholarship.

We particularly encourage fellows with interests in social justice to collaborate with faculty on public policy projects and proposals, such as educating legislators on neuroscience relevant to drug addiction and adolescent brain development.

Our fellowship is ACGME accredited for 2 fellows.

Information regarding the annual stipend and benefits can be found on the GME website. Note that incoming forensic psychiatry fellows are considered to be PGY-5s, regardless of prior fellowships completed.

Stipends and Benefits

Stipends 2022-23

Effective: 9/5/2022

Year	Annual	Per Month
I	$74,027.20	$6,168.81
II	$77,771.20	$6,480.81
III	$83,657.60	$6,971.33
IV	$88,400.00	$7,366.53
V	$93,953.60	$7,829.32
VI	$98,092.80	$8,174.24
VII	$103,604.80	$8,633.57
VIII	$108,326.40	$9,027.03

For more information, please visit the GME Office site.

Benefits

Annual educational allowance $2,000*	Paid in November providing, all required HealthStream and EPIC/LINKS modules are completed by house staff's assigned deadline
Cell phone allowance $1,000*	Automatically added to paycheck in July
Food allowance $10 per day (shifts of 12 hours or longer for clinical rotations only at SHC & LPCH)*	Payments made on last paycheck of each month Meal money is taxable income
Housing stipend $7,200 per year (paid as $600 monthly)*+	Automatically paid on 1st paycheck of each month
Medical, dental, vision, and long-term disability insurance provided	Eligible to participate on house staff's hire date
Moving allowance (new hires only) $3,000*	Automatically added to a paycheck in August
1% annual bonus based on completion of a Quality Improvement Project*	Automatically paid at the end of each academic year in June
Cost of initial CA MD license and renewals	Paid upon reimbursement submission for academic year expense occurrence
Cost of initial DEA and renewals	Paid upon reimbursement submission for academic yearexpense occurrence
Cost of USMLE Part Ill for Interns	Paid upon reimbursement submission for academic year expense occurrence

* Please see House Staff Policies and Procedures for full details.
Subject to appropriate taxes

How to Apply

We adhere to the AAPL common application process and timelines.

Based on efforts by Dr. Choi and others to reform the application process to be more applicant-friendly (view the article), application timelines have been revised for the 2023-2024 fellowship year (see sidebar for summary of timelines, see AAPL website for full details).

Applicants are encouraged to contact the program director, Dr. Octavio Choi, for any questions regarding the fellowship and/or application process.

Positions for the 2022-2023 Fellowship year have been filled.

We will begin accepting applicants for the 2023-2024 Fellowship year on May 1, 2022.

Application Form

Application Checklist

Summary Timeline for 2023-2024 Fellowship Year

May 1, 2022: The application submission period begins on May 1, 2022, and continues until the program fills.

August 1, 2022: First day that programs can conduct interviews.

October 3, 2022: First day that applicants can be asked to accept or decline offers for 2023-2024 fellowship positions, with exemption of “internal” candidates.

Program Leadership and Faculty

Program Director, Stanford University Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship

Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Child & Adolescent Psychiatry) &, by courtesy, of Pediatrics

Clinical Associate Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences - Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and Child Development

Clinical Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences - Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and Child Development

Clinical Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Katharine Dexter McCormick and Stanley McCormick Memorial Professor and Professor, by courtesy, of Psychology

This profile is not available

Margaret May, MD

Clinical Assistant Professor (Affiliated)

Adjunct Professor, Psych/General Psychiatry and Psychology (Adult)

Clinical Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Adjunct Professor, Psych/Public Mental Health & Population Sciences

Deane F. and Kate Edelman Johnson Professor of Law and, Professor, by courtesy, of Genetics