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Stanford Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship Program

Fellows participate in the Santa Clara County court panel to perform court-appointed forensic psychiatric examinations including competency to stand trial evaluations and evaluations of criminal responsibility. These evaluations provide ample opportunity for supervised preparation of forensic psychiatric reports in criminal contexts. Fellows also accept other forensic evaluations from sources in the community via the Forensic Clinic and participate once per month in a clinic managing patients designated as Sexually Violent Predators (SVPs) under California law.

Our program’s didactic curriculum connects fellows to a diverse network of forensic psychiatrists and psychologists. Program faculty meet with fellows in twice-monthly case conferences to share insights on forensic assessment, report-writing, and planning for testimony in a wide range of civil and criminal cases. Fellows will also participate in a Landmark Case Seminar reviewing holdings in the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law’s landmark cases.

Fellows can also elect to participate in didactics at the School of Law, which include courses on Neuroethics by Hank Greely, Mental Health Law, and Criminal Law. Interested fellows may also interface with law students via activities such as the Law Student Clinic and the Stanford Asylum Collaborative.

Fellows have protected time throughout the year to pursue scholarly projects. 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.

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 2023-24

Effective: September 2023

Year Annual Per Month
PGY I $77,729.60 $6,477.34
PGY II $81,660.80 $6,804.94
PGY III $87,838.40 $7,319.73
PGY IV $92,830.40 $7,735.72
PGY V $98,654.40 $8,221.04
PGY VI $103,001.60 $8,583.30
PGY VII $108,784.00 $9,065.16
PGY VIII $113,734.40 $9,477.68


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

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

Please note that Stanford Health Care does not sponsor H-1B Visas; only J-1 Visas can be sponsored for this fellowship.

Positions for the 2024-2025 Fellowship year have been filled.

We will begin accepting applicants for the 2025-2026 Fellowship year on May 1, 2024.


Summary Timeline for 2025-2026 Fellowship Year

  • May 1, 2024: First day that programs can review applications and/or contact applicants to schedule interviews.   
  • August 1, 2024: First day that programs can conduct interviews. 
  • September 16, 2024: First day that programs can offer positions to candidates. 
  • 7 calendar days after offer of position: Programs can withdraw an offer if they have not received an acceptance from the applicant.
  • 24 hours after accepting a position: Applicants must inform all other programs to which they have applied that they have accepted a position and are withdrawing their candidacy.

Program Leadership and Faculty

Program Director, Stanford University Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship
Associate Program Director, Stanford University Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship
Clinical Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Clinical Associate Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Clinical Associate Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences - Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and Child Development
Academic Staff - Hourly - CSL, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (General Psychiatry and Psychology)
Michael Golding, MD
External Supervisor
Chief Psychiatrist - Statewide Mental Health Program, California Department of Corrections
Deane F. and Kate Edelman Johnson Professor of Law and, Professor, by courtesy, of Genetics
Clinical Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
R. Scott Johnson, MD, JD, LLM
Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Clinical Assistant Professor, Neurology & Neurological Sciences
Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Margaret May, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor (Affiliated)
Roxanne Rassti, PhD
External Supervisor, Department of State Hospitals Atascadero Rotation
Adjunct Professor, Psych/General Psychiatry and Psychology (Adult)
Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Child & Adolescent Psychiatry) &, by courtesy, of Pediatrics

Contact Information

James Armontrout, MD
jarm@stanford.edu
c/o Romola L. Breckenridge
Stanford University Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship
Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
Stanford University School of Medicine
401 Quarry Road, Room 2208
Stanford, CA  94305-5723

Romola L. Breckenridge
Program Coordinator
romola@stanford.edu
Ph: (650) 736-1743