Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Fellowship

The goals of the fellowship in CL psychiatry are to provide the training opportunities in clinical care, teaching, and scholarly activities necessary to pursue a career in academic CL psychiatry. All fellows are eligible to sit for the ABPN subspeciality certification in Consultation-Liaison psychiatry upon completion of the fellowship.

All clinical duties occur at the main Hyde Park campus.

INPATIENT CONSULTATION SERVICE

• Lead a large interdisciplinary CL team comprised of psychiatry and neurology residents, medical students, neuropsychology, a dedicated APN, a dedicated pharmacist, and two dedicated social workers.
• Evaluate and manage complex psychiatric problems across a wide range of medical and surgical services.
• Interface directly with primary consulting teams.

LONGITUDINAL OUTPATIENT EXPERIENCES

• Psycho-oncology
• Transplant Psychiatry
• Epilepsy, Functional Disorders, & Traumatic Brain Injuries
• Reproductive Psychiatry
• Behavioral Neurology
• Medically Complex Psychiatry
• Neurodegenerative Disorder

ELECTIVE EXPERIENCES

• Any above experience
• Neuroradiology
• Palliative care
• OUD consults
• Neurology consults
• Collaborative care
• Neuromodulation (ECT, TMS, Spravato)

We have intentionally structured our didactic curriculum to be a collaborative, engaging, and personalized learning experience given our program accepts only one fellow per year.

WEEKLY DIDACTIC STRUCTURE

• Weekly didactics are one-hour on Thursday and protected. All pager and clinical duties are covered by a service resident during this time.
• The curriculum begins with foundational topics of CL psychiatry and front-loads subspecialty topics that are higher volume at UCMC (eg. Psycho-oncology, Transplant) to maximize fellow confidence during their core rotations.
• Weekly sessions are structured around the Textbook of Psychosomatic Medicine and Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry. Prior to didactics the fellow independently reads and notates the designated chapter(s).
• The fellow meets with a faculty expert on the chosen topic and discusses real-world clinical cases, structured case vignettes, and/or board-style examination questions.

FRIDAY SERVICE TALK

• Every Friday, the fellow will begin or conclude team rounds by delivering a 5-to-10-minute “chalk talk” on that week’s designated textbook chapter.
• Feedback will be elicited from the audience and reviewed at the next weekly supervision meeting, allowing the fellow to actively refine and elevate their clinical teaching style throughout the year.

CL Fellows at UCMC are invited to apply to an additional track completed concurrently during the fellowship year. Applicant interest in these tracks should be discussed during the interview day. Application to these tracks occurs shortly after Match Day. These tracks are separate from the CL fellowship and application to them does not guarantee acceptance.

MEDICAL ETHICS
This unique program is designed for clinicians and academic physicians who are interested in gaining training and experience in medical ethics. The track begins with a four-week, full-time Summer Intensive in July.

During the Summer Intensive, participants attend 3-4 seminars daily. From September to May, fellows meet one day a week on Wednesdays for a structured ethics curriculum including Topics in Clinical Medical Ethics, Introduction to Moral Philosophy, and Research-in-Progress seminars. With faculty supervision, fellows participate actively in an Ethics Consultation service. Faculty mentors assist fellows as they design and carry out a research project.

MEDICAL EDUCATION 
The goal of this track is to develop educational leaders and scholars through participation in a focused curriculum, research in medical education workshops, mentored projects, and active engagement with a rich network of colleagues and faculty in an environment of collaborative learning and support. The curriculum will focus on curriculum development and teaching skills, with each participant completing an individual mentored curricular project, as well as a project with small groups from their cohort.

• Leadership of the multidisciplinary CL team, which is comprised of residents in psychiatry and neurology, medical students, neuropsychology, two dedicated social workers, a dedicated pharmacist, and a dedicated APN.
• Participation in hospital-wide case conferences through the Ethics and Complex Patients conferences
• Access to weekly CL case conference, departmental grand rounds, monthly morbidity and mortality (M&M) conferences, and quality improvement (QI) meetings.
• Weekly individual didactics
• Weekly supervision with the program director
• A variety of academic and research projects, including invitation to monthly CL writing group upon matching. Fellows are required to complete an academic project and a quality improvement project during their fellowship year.
• No call required
• No overnights required
• No weekends required
• No ED work required
• Weekend internal moonlighting on the CL service
• Financial assistance to attend annual ACLP conference
• University ID, which grants access to campus librabries and student discounts
• On-campus gym with reduced monthly membership fee
• Working on the main, historic University of Chicago campus surrounded by gorgeous gothic architecture and contiguous with the other professional schools (e.g. University of Chicago Law School, Booth School of Business)

Marie Tobin, MD 
Director of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Service
Program Director of Consultation-Liaison Fellowship
Interests: Psycho-oncology, palliative care

Zachary Bean, MD
Assistant Program Director of Consultation-Liaison Fellowship
Interests: Epilepsy, functional neurological symptom disorder, traumatic brain injury, medical education

Zehra Aftab, MD
Associate Program Director of Adult Psychiatry Residency
Interests: Reproductive psychiatry, medical education

Shivani Kumar, MD
Director of Medical Student Education in Psychiatry
Co-Director of Transplantation Psychiatry
Interests: Transplant Psychiatry, medical education

Brittany Goldstein, MD
Assistant Director of Medical Student Education in Psychiatry
Interests: Chronic pain, central desensitization syndromes, medical education

Sarah Eckstein, MD
Assistant Program Director of Internal Medicine-Psychiatry Combined Residency
Interests: Neuromodulation (TMS, ECT), medically complex psychiatry, psycho-oncology, neuropsychiatry, catatonia, medical education

Susan Padrino, MD
Program Director of Internal Medicine-Psychiatry Combined Residency
Interests: Medically complex psychiatry

No current fellow 

"The University of Chicago stood out to me for its commitment to developing both the clinical expertise for effective practice and the leadership skills needed to navigate hospital systems and champion our patient population. The culture at the University of Chicago challenges you to ask why at every level - not just in patient care, but in how systems are built and how inequities persist. More than anything, it’s given me a clearer sense of the kind of physician leader I want to be.” 

"There were many elements that drew me to the University of Chicago – the urban setting, the chance to work in a world-renowned medical center, the opportunity to provide care to an underserved community. But what ultimately won me over were the people. I could feel the warmth and enthusiasm emanating from the CL psychiatry faculty during my interview day. I found myself repeatedly returning to that feeling during the interview season and reflecting on its meaning. I ultimately chose the University of Chicago because I knew that no matter how challenging fellowship ended up being, the people I would be surrounded by, those who would be my closest mentors, were caring, supportive individuals. My fellowship at the University of Chicago was the perfect bridge between the training wheels of residency and the independence of medical practice as an attending. The experience of managing a large CL team, triaging patients, multitasking, communicating with teams, supporting learners, and keeping track of all the strings I was holding onto to run a seamless and efficient consultation service was invaluable. It prepared me well to handle the challenges of the next chapter of my medical career." 

"UofC’s dedication to their patients and the underserved population was a primary reason for the fellowship. The vast ability to learn about psycho-oncology, transplant, neuropsychiatric conditions, complex medical and OB cases was large part as well. Faculty were so welcoming and ability to move into junior faculty role with the fellowship was also very attractive. I believe my fellowship training at U of C was absolutely outstanding, as it not only provided me with ample exposure to complex medical and surgical patients with extensive academic programming, but it also was an incredible example of a collegiate environment and taught me how to connect as a future educator." 

"What drew me to the CL fellowship at UCM was the opportunity to work with highly complex patients. Beyond medical complexity (transplant, psycho-oncology, trauma and neuropsychiatric cases), the training at UCM exposes you to the psychosocial complexities of an urban trauma center. I stayed for the fellowship at UCM after completing my residency here, too, because I had stellar mentorship throughout all levels of my training.” '21

"Choosing this fellowship meant joining a small group of faculty dedicated to the 'teacher of teachers' model. The transition from fellow to faculty was a natural choice driven by the program's strong institutional involvement and the supportive community here. Ultimately, while the clinical work and education are top-tier, it’s the people and our shared mission that keep me here.” ‘16

“I chose to do my CL fellowship at the University of Chicago because it offered an extremely supportive faculty who are motivated to teach and develop new CL specialists, a leading academic medical center allowing the CL team to collaborate with the other medical specialties, the opportunity to study clinical medical ethics in a dynamic setting” 

Trainees at UCMC benefit from a competitive stipend and the flexibility to live almost anywhere in the city! Neighborhoods that faculty and trainees live in include, but are not limited to:

• Hyde Park
• Bridgeport
• Pilsen
• South Loop
• The Loop
• River North
• West Loop
• West Town
• Humboldt Park
• Lincoln Park
• Logan Square

Most psychiatry trainees own a car, though this is not a requirement of the program or to succeed in your fellowship training. All clinical duties of the fellowship are completed at the main Hyde Park campus.
 

UCMC Safety & Security has compiled resources on transportation to/from the University.
Highlights include:

• Free UGo Shuttle to/from the Loop and selected CTA/Metra stops
• Multiple Divvy (shared city bike) stations on-campus
• Dedicated on-campus parking for trainees (monthly pre-tax deduction)

2026-2027 FELLOWSHIP STIPENDS RANGE
PGY-5: $***
PGY-6: $***

VACATION
All fellows receive four weeks of paid vacation leave per year to be scheduled by mutual agreement between the service chief and the Program Director.

SICK LEAVE
Five days of paid sick leave is granted to fellows who are absent from work and unable to perform their assigned duties due to illness.

EDUCATIONAL DAYS 
Five days for education is granted to fellows for activities including taking board examinations and attending conferences. This ensures fellows can engage in professional duties without using their vacation.

OFFICES
All fellows have shared offices to see patients and accomplish other duties in a professional manner.  Each desk is furnished with a dedicated personal computer.

This is an ACGME-accredited fellowship program for individuals who have successfully completed a four-year psychiatry residency program. The complement is for one position.

UCMC CL Fellowship will only accept applications submitted via Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) and National Residency Matching Program (NRMP) Match.

Applications are accepted through ERAS only and include: 

• Personal Statement
• 3 Recommendation Letters, one of which must be from your Adult Psychiatry Residency Program Director (this letter must include the training start date, all rotations completed, and expected training end date)
• MSPE and Medical School Transcripts
• USMLE/COMLEX Scores 1, 2, and 3
• Curriculum Vitae
• ECFMG certificate (if applicable)