The division is one of the sites for the MS-2 Clinical Introduction to Child Psychiatry elective, a 2-week rotation in the Duke University School of Medicine. Medical students participate two half days each in a child and adolescent psychopharmacology clinic and an adolescent intensive outpatient substance abuse treatment group.

The division provides a four to five week opportunity during the three year general pediatric residency training program to fulfill the requirement for exposure to developmental-behavioral pediatrics. The rotation is usually scheduled during the PL 2 year. Residents participate in busy clinics serving children and adolescents with a variety of neurodevelopmental, behavioral and psychiatric disorders. A comprehensive introductory textbook and a full day didactic are provided to assist the resident in general board preparation. A half day didactic in basic principles of psychopharmacology is provided. Residents will spend 2-4 full days in special infant care clinics and 2-4 half days in both autism and fragile X treatment clinics. Residents participate in adolescent intensive outpatient substance abuse treatment groups, child and adolescent psychopharmacology clinics, and family focused intervention clinics. Residents in the rotation participate in Healthy Steps, an initiative to improve systematically skills in anticipatory guidance during well child visits in children from infancy to age 3. Residents spend a full day observing a comprehensive evaluation of children with autism at the University of North Carolina’s Division TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication handicapped CHildren). Residents also participate in a full day experience assessing the need and likely efficacy of early intervention in young children with developmental disorders.

 

The division is one of the training sites for the Duke Medical Psychology Internship Program, which provides 6 or 12-month rotations for predoctoral interns. Interns divide their time between the division’s general outpatient clinic and a local health center, serving low-income, ethnically diverse families. Interns receive didactic training and close supervision while engaged in clinical experiences with children, adolescents and their families who present with a wide range of psychiatric diagnoses. The clinical experiences include initial evaluative interviews, psychoeducational testing, administering and scoring screening and monitoring instruments, and providing cognitive-behavioral psychotherapies.