Child and Adolescent Psychiatry-academics

Academics / Courses Conducted

The department offers a 3 –year Doctor of Medicine (DM) in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and a 1-year Postdoctoral Fellowship (PDF) in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. The eligibility for these courses is a qualification of MD/DNB in Psychiatry. Admission is through an entrance examination conducted by NIMHANS once in a year. Apart from these courses, the department offers training for postgraduate trainees from Psychiatry, Social Work, Psychology, Neurology, Pediatrics, etc., for periods ranging from 2 weeks to 3 months.

Details:

Post-Doctoral Fellowship (PDF) in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry was started in the year 2008. Doctor of Medicine (DM) course in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry was started in the year 2011. These are the first super-specialty courses in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in India. Selection of candidates for the DM and PDF courses is done based on an online entrance exam conducted by NIMHANS. DM and PDF trainees work as Senior Residents in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry on a full-time basis. The training includes outpatient and inpatient case evaluation and management, supervision of junior residents in Psychiatry, chairing topic discussions and journal clubs, postings in Pediatric Neurology, Speech Pathology and Audiology, Rehabilitation, Behaviour Therapy, Addiction Medicine, Family Therapy, and Child Protection Services (CPS).

The training of the Psychiatry residents from NIMHANS occurs over a 3-4 months duration posting in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Trainees from the departments of Clinical Psychology, Psychiatric Social Work and Nursing attend the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry services for varied durations of posting from 2-3 months. The Department of CAP also offers training to several MD/DPM/DNB residents in Psychiatry and also Pediatrics from Institutions all over India. These students stay as observers with us for a duration ranging from 2 weeks to 3 months. Apart from these, consultants (Psychiatry/Pediatrics) from outside NIMHANS (both government and private sectors) hone their skills in child and adolescent mental health at NIMHANS. Several international trainees and consultants, especially from South Asia, avail the opportunity to observe and train with us in child and adolescent mental health.