UCSF Public Psychiatry Fellowship at ZSFG

In 2011, the UCSF Department of Psychiatry at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital (ZSFG) partnered with the San Francisco Health Network Behavioral Health Services (SFHN-BHS) within the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) to develop this one-year fellowship. Funded primarily through the support of SFHN-BHS, this fellowship offers both clinical experience in a community setting and an opportunity to build and develop a knowledge-base specific to Public Psychiatry.

Fellows in this program are strongly committed to the role of psychiatrists as physicians caring for people with severe mental illness. As such, they spend four days a week delivering clinical care within a SFHN-BHS or SFHN-BHS-affiliated community mental health program in San Francisco County. One day a week, the fellows meet with the Fellowship Directors for didactics, case-based learning seminars, and supervision at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. During these Wednesday didactics, fellows learn about the history and organizational structure of public psychiatry, recovery, evidence-based psychosocial rehabilitation models, advocacy, homelessness and substance use disorders, forensic issues, management and funding, integration of care, and leadership. 

The unique aspect of the UCSF Public Psychiatry Fellowship at ZSFG that separates it from other fellowships across the country is the focus on developing public-academic partnerships to facilitate mental health services research projects to improve some aspect of care at their clinical care site. Fellows are provided with a Research Supervisor, a research assistant, and funding to present their work at the American Psychiatric Association’s Annual Meeting in May. This unique aspect of our training program enhances the rigor of typical quality improvement projects and was highlighted in Academic Psychiatry.