The Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Student selected for psychiatry fellowship

Minniel Douglas, who just completed her first year of Medical School, has received the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) Summer Medical Student Fellowship, sponsored by the Campaign for America’s Kids.

The award grants Douglas a $3,500 stipend for 12 weeks of work with a child and adolescent psychiatrist mentor in a clinical or research setting, plus a trip to the AACAP annual meeting in Chicago this fall. Only six students nationwide were selected for this honor.

“It is an amazing opportunity, and I am happy that I received this award,” Douglas said.

Dr. Andrew Harper, associate professor of psychiatry and medical director of UT Harris County Psychiatric Center, will be her mentor. Additional faculty involved from the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences include Dr. Dawnelle Schatte, assistant professor - clinical, who will serve as co-mentor and Drs. Sonja Randle and Kara Kahan, both clinical assistant professors, who will help provide clinical supervision

“The program gives me an opportunity to examine the field of child and adolescent psychiatry up close and personal. With the program, I will be able to do observation and shadowing at Harris County Psychiatric Center and the UT outpatient clinic at MSI,” Douglas said. “I will also be able to do some observation and shadowing at other private practices and will do a project on the topic of my choice in the field of child and adolescent psychiatry.”

Douglas plans to specialize in child and adolescent psychiatry.

“One of the reasons I was so excited about this opportunity was because in order for a person to know what career they want to choose, that person has to see it and live it as much as possible,” Douglas said. “Since psychiatry intrigues me so much, I thought the best way for me to know if this was really the field for me was by doing a preceptorship in this field. Therefore, again I am really excited about this opportunity, because it is allowing to have hands-on experience in the field of child and adolescent psychiatry and helping me to make a decision that will impact the rest of my life.”

The mission of the AACAP is to promote mentally healthy children, adolescents, and families through research, training, advocacy, prevention, comprehensive diagnosis and treatment, peer support, and collaboration.

-D. Brown