Mission

The mission of the NCC Forensic Psychiatry fellowship is to provide in-depth training to active duty officers that will foster development of advanced skills as forensic psychiatrists. Advanced skills include objectivity and self-confidence in delivering expert testimony, ability to perform comprehensive assessment and analysis of criminal defendants, and substantial knowledge of the interplay between the legal system and the psychiatric realm. Upon successful completion of the fellowship, fellows will be prepared to be forensic subject matter experts for their local region as well as for courts-martial throughout the world.

Vision

NCC Forensic Psychiatry is recognized as the Department of Defense’s nexus between law, policy, and forensic mental health expertise.

Aims

NCC Forensic Psychiatry’s aims are to support the education of military forensic psychiatrists as force multipliers, to provide consultation to senior leaders and staff throughout the military, and graduate exceptionally qualified practitioners uniquely qualified and best-in-jurisdiction.

Our program conducts weekly didactics sessions on the breath of civil, criminal, and military-specific forensic mental health every Friday from 8:30 -11:30 a.m. We routinely have guest speakers from civilian and other federal institutions on topics such as consultation to law enforcement, threat assessment, and developments in federal law.

• Six months are spent at the WNRMMC Center for Forensic Behavioral Sciences, in Bethesda, Maryland, with regular temporary duty globally conducting criminal and civil evaluations, providing expert testimony, or receiving specialized training at military installations.
• Six months are spent at the Clifton T. Perkins Hospital (CTPHC), a maximum-security forensic hospital in Jessup, Maryland, run by the Maryland Department of Mental Health, alongside fellows from the University of Maryland Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship.

We do not currently offer electives in our fellowship program.

Our fellows take call at either WNRMMC or the Alexander T. Augusta Military Medical Center (ATAMMC), formerly Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, supervising general psychiatry residents. During routine workdays this is home call, with in-person rounding on weekends and holidays. On average, the fellow should expect to take call a total of 3-4 weeks of the academic year.

Forensic psychiatry applies rules and regulations based on specific jurisdiction. In addition to those elements required by ACGME in preparation for American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology (ABPN) board eligibility, our fellows have formal instruction and experience in the military criminal justice system, learn and apply relevant rules of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and learn about military-specific appellate court holdings. Our fellows attend a 5-week criminal law course at the U.S. Army’s Judge Advocate General Center & School in Charlottesville, Virginia, learning fundamental of military law alongside military attorneys as a program requirement.

Our fellows attend a 5-week criminal law course at the U.S. Army’s Judge Advocate General Center & School in Charlottesville, Virginia, learning fundamental of military law alongside military attorneys as a program requirement.

During January-February each year, fellows participate with the Defense or Trial Counsel Assistance Programs, serving as an expert witness during mock courtroom exercises overseen by senior military litigators. This training provides the opportunity to practice skills required of forensic expert witnesses in a simulated environment.

Fellows routinely oversee general psychiatry residents, medical students, and are assigned progressively greater responsibility for liaison with courts and attorneys through the year.

Our fellows are routinely expected to present lectures on forensic psychiatry topics to military attorneys at various levels, while delivering formal opinions to senior leaders and courts. While the nature of a 1-year program presents limitations, fellows should expect to be assigned legal case analyses for publication in peer-reviewed journals.

Fellows identify, design, and implement quality improvement projects, especially interprofessional team-based projects routinely. Examples have included improving consultation vetting, standardizing external training presented to clients, and developing educational supports to enhance learner engagement with complex materials. Partnered with faculty, fellows routinely assist in developing high-level military policy related to the practice or regulation of psychiatry.

Fellows are encouraged and able to attend professional society conferences in the fields of psychiatry, forensic psychiatry, and educational leadership. They routinely interface with senior officers or officials from military and other government agencies while supporting interagency training.

All NCC Forensic Psychiatry fellows train at WRNMMC Center for Forensic Behavioral Sciences and the CTPHC in Jessup, Maryland. Additional training sites depending on the fellow’s interests and case availability include:

• St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, D.C.
• The Federal Bureau of Investigation in Quantico, Virginia
• Other government agencies in the Washington, D.C. area

Military psychiatry residents in their PGY-4 year interested in forensic psychiatry are encouraged to coordinate a 2-week or 4-week rotation with NCC Forensic Psychiatry program to assess their match with our program.

Fellows identify, design, and implement quality improvement projects, especially interprofessional team-based projects routinely. Examples have included improving consultation vetting, standardizing external training presented to clients, and developing educational supports to enhance learner engagement with complex materials. Partnered with faculty, fellows routinely assist in developing high-level military policy related to the practice or regulation of psychiatry.

Program graduates take the subspecialty certification examination by the ABPN in Forensic Psychiatry. This exam is offered bi-annually. To become fully board certified, applicants are eligible to take board certification exam 2-3 months following graduation (exact examination dates may vary slightly between administrations). To be eligible to take sub-specialty board exams, graduates must complete all pre-requisites required by the ABPN by July 31st of the year of the examination. Specific training requirements are detailed on the ABPN website.  

Fellows entering training directly after general psychiatry residency training are afforded time to study and take the ABPN general psychiatry board certification examination.

NCC Forensic Psychiatry fellows are expected to provide guest lectures to military attorneys on the breath of psychiatric and forensic mental health topics. Fellows supervise general psychiatry residents, interns, and medical students at WRNMMC and ATAAMC while on call. By the second half of the year, fellows are expected to routinely educate junior military attorneys and general psychiatrists on the intersection of mental health and military law and policy.

Other teaching opportunities for our fellows include training mid-career criminal litigators at the Judge Advocate General’s advanced course and leading discussion panels on forensic evaluations for audiences including military judges. During expert testimony, fellows provide education to the general public, juries, and judges on diverse psychiatric issues.

Each of faculty have advanced training and experience in forensic psychiatry in high-security and military-specific settings. Additional specialty training and experience by faculty include forensic psychometry, risk assessment, threat assessment, special duty evaluations, civil disability analysis, feigning, analysis of false confessions, testimony before appellate courts, and support to various administrative review boards throughout the federal government.

Fellows have significant face-to-face time with all members of our core faculty providing career development, work-life balance, and military-specific mentorship.

Fellow well-being is a priority to enable safe and competent care when working in clinical settings. Our program dedicates specific time to fellows to ensure access to our on-site gym and we informally host off-site retreats for team building and to provide a whole-person perspective on the individual needs of each trainee.