Our History

Tufts Medical Center has had a number of medical firsts. More than 200 years ago, the roots of our Medical Center were planted by several compassionate Bostonians, including American patriots Samuel Adams and Paul Revere. In 1796, these public-minded individuals founded the Boston Dispensary, a facility dedicated to the care of the poor. Between 1856-1899, the Dispensary established the first medical clinic, the first dental clinic and the first lung clinic in the United States. By 1918, the Dispensary had created the first evening pay clinic, a well-child clinic, a preventative health clinic and the first food clinic.

Tufts Medical Center began as a hospital ship, sailing the Boston Harbor for the first time in 1894. The mission of the ship was to take ill urban children out onto the harbor to experience the healing qualities of fresh sea air and sunshine. Importance was placed on family centered care, as parents were encouraged to participate in their childrens’ healthcare. In the late 1920s, Tufts Medical Center left the harbor waters and moved its facilities on land.

In 1929, the Boston Dispensary entered into an arrangement with the Boston Tufts Medical Center and Tufts College Medical School, to form New England Medical Center (which we know today as Tufts Medical Center).  Since then, Tufts Medical Center has been on the forefront of medical innovation with advances like establishing the world’s first pediatric trauma center, inventing artificial milk (later called Similac) and discovering the modern syphilis test.

Our Neighborhood

Boston is the largest city in New England but it’s easy to quickly find your way around. Tufts Medical Center is located in downtown Boston, next to Chinatown and the Theater District and within walking distance of the South End, Back Bay, Boston Common, Downtown Crossing and Faneuil Hall neighborhoods.

We share the Tufts Medical Center campus with several Tufts University science and professional schools, including Tufts University School of Medicine. The campus is close to a number of historical sites, fitness facilities, hotels and restaurants.

The Tufts Medical Center Orange Line stop is located across from the main hospital entrance on Washington Street. Other nearby MBTA stops are Downtown Crossing (Red Line, Orange Line) and Boylston (Green Line). Tufts Medical Center is a 15-to-20-minute cab ride from Logan Airport and within walking distance of South Station. View our campus map and directions.

Living in Boston

Boston is a vibrant city that is full of history.  From the Boston Tea Party to the Battle of Bunker Hill and the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere, our city has seen some of the pinnacle times in our nation’s growth. Walking along the streets of Boston (we recommend the Duck Boat Tour or a walk along the Freedom Trail) you can still visit many of the city’s famous landmarks.

Boston is also home to a wide number of universities and major health care institutions. In fact, the city has the nation’s highest concentration of colleges, with many alumni who stay after graduation to work and live in the city. This large population of young adults creates an atmosphere of people who are eager to network, get to know one another and have fun.

Fellows as Teachers

• Fellows teach the Child Psychiatry series for Adult Psychiatry PGY1-2 residents as part of their didactic curriculum
• Small Group teaching seminars are held to help fellows improve teaching skills, and fellows then facilitate small group discussions with first year Tufts medical students as part of their Psychiatry curriculum.
• Fellows serve as teachers for medical students who rotate on the Consultation / Liaison service, and also as teachers for adult psychiatry residents during emergency department evaluations of children and adolescents. 
• During home call, fellows also serve a supervisory role for adult psychiatry residents who evaluate patients in the emergency room, with the support of the Child Psychiatry attending on call.

Child Adolescent Psychiatry Call Schedule

On-call (from home) to the Psychiatric Emergency team and Pediatric Consultation/Liaison service for a period of 1 week every 6-8 weeks.

Retreats

Quarterly retreats built into the didactic schedule are designed to promote work-life balance and wellness, as well as building community amongst the CAP fellows.

Fellows Lunch

Weekly fellows lunch is held to provide a venue for fellows to meet, discuss any issues, enjoy time together and build a sense of belonging within the program.

Outpatient Child/Adolescent Psychiatry

The major task of this assignment is for the resident to gain proficiency in diagnosing and treating a variety of children and adolescents with a wide range of psychiatric disorders. CAP fellows rotate through various outpatient clinics at Tufts Medical Center. During the clinics fellows conduct patient intakes with interviewing, developing differential diagnosis and formulation, and continuing in longitudinal management of the case as part of the fellows’ growing outpatient panel. Fellows are assigned two supervisors for weekly supervision. The outpatient clinics are as follows:

• ADHD Clinic
• Mood and Anxiety Disorder Clinic
• Developmental Trauma Clinic
• General Psychopharmacology Clinic
• Integrated Behavioral Health Clinic with General Pediatrics

Tufts Medicine Pediatrics

Tufts Medicine Pediatrics at Tufts Medical Center is located in downtown Boston and has many partnerships within the community. 

• GME education at Tufts and Tufts Medical Center
• Tufts Medical Center - Touched My Heart
• Tufts Medical Center - Strength is Contagious

CAP Fellowship Rotations at Tufts Medical Center

• Center for Children with Special Needs (CCSN)

The CCSN works with infants, children and adolescents who have developmental, behavioral or emotional issues that interfere with growth and/or functioning. CAP fellows rotate with the CCSN for a half day per week during the first year of fellowship, and gain experience working with children with developmental delay and autism spectrum disorder. Fellows work with the CCSN’s team of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatricians, Psychologists, Education Specialists and Neurologists to evaluate and work with patients and families served by the CCSN, and receive group supervision.

Fellows may also attend Autism Behavioral Clinic (ABC) Clinic where they can observe a team and family approach for autistic children. This clinic uses a consultation model to make recommendations for families where their autistic child presentation has been refractory to treatment. Fellows only observe this clinic and do not have expectation of carrying out the treatment.

Outpatient Consultation Service

Due to the shortage of Child Psychiatrists, the psychiatrists are often in the position to provide consultations to the their pediatric colleagues. This clinic was developed to increase experience of outpatient and emergency room consultation and increase access to care for patients. Fellows will evaluate children and adolescents who have been referred by the pediatrician through Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Program, Tufts Medicine Pediatric Emergency Room and Peds Psychopharmacological Clinic. In the Psychopharmacological Clinic, the fellows will provide longitudinal consultation for 3-9 months depending on the needs of the patient. In addition to the initial evaluation, the fellows will prepare a treatment plan for the pediatric colleagues to follow through with.

Cambridge Health Alliance

This three-month inpatient child psychiatry rotation is completed during the first year of fellowship at Cambridge Hospital Child Assessment Unit (CAU) and Adolescent Assessment Unit (AAU). The major goals of this rotation are to gain experience and knowledge in assessment, diagnosis, formulation and treatment planning for children and adolescents requiring hospital level of care, and work with a multidisciplinary team.  The clinical management in the hospital milieu will include individual, group, family work and pharmacological treatment. The education during this rotation is enhanced with weekly interviewing seminars with seasoned faculty.

St. Ann’s Home & School

1st year Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Residents will spend three months at the St. Ann’s Home in Methuen, MA. They will provide care on the Community Based Acute Treatment (CBAT) and Transitional Care Unit (TCU). Children between the ages of 5-12 years receive 24 hour care in this unit and are admitted there with significant emotional and behavioral problems and commonly with developmental trauma, and who require continuous care but are not at acute imminent risk of harm. Diagnoses are similar to those seen on an inpatient unit but also include children with significant learning difficulties and academic problems in school. Children generally are in this program for 2-4 weeks. Residents will be responsible for admission, rounds, treatment team meetings, family meetings, discharge planning and collaboration with schools. Residents will also coordinate milieu treatment and organize team based collaboration. Residents will be supervised by two Board Certified Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists at St. Ann’s Home with at least 2 hours of supervision weekly. Competencies to be gained are similar to those gained on the inpatient rotation but also include organizing the milieu treatment and coordinating discharge planning.

Lowell Juvenile Court Clinic

The major objective is to learn techniques for providing effective child/adolescent psychiatric consultation within a court clinic setting, including the provision of psychiatric testimony. This consultation is provided at the Lowell Juvenile Court Clinic. The resident is able to do the following:

• Review the problem with the hospital attorneys, referring judge, other attorneys, guardian Ad Litem or probation officer
• Obtain pertinent information from legal documents, e.g. briefs, arrest warrants, prior court testimony and police reports
• Learn to psychiatrically evaluate and diagnose children/adolescents who are adjudicated to the court
• Learn about the specific legal aspects regarding child/adolescent psychiatry, e.g. Child Abuse Petitions, Adjudicating a Child as an Adult, termination of Parental Rights, Commitment, Custody (physical and legal), Incarceration, Legal Rights, Tarasoff Issues and Miranda Law
• Recognize symptoms and syndromes of a variety of disorders commonly seen in court clinic consultations including Conduct Disorder, Antisocial Personality Disorder, Substance Abuse, Organic Brain Disorders, Psychosis, Borderline Personality Disorders, Bipolar Disorder, Major Depressive Disorders, Temporal Lobe Syndrome, Sequelae of Head Trauma and ADHD
• Understand the court committed child/adolescent regarding involvement of family, community and schools
• Understand the role, demands, expectations and environment of the court and its staff
• Learn to provide accurate, concise, jargon-free psychiatric testimony
• Learn how a courtroom functions in terms of rules of order, hierarchy, type of legal proceedings and hearings, e.g. Civil, Probate, Criminal and Federal

Community Psychiatry:  Boston STARR program (Stabilization, Assessment & Rapid Reintegration)

This rotation provides experience in community psychiatry in a consultation role to the Boston STARR Program, a short-term residential program with the Department of Children & Families. Residents at the Boston STARR program are youth, and commonly struggle with issues of domestic violence, community violence, ADHD, trauma and mood disorders. Fellows act as consultants to the STARR program and conduct assessments of individual youth and provide recommendations.

School Consultation: Josiah Quincy Elementary School and Newton Public Schools

The major objective is to learn the techniques for effective psychiatric consultation at the request of teachers, principals, guidance counselors and special education personnel. Within the school, residents are able to gain experience in the following:

• Reviewing problems with the referring special education personnel, administration and teachers who know the child
• Recognizing those disorders encountered in a school setting such as Learning and Language Disorders, PDD, Major Depressive Disorders, ADHD, Eating Disorders, Organic Brain Disorders, intellectual disabilities and Bipolar Disorders
• Becoming familiar with problems often encountered in the school-aged population (e.g. school absence, school phobia/avoidance and disruptive behavior)
• Understanding the role of the family, teachers, principal and special education staff within the school milieu
• Providing verbal and written reports to the school staff while maintaining appropriate confidentiality
   

Consultation/Liaison: Boston Children's Hospital

During this rotation, fellows evaluate and treat patients in Boston Children’s Hospital with medical illness often with complex pathology. This rotation allows one to see “zebras” as well as the usual “bread and butter.” Patients are assigned from the lens of learning opportunities. Fellows are expected to take responsibility of the patients assigned and manage all consult related tasks including, but not limited to, the psychiatric evaluation, developing a treatment plan, recommending pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment and gathering collateral. Fellows have the opportunity to work with multiple disciplines to coordinate care including the primary and outpatient team, the family, and the social worker team regarding the disposition. Daily supervision is provided over care of every patient.

Monday: N/A

Tuesday: 

• 12:00-1:00 pm: Neurobehavioral Conference (monthly)

Wednesday — Weekly Didactics:

• 9:00-10:15 am: Skills Building Seminar
• 10:30 am-12:00 pm: Knowledge Building Seminar
• 12:00-1:00 pm: Fellows lunch
• 1:00-2:00 pm: Journal Club & Case Conference

Thursday:

• 12:00-1:00 pm: Psychiatry Grand Rounds (weekly)

Friday: N/A

Department of Psychiatry Grand Rounds

Psychiatry Grand Rounds are open to the entire department and take place on Thursdays from noon-1 pm. Guest speakers present special topics and current research in psychiatry, neuropsychology, neurology, medicine and basic sciences such as molecular biology and genetics. Discussion is encouraged.

Neurobehavioral Conference

The divisions of Development Behavioral Pediatrics, Pediatric Neurology and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry meet monthly to discuss topics and cases that are relevant to all three fields. A fellow from each division presents a case and leads the discussion.

Weekly Wednesday Didactics

• Skills Building Seminar

Skills Building Seminars are composed of both video reviews and case conferences, which are presented by fellows on a rotating basis. These may include interviews with child/adolescent patients, family interview sessions and consultation issues. Also included within this seminar series are talks from invited speakers to discuss various topics of interest. Past topics have included: Applied Behavior Analysis, Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Adoption and Narrative Family Therapy.

• Knowledge Base Seminar

Knowledge Base Seminars are part of a two year curriculum designed to provide fellows with a comprehensive education on a wide variety of psychiatric issues. During the summer months (July and August), first and second year fellows are separated; first year fellows attend Summer Orientation and Introduction to Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, while second year fellows attend Transition to Practice seminars.  For the remainder of the year, all CAP fellows attend seminars together. Topics include: Child Development, ADHD, CD/ODD, Depression, Bipolar, Anxiety, OCD, Attachment, PTSD, Poverty, Advocacy, Med/Psych and Consultation / Liaison, School Consultation, Forensics, High Risk Children & Adolescents.

• Journal Club & Case Conference

Journal Club is held monthly. One fellow is assigned to provide the article and lead the discussion. Historical papers in the field of Child Psychiatry are reviewed, as well as contemporary articles to answer clinical questions. During Case Conferences, fellows are assigned on a rotating basis to present an outpatient treatment case to an interdisciplinary group.

• Seminar Series

In addition to the above mentioned lectures, fellows are expected to attend 4-6 series of lectures that are focused on specialized topics. These topics include:

• Psychopharmacology
• Psychotherapy, including CBT, DBT, Mentalization Based Therapy, Play Therapy, Interpersonal Therapy, Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
• Family Therapy
• Neuropsychological testing
• Attachment-Based Child Development (ABCD Series): This unique series is taught using a flipped classroom model in collaboration with Developmental Behavioral Pediatric division.

Some of these series are run by a faculty in the division. Psychopharmacology and psychotherapy lectures are often presented by invited speakers from other institutions, in order to gain exposure to viewpoints from a variety of practitioners within the community, as well as from other academic institutions.

Sample Didactics

• Interactive and interdisciplinary didactics
• Difficult Conversations of Racism and Social Inequities in Child Psychiatry Training

David S. Feingold, MD
Area(s) of interest: Infectious disease, general dermatology
Location: Tufts MC

Margaret Cavanaugh, MD, MPH
Area(s) of interest: Community outreach, general dermatology
Location: VA

Sandhya Deverapalli, MD, MBBS
Area(s) of interest: General dermatology, chemotherapy-related skin toxicities, transplant dermatology 
Location: Tufts MC

Joyce Hoot, MD
Area(s) of interest: Contact dermatitis and patch testing
Location: Tufts MC

Daniel Loo, MD
Area(s) of interest: General dermatology
Location: VA

Caroline Kim, MD
Area(s) of interest: Pigmented lesions, melanoma
Location: Tufts MC

Nellie Konnikov, MD
Area(s) of interest: General dermatology, laser and cosmetics
Location: VA

Rebecca Hartman, MD, MPH
Area(s) of interest: Melanoma, skin cancer, general dermatology
Location: VA

Stephanie Liu, MD
Area(s) of interest: General dermatology, grafts vs. host disease
Location: VA

Meera Mahalingam, MD, PhD, FRCPath
Area(s) of interest: Dermatopathology
Location: VA

Michael McLeod, MD
Area(s) of interest: Immunobullous diseases, general dermatology
Location: Tufts MC

Joshua Mervis, MD
Area(s) of interest: Wound Care, General Dermatology
Location: Tufts MC

Michelle Nguyen, MD, MPH
Area(s) of interest: Dermatologic surgery
Location: Tufts MC

Natalia Plotnikova, MD
Area(s) of interest: Connective tissue diseases, laser and cosmetics, general dermatology
Location: Tufts MC

Sarah Robinson, MD
Area(s) of interest: Adult and pediatric dermatology, acne, eczema, vascular birthmarks, moles, skin cancer
Location: Tufts MC

Elizabeth Seiverling, MD
Area(s) of interest: Dermoscopy, General Dermatology
Location: Tufts MC

Jeffrey Sobell, MD
Area(s) of interest: Psoriasis, hidradenitis suppurativa, clinical trials
Location: Tufts MC

Isha Tiernan, MD
Area(s) of interest: General dermatology, laser and cosmetic
Location: Tufts MC

Abby Waldman, MD
Area(s) of interest: Dermatologic surgery
Location: VA

F. Clarissa Yang, MD
Area(s) of interest: Laser and cosmetics, excisions, general dermatology
Location: Tufts MC

Farah Moustafa, MD
Area(s) of interest: General Dermatology, hair loss, laser and cosmetics
Location: Tufts MC

Victoria Billero, MD, MS
Area(s) of interest: General Dermatology, acne, tattoo reactions
Location: Tufts MC

Arash Radfar, MD
Area(s) of interest: Dermatapothology, Cutaneous diseases
Location: Tufts MC

Gabriela Cobos, MD, FAAD
Area(s) of interest: General dermatology, Psoriasis, Atopic Dermatitis Hidradenitis Suppurativa
Location: Tufts MC

Catherine Baker, MD
Area(s) of interest: General Dermatology, Cutaneous Oncology, Melanoma, Pigmented Lesions
Location: Tufts MC

Erika Elliott, MD
Area(s) of interest: General Dermatology, Complex Medical Dermatology, Hair Loss
Location: Tufts MC

Rebecca Dufner, MD, MBA
Area(s) of interest: General Dermatology
Location: Tufts MC

The hospital offers a flexible benefits package which includes:

• Health Insurance
• Dental Insurance
• Long and Short Term Disability Insurance
• Life Insurance
• Unrestricted Housing Stipend
• 403(b) match contribution
• Yearly Stipend

In addition, residents also receive:

• Malpractice Insurance
• Meal Tickets for on-call nights at Tufts Medical Center
• Computer Services
• 4 weeks paid time-off (2 weeks per 6-month period to be used for vacation or conference/didactic leave)

For more information, contact the Benefits Office at 617.636.6352

PGY3 is broken up into 5 different outpatient blocks (OPD-A through OPD-E). Below is an example of the weekly schedule of a PGY3 on OPD-B.

PGY4 is dedicated to your chief resident role, outpatient work, and any elective rotations you are interested in. The responsibilities of each PGY4 resident is different and schedules vary depending on the role.