Psychiatry Residency & Fellowships | Fellowships
Forensic Fellowship
Forensic Fellowship
Our program, with its unparalleled access to a wide range of patients, offers the highest quality training that produces leaders in the field of forensic psychiatry. The Pine Rest Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship is a fully-immersive training program for psychiatrists to enhance their knowledge in mental fitness, medical and employment evaluations, and risk assessment consultations.
Welcome from Dr. Bill Sanders, Director of the Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship Program
Welcome to the Pine Rest Christian Mental Health/Michigan State University Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship program located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. We are looking for enthusiastic, talented, and compassionate individuals who are interested in becoming forensic psychiatrists.
The Pine Rest organization provides an excellent opportunity to train forensic fellows. The organization currently serves the entire West Michigan region, encompassing millions of people. The Pine Rest Organization includes a 198-bed psychiatric hospital, partial hospitalization program, residential programs, telepsychiatry, psychiatry residency, multiple psychiatry fellowship programs (addiction, child and adolescent and geriatric) and the Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology Services (FPPS). Furthermore, the Pine Rest outpatient network includes nearly 300,000 outpatient visits annually. Each of these programs provide unique learning opportunities for forensic psychiatry fellows.
The forensic fellow will be supported by four fellowship-trained forensic psychiatrists, multiple expert forensic psychologists from the FPPS, and legal experts from the criminal justice system.
The program includes a multitude of unique training opportunities for forensic psychiatry fellows, such as:
- Police officer work evaluations
- Federal aviation employment evaluations
- School safety evaluations
- Independent medical evaluations
- Competency to stand trial
Additionally, the forensic fellow will have the opportunity to work with the West Michigan Federal Defenders office, work inside a maximum security prison (including work on general psychiatry, severely and persistently mentally ill, dementia, and cognitively impaired populations), and will have the opportunity to consult in acute care hospitals covering 208 inpatient beds conducting suicide and risk assessments.
Consistently Nationally Recognized City
Grand Rapids is a growing and culturally diverse city. Opportunities for a balanced life abound, from the magnificent beaches of nearby Lake Michigan, to the National Forests, rivers and lakes on all sides. Frederik Meijer Gardens, one of the premier horticultural display gardens and sculpture parks in the country, is a jewel in the city’s crown. Abundant cultural opportunities, such as ArtPrize, engage the whole community.
Grand Rapids is also home to several award-winning hospital systems, as well as the Van Andel Institute, a world class primary research facility. The breadth and quality of healthcare in Grand Rapids, along with a growing research climate, recently convinced Michigan State University to relocate their College of Human Medicine to downtown Grand Rapids. Pine Rest is a key player in the medical community, and excited to bring forensic psychiatry to the area.
Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship Overview
The fellowship is a one year, ACGME accredited program providing experiences in institutionalized, inpatient, and outpatient settings.
Program Description
Goals of the Program
- Knowledge of psychiatric evaluation of individuals with a history of: criminal behavior, criminal responsibility and competency for trial, dangerousness, and sexual misconduct
- Knowledge and application of civil law when conducting a psychiatric review of individuals with the above listed issues
- Assessment of competency to stand trial, criminal responsibility, amnesia
- Familiarity with ethical, administrative and legal issues in forensic psychiatry
- Evaluation and treatment of incarcerated individuals
- Ability to assess dangerousness
- Ability to write forensic reports
- Knowledge of civil and criminal law
- Knowledge of the relevancy of legal documentation
