Existing shortages of behavioral health professionals throughout our region have only been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Advanced Practice Psychiatric Providers can meet the growing and disproportionate need for mental health care by serving as independent providers in urban and rural communities.

The fellowship will provide the opportunity for Advanced Practice Psychiatric Providers to increase their responsibilities in patient care and panel management progressively. Since Advanced Practice Psychiatric Provider residents are licensed and credentialed, they can contribute to patient care while learning in an interprofessional environment.

A fellowship program can help bridge the gap from training to practice and help Advanced Practice Psychiatric Providers gain valuable experience in real-world settings over the 12-month program.

With renowned faculty from the UW School of Nursing, The Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences,  we have a unique opportunity to offer state-of-the-art training and clinical practice experience for Advanced Practice Psychiatric Provider residents in a cutting-edge behavioral health facility with expert clinicians on-site.

The Advanced Practice Psychiatric Provider Fellowship program can improve the availability of skilled, independent mental health practitioners for our region and improve access through 24/7 state-wide telepsychiatry consultation services that will be based in the new Behavioral Health Teaching Facility at UW Medical Center – Northwest.

The Advanced Practice Psychiatric Provider Fellowship is designed to ease the transition into practice for recently graduated psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners (PMHNP) by increasing confidence, competence, and advanced knowledge in psychiatric treatments. Fellows in the program can expect individualized training and support as they build their own caseloads, gain skills in a variety of subspecialty areas of mental health practice, and contribute to advancing the profession and improving health outcomes through the development of a quality improvement project.

Advancing high-quality mental health care is a core tenant of the program. Towards this end, the fellowship will provide the opportunity for PMHNPs to increase their responsibilities in patient care and panel management progressively with the support of preceptorships and mentorships. Direct patient care will begin in the second month and continue throughout the rest of the program. It is anticipated that direct clinical activities (seeing patients, charting notes, interacting with the health care team, discussing cases with preceptor and mentor) will account for at least 80% of a fellows work hours, the remaining 20% is dedicated towards continuing education, didactics, and the development of a quality improvement project.

All site rotations will be within the University of Washington Medical Center system in the greater Seattle area.  Specific sites are still in flux; however, the primary site will be within the integrated primary care clinics, with planned rotations in consult liaison, and psychiatric emergency department. Additional possible rotations are likely and may include areas such as perinatal psychiatry. 

The preceptor to fellow ratio will be 1 or 2 fellows per preceptor.

The focus of the program is on assisting in the transition to practice and deepening knowledge and areas of expertise in subspeciality fields in psychiatry. Each week will include a day of didactics which will include lectures on a variety of topics in psychiatry, reviews of best practices, case studies, grand rounds, and training in psychotherapy such as behavioral activation. There will also be dedicated time every week for quality improvement planning and project implementation.

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Candidates accepted into the program will be notified by April 10th or shortly after.

Early September

If your application is approved, you will receive an email from psych-fellowship@uw.edu to arrange an interview date and time.

Fellow candidates will be invited to interview individually with a panel of faculty remotely.  

$7,100 monthly, plus UW Benefits. Total benefits compensation package $112,830

Generally, within 30-mile radius of the UW Seattle Campus.  Fellows should be mindful of rush hour traffic and commute times. While the cost of housing is one of the highest in the country, most fellows are able to live within 5 miles of the UW. 

Because the fellowship rotates to different clinical sites, your commute will depend on where you live and where your rotation is. If you live within 5 miles of the UW, your commute should not exceed 30 miles.