Psychiatry Observerships
Description
The application period for the 2025-2026 academic year is now completed. No further applications will be accepted. The application portal will re-open in March 2026 to accept applications for the 2026-2027 academic year (Sept 2026-June 2026, no observerships are offered in July/August).
The Department of Psychiatry at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University Medical Center provides Observership (shadowing) positions for international medical students or graduates of training programs in medical specialties. The goal of this program is to provide international medical students/graduates with the opportunity to experience examples of the American psychiatric medical system.
Our Clinical Observership Program is 4 weeks long. It is a rotating Observership, the observer spends one week each on four different clinical services (usually an inpatient unit, the psychiatric emergency room, a Consult Liaison service and a psychiatry specialty service).
There is a fee of $2,000 for the program. Housing is not provided.
Application Process
Please note that the application process can take 2-3 months. We will review all submitted applications and top candidates will be invited to have an interview on Zoom. Acceptances for specific observership dates/slots will be offered starting in late May.
All materials must be uploaded into the application portal: EducationPortal
The application includes (and you should have ready to upload):
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Curriculum Vitae: Please include an updated version of your CV as part of this application.
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Letters of Reference: Three letters of references from individuals who are closely acquainted with your educational and/or work experience. At least one letter should be from your Medical School or Training Director. Please be ready to list the name and emails of the persons providing the letters – your referee(s) will automatically receive an email instructing them how to upload their letter into our application portal.
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Personal Statement: please write a single-spaced essay of no fewer than 400 words and no more than 800 words on why you are applying to this program. You should describe your interest in psychiatry and how it has developed. We are interested in how this program would assist you with meeting your career goals, as well as, any additional skills and experiences that you may want to highlight. You should include any research experience that you have, giving special emphasis to any relevant to psychiatry.
After the application is complete, we will arrange for a video-interview to discuss your interests and which type of placement would be most suitable for you. The various sites for the clinical observerships will be discussed during the interview. In general, clinical observerships are 4 weeks long and begin on Mondays.
Contact
If you have any questions or concerns feel free to contact:
Margaret Hamilton MD
Director of International Medical Students and Graduates Rotations
New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University
1051 Riverside Drive
New York, NY. 10032
email: mis3@cumc.columbia.edu
Program Coodrinator: Karen Cruz
Email: Karen.Cruz@nyspi.columbia.edu
Phone: (646) 774-7505
Fax: (646) 774-6398