Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry


Transcultural Psychiatry and International Studies

APA Minority Fellow

We are proud that the American Psychiatric Association Minority Fellowship Selection and Advisory Committee selected our senior, chief resident, Vikramjit Gill, MD, to be a 2007-2008 APA Minority Fellow. The fellowship award presents a stipend for a fellow to use for special projects such as sponsoring conferences, seminars, lecture series, and grand rounds on minority-related topics, establishing cultural libraries through purchase of books, supporting fellow travel to transculturally related seminars, establishing a Minority Fellowship Program Internet web page, and sponsoring seminars on working with culturally diverse families and the challenge of substance abuse treatment.  A major activity of the APA/SAMHSA MFP is to give trainees a chance to 1) initiate or enhance programs at their institution that promote teaching in cross-cultural psychiatry and 2) generate information that addresses cultural issues in psychiatry.

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Biography
Dr. Gill received his medical education from the Government Medical College in Patiala, India in 1996. Following an internship, he worked as a primary care physician in Punjab, India until he began a residency with West Virginia University Hospitals in July 2004. He hopes to pursue a fellowship in Sleep Medicine in 2008.

A Department on the move
The Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry at West Virginia University is proud of its resident diversity. Trainees from India, Pakistan, China, Syria, Bolivia and South Africa provide a rich cultural tapestry as the major religions, racial and socioeconomic backgrounds are represented. Our recruitment process taps the finest applicants from the world and selects for those most likely to benefit from our strong educational program. The shared experiences in training provide the framework for the sharing of cultural differences among the resident pool. Residents benefit in the manner in which they may benefit patients as they learn to appreciate the natural differences that occur in a diverse patient population.

The Department has been a leader in providing cross-cultural exposure to residents through comprehensive cultural diversity conferences, seminars and case reviews. Spiritual values are covered as are gender and sexual issues, ethnic traditions, geographic concerns and minority subcultures. Emphasis is placed on the regional Appalachian subculture that residents may encounter in clinical care. In addition, the faculty also teach abbreviated cultural courses in the Tropical Medicine special two week training program, attending by about 40 persons annually from throughout the region:.

Resident diversity is paralleled by the diversity in teaching faculty. The Departmental faculty are involved in well-established programs that involve elective rotations for the medical students in sister institutions in China, Peru, Uganda and Oman. Donald C. Fidler, MD, Professor and Farnsworth Chair of Educational Psychiatry has coordinated and participated in these programs for over a decade. He has also done research in the native Athabaskan subculture of rural Alaska and has worked in medicine the New Zealand outback. The Program Director has vast experience in living and working in other cultures, including with those of a minority background. Ryan Finkenbine, MD, has lived and practiced medicine in Western Kenya and performed research in rural Nepalese outpatient clinics. He recently began studies of the long-term psychological aftereffects of genocide in Rwanda. He remains committed and fully supportive of providing a strong curriculum for residents who choose top understand minority ands cross-cultural issues.

The foundation for resident involvement in minority and cross-cultural studies is further supported by the newly established Scholarship Program implemented in 2005. The program serves to provide support for general research and scholarly development throughout residency training. The program has become a model for cautious implementation of required research and has been accepted for presentation at the American Association of Psychiatry Residency Training Directors (AADPRT) national meeting in March 2007.

Recently the Department has been designated a SCAN Training and Reference Centre by the World Health Organization. Ahmed Aboraya, MD, another full-time faculty member serves as the Director.

It is worth noting that the University’s commitment to underserved minority populations was recently recognized by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). West Virginia University School of Medicine was the recipient of the prestigious Award for Outstanding Community Service in 2007.

The following represents the plan for the use of the award funds: 

1. Support for research (in coordination with National Institute of Occupational  Safety and Health, located on the WVU campus) to understand psychological issues of contemporary relevance to the workplace with regard to minority, cultural, or occupationally underrepresented groups.

2. Three month international elective rotation to provide experience for trainees about the cultural patterns inherent in a Middle Eastern or an Asian country. Residents will present the results of their experience through a formal report to the department during Grand Rounds and in the Cultural Diversity lecture series with Dr. Donald C. Fidler as coordinator.

3. One month of Elective rotation in a major US metropolitan city with a large representation of minority migrant population with Dr. Donald Fidler providing the guidance.

4. Support of culturally-related Grand Rounds and a special Minorities and Cultural Resource Center within the recently expanded Departmental library.

5. Implementation of new didactic series and language training courses that focuses particularly on pronunciation, slang usage and accent reduction and brief courses in American history and culture for psychiatry residents of foreign origin.