Pediatric Consultation-Liaison Service Rotation

The Psychiatric Consultation-Liaison (C-L) Service is a multidisciplinary team that evaluates and treats the emotional, behavioral, and cognitive needs of pediatric patients receiving care in diverse medical settings (medical units, outpatient specialty clinics, and the emergency department) at Children’s Medical Center of Dallas. As a resident, you will be an integral part of this team.

Patient Care

With supervision, are involved in comprehensive assessments, biopsychosocial formulations, and delivery of treatment to patients with co-morbid medical and psychiatric diagnoses and their families. Your average inpatient consultation caseload will be about 5 new consults a week, plus appropriate follow-up of cases in the hospital or clinics.

You will be expected to see inpatients immediately or within 24 hours depending on the needs of the family or consulting services. You will then recommend interventions to support the patient, their family, and/or the clinical team. You may also facilitate the transfer of patients to the inpatient psychiatric unit or day treatment service.

Range of Treatment

During the Consultation-Liaison rotation, you will learn the basic principles of psychiatric consultation, working with complex pediatric systems and providing a full range of interventions, including pharmacotherapy, supportive psychotherapy, family therapy, crisis intervention, and participation in multidisciplinary case conferences with other medical specialists.

Daily Rounds

Multidisciplinary daily rounds will provide you with the unique training opportunity to present cases that are unique or difficult with constructive feedback, as well as lead the rounds presentations.

Faculty

You will receive a minimum of one hour of supervision per week with one of the following Child Psychiatry Board-Certified Consult-Liaison Service supervising faculty: Dr. Kathlene Trello-Rishel, Dr. Heidi Bruty, Dr. Jane Miles, or Dr. Urszula Kelley. Other staff members include psychiatric nurse practitioners, psychologists, psychiatric social workers, family therapists, and play therapists.