COVID VACCINATION GUIDELINES
As per New York State Department of Health (“NYSDOH”) mandate, all employees at JHMC (including trainees) are required to have the COVID19 Vaccine. Employees who have certain pre-existing health conditions may qualify for a medical exemption to the mandate as permitted under the NYSDOH Order. Medical and religious exemptions are determined at the discretion of the hospital (not this training program). Interested applicants with questions about JHMC’s vaccine exemption policies should contact Covidstaffing@jhmc.org. If not vaccinated, it is recommended that interested applicants obtain guidance from the hospital prior to applying to this internship.
Program Description
The Clinical Psychology Internship Program at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center offers a robust learning experience which allows Interns to gain knowledge about various psychological services that can be provided in urban hospital settings. Our Interns have placements on an acute inpatient unit, Consultation/Liaison team, a Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Room and an outpatient mental health clinic.
This program is ideal for future psychologists to learn how to provide a broad range of services for a wide variety of mental health issues in different settings within a hospital setting. Our program is unique in that our Interns are exposed to four types/levels of mental health services that are typically offered in general medical centers. In the Emergency room and the extended observation unit, our Interns learn to assess/interview patients experiencing acute, severe and urgent mental health needs. They also learn to provide brief, supportive psychotherapies. On the inpatient unit, the Interns learn to provide brief psychotherapies, help patients cope with involuntary admissions, work with families in distress, and provide group therapy with frequently changing group members. They also learn about resources available for low income individuals seeking treatment in overcrowded health care systems, learn how to work effectively with other agencies, and understand/identify factors contributing to relapse. Additionally, the multidisciplinary setting allows for the development of skills to work effectively in teams and to learn how to integrate the input of individuals from various disciplines. In the outpatient clinic, Interns are able to provide relatively long term psychotherapies for both children and adults with both mild mental health issues as well as severe and persistent ones. They are able to work with families, educate patients about their treatment, and work effectively with psychiatrists and other mental health providers. On the C/L rotations, the Interns learn how to assess, diagnose, and provide bedside psychotherapy to individuals suffering from medical problems which require hospitalization.
Our program allows for breadth and depth of experience with a diverse population. Our Interns work with both adults and children with varying degree of mental health needs. Diagnoses treated in the department of psychiatry at JHMC include but is not limited to Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, Anxiety Disorders, Personality Disorders, ADHD, Adjustment Disorder etc. Many of our patients also have legal/criminal histories, substance abuse problems and chronic medical illnesses. The population served at Jamaica Hospital is exceptionally diverse. Majority of our patients come from the neighborhood in which we are located, Queens, NY, one of the most diverse places in the world. Additionally, our proximity to major international airports brings us patients from other U.S states and even other countries. Queens county’s population is 25% non-Hispanic White, 28% Hispanic, 27% Asian, 20% Black or African American, 1.3% Native American or Alaskan Native, 0.2% Native Hawaiian or pacific islander and 2.9% multiracial. 47.5% of the residents of Queens are Foreign born. Approximately 12.2% of people are in poverty and 10% of people under the age of 65 are uninsured.
Interns at our facility are part of a robust training experience consisting of collaboration with psychiatry residents, creative arts therapy Interns and externs, medical students, nursing students, and clinical psychology externs and a postdoctoral fellow.
For more details, please download program brochure located on the following webpage
https://jamaicahospital.org/clinical-services/psychiatry/clinical-psychology-training-for-doctoral-students/
Please note: We are unfortunately not able to consider applicants without citizenship or permanent U.S residence