Psychiatry Observerships
Applications for the Clinical Psychiatry Observership Program are now being accepted for the 2025-2026 academic year, September 2025-June 2026. There are no observerships offered during July/August.
The application portal will close on April 30, 2025. Any applications submitted and completed during the period the portal is open will be considered. Top applicants will be invited to have an interview on Zoom.
Accepted applicants will be notified in June 2025.
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.
The 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, an outpatient unit, the psychiatric emergency room, and a psychiatry specialty service).
There is a fee of $2000. Housing is not provided. We do not sponsor any visas.
We do not offer research observerships.
Application Process
All materials must be uploaded into the application portal.
https://rfmhhelp.nyspi.org/EducationPortal/AboutPsyObserverships.aspx
The application includes (and you should have ready to upload):
- Curriculum Vitae: Please include an updated version of your CV as part of this application.
- 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.
- 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, a video-interview will be offered to discuss your interests, your ability to communicate in English, and the role of the observership in your career plans. In general, clinical observerships are 4 weeks long and begin on Mondays throughout the year. We usually can only host 10 observers each academic year.
For More Information 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
Karen Cruz
Program Coordinator
Email: Karen.Cruz@nyspi.columbia.edu
Phone: (646) 774-7505
Fax: (646) 774-6398