Message from Program Director
Welcome to Westchester Medical Center, the flagship of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth). I am Yvette Smolin, Director of the Consultation-Liaison Service and Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Fellowship at Westchester Medical Center. Thank you for your interest in our program. We are an ACGME accredited C-L fellowship, now in our 21st year.
The medical center is a 600-plus-bed facility and Level 1 trauma center, the flagship tertiary and quaternary care hospital for much of the lower Hudson River Valley. Our fellowship offers a rich and highly diverse clinical experience. We provide psychiatric consultations to patients with complex medical, social and psychiatric problems, at times complicated by substance abuse, severe trauma and loss. Our supportive faculty supervises the fellows, who in turn supervise psychiatry residents, neurology residents and medical students. In addition to their clinical training, fellows receive a broad didactic experience as well, including lectures, reading seminars, weekly journal club, rounds, Grand Rounds, and case conferences. There are also opportunities for research.
We offer the best of all worlds in the beautiful and historic Hudson Valley of New York State. We are 45 minutes from New York City and easily accessible to points of interest in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Westchester County is a unique area offering the cultural diversity of a metropolitan area with great natural beauty and excellent schools. This is a wonderful place to live and raise a family. In addition, there is on-campus housing available.
Program Overview and Curriculum
Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Fellowship
The Westchester Medical Center Department of Psychiatry, affiliated with New York Medical College, offers two full-time one-year fellowships from July 1 to June 30. This is an ACGME-accredited C-L Psychiatry Fellowship. The fellowship offers a rich and highly diverse clinical experience.
Under supervision, fellows provide consultation for patients in all the medical-surgical wards—including the intensive care units, oncology, high risk OB/GYN, burn unit, transplant (heart, liver, and kidney), acute rehabilitation, palliative care, pain, geriatric and all trauma units. The fellows also participate actively in multi-disciplinary team rounds and family meetings. The goal of the fellowship is to prepare future Consultation-Liaison psychiatrists for academic careers and for working with highly challenging patient populations. The fellows gain skills in caring for complex patients who have multiple medical, social, and psychiatric problems, at times complicated by substance abuse, severe trauma, or loss.
Fellows work closely with the faculty, attending psychiatrists who are board-certified in C-L Psychiatry. The faculty supervises the fellows, who in turn supervise psychiatry residents, neurology residents and medical students. In addition to their clinical training, fellows receive a broad didactic experience, including lectures, reading seminars, weekly journal club, rounds, Grand Rounds, and case conferences. There are also opportunities for research.
The Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Fellowship at Westchester Medical Center offers the best of all worlds – an experienced and supportive faculty within a tertiary care hospital which offers an expansive breadth of available clinical experiences, thus allowing the fellow to tailor the educational experience to his/her interests. There is no call and no weekend coverage.
Training
The training on the C-L service is centered at Westchester Medical Center. The fellows are assigned consultations and are supervised by attendings who round on the patients with them. The fellows have opportunities to see outpatients, whether following patients from inpatient to outpatient settings or evaluating patients in the primary care clinic. In addition, the fellows rotate through different services and participate in psychosocial rounds. These services include palliative care, high risk OB, neurology, pain, burn, and liver, kidney and cardiac transplant.
The fellowship offers many areas in which the fellows can learn. There are different educational opportunities which include didactic classes, journal club, reading seminar, grand rounds and sitting on committees of the psychiatry department. Research opportunities are available in the department, allowing the fellow to participate in an ongoing project or pursue an area of individual interest. Fellows also have the opportunity to specialize in areas of interest during elective rotations. Support and assistance from faculty are available, as needed.
The fellows receive formative feedback on an on-going basis, as well as summative evaluation at the conclusion of each rotation. A comprehensive semi-annual evaluation is provided by the Program Director, inclusive of an assessment of the fellows’ competency-based milestones. It is the goal of the fellowship to prepare fellows for the rigors of academic careers as well as advancing their clinical growth. The fellows, in turn, provide feedback to the fellowship through program evaluations, supervisor evaluations and participating in the Annual Program Evaluation of the fellowship.
Educational & Curriculum
100% of the clinical work is at Westchester Medical Center. The fellows will get exposure and experience working with patients from medicine, surgery, neurology, neurosurgery, burn unit, high risk OB/GYN, physical medicine and rehabilitation, palliative care, solid organ transplant and all the ICUs (including trauma).
In addition, the fellows will be able to treat inpatients from the main hospital transitioning to outpatient care in the outpatient psychiatry clinic. They will also get experience working in the primary care clinic supervised by the C-L attendings.
The ACGME core competencies are reviewed and followed by the fellowship. These include patient care, medical knowledge, professionalism, practice-based learning, systems-based practice and interpersonal and communication skills.
In addition to the above curriculum structure, the fellows also participate actively in multi-disciplinary team rounds and family meetings. The goal of the fellowship is to prepare future Consultation-Liaison psychiatrists for academic careers and for working with highly challenging patient populations. The fellows gain skills in caring for complex patients who have multiple medical, social and psychiatric problems, at times complicated by substance abuse, severe trauma and loss.
There is no call during this fellowship year.
The fellowship offers different educational opportunities which include didactic classes, reading seminars, journal club, grand rounds and sitting on different committees of the psychiatry department. Research opportunities are available in the department which allow the fellows to participate in an ongoing project or pursue an area of individual interest. Fellows also are able to specialize in areas of interest during elective rotations. Support and assistance from faculty are available, as needed.
There are multiple research projects in the department which the fellows can participate in. The faculty is available for mentorship and there are opportunities to teach medical students, residents and give grand rounds.
The fellows have the opportunity to rotate on to the child and adolescent psychiatry C-L service to further gain exposure to a different age range of patients and diagnostic/treatment modality options
Educational & Curriculum
Alumni of the program have gone on to a wide range of successful careers across diverse practice settings. Graduates have pursued academic appointments, inpatient attending positions, outpatient clinical roles, and private practice ownership.
We are committed to fostering a supportive, collegial, and inclusive training environment in which residents can thrive both professionally and personally.
Our program emphasizes resident well-being as a core component of professional development and provides a variety of wellness initiatives throughout the year, including annual wellness events, social gatherings, and opportunities for residents and faculty to connect outside of clinical responsibilities.
One of our greatest strengths is our close-knit community of trainees, faculty and staff. Fellows benefit from approachable faculty, strong mentorship, and a culture that values collaboration, mutual respect, and open communication. We recognize the challenges of residency training and strive to ensure that fellows have access to the resources, guidance, and support they need to maintain well-being, achieve their educational goals, and develop into confident, compassionate psychiatrists.
Westchester County offers an exceptional setting in which to live, work, and train. Known for its diverse and welcoming communities, the region combines the convenience and cultural richness of the greater New York metropolitan area with the comfort, accessibility, and quality of life often associated with suburban living. Fellows enjoy a wide range of housing options, vibrant downtown districts, diverse dining experiences, arts and cultural institutions, parks, and recreational opportunities.
Westchester’s rich cultural diversity, strong community partnerships, and broad patient population create an environment that enhances both professional development and personal growth. For many fellows, the area offers the ideal combination of outstanding clinical training opportunities and a rewarding place to call home during residency.
How to Apply
Interview Process Overview
Our residency program participates in ERAS and begins accepting and reviewing applications in September. Selected applicants are invited to interview and learn more about our training environment, educational opportunities, faculty, and residents. We also offer optional second-look visits for applicants who would like an additional opportunity to explore our program and community. Participation in a second look is entirely voluntary and is not required or considered as part of the ranking process. Our goal is to provide applicants with the information and experience needed to make an informed decision while maintaining a fair and equitable recruitment process for all candidates.
In addition, the candidate will need to be finishing their education from an accredited US psychiatry residency training program.
Applications will be accepted from July 1st through December 15.
Program Specific differentiators and highlights
The medical center attracts a wide range of patients due to the great variety of medical/surgical services provided here. This in turn offers the fellows a clinically rich environment due to the wide array of services and diverse patient population.
Fellows have the opportunity to focus on specific areas of interest. In addition to those already cited, fellows can participate in interventional psychiatry including exposure to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and ketamine-based treatments.
This is a clinical wonderland staffed with dedicated, enthusiastic physicians, located in a diverse, culturally rich environment.
Criteria for Applicants
Applications should be submitted through the Electronic Residency Application System (ERAS). Applications may be submitted starting July 1 of each year. We will contact the applicants directly as to whether they have been selected for an interview.
Interviews will take place from September through November, and candidates will be provided with detailed information regarding the logistics of the interview days.
- MD or DO degree
- Completion of 4-year adult psychiatry residency program
- Common application form
- CV
- Personal statement
- Photograph
- Medical school diploma
- Dean’s letter
- Medical school transcript
- Three letters of recommendation, including one from the program director verifying adult psychiatry residency. This letter must include performance of the ACGME core Competencies and program rotations. All letters need to be dated within the current academic year.
- USMLE Step 1, Step 2 CK & CS, Step 3 or COMLEX Level 1, Level 2 CE & PE, Level 3
- ECFMG certificate (if applicable)
Visa Sponsorship
Westchester Medical Center accepts individuals on J1 visas sponsored by the ECGMG/Intealth.
2026-2027 Faculty Roster
Yvette Smolin MD, MEd Fellowship Program Director, Psychosomatic Medicine
Martha Gamboa MD Assistant Professor
Catherine Daniels-Brady MD Assistant Clinical Professor
Shreya Nagula MD Attending Psychiatrist
Orna Alpert MD Attending Psychiatrist
Merin Thomas MBA, MSN, RN Nurse Practitioner
Contact Us
Nancy Guerrero
Consultation-Liaison
and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Programs Administrator
Department of Psychiatry
Westchester Medical Center
100 Woods Road
Taylor Pavilion North/Behavioral Health Center Room B307
Valhalla, NY 10595
914.493.8424
[email protected]
Nancy Guerrero, has been the program administrator for the Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Fellowship at Westchester Medical Center since its inception in 2005 as well as the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship since 2006. Prior to this role Ms. Guerrero has worked in other departments at this institution including the Office of Graduate Medical Education.
Our Clinical Locations
Westchester Medical Center
Westchester Medical Center shares its leafy campus with New York Medical College in Valhalla, NY, approximately 20 miles north of New York City. It is a Level 1 Trauma and Burn Center and a major hub for specialized care referrals. Here, we take care of patients from a very large catchment area stretching from the northern border of New York City to the Catskill Mountains.
Westchester Medical Center has a pediatric hospital (Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital) with eight dedicated pediatric operating rooms as well as many other non-operating room anesthetizing sites, including MRI, radiation and nuclear medicine, and endoscopy. The Ambulatory Care Pavilion, which opened in July 2019, added many anesthetizing locations, both OR and Non-OR.
Construction is underway on the 128-bed state-of-the-art WMC Critical Care Tower, a $220 million project that when completed will span 162,000 square feet over five floors. Our caseload includes a full profile of cardiac, interventional pulmonary and thoracic, complex orthopedic, neurosurgical and solid organ transplant interventions, to name the busiest services. We have a large heart failure and ECMO referral program. Trauma orthopedics and surgery provide our residents a great variety of “open” cases. Residents participate in minimally invasive and robotic interventions in gynecologic-oncology, urology, colorectal, endocrine and thoracic surgery, as well as complex cardiac and neurological endovascular interventions, both pediatric and adult. The Acute and Chronic Pain Management care rotations cover both the pediatric and adult inpatients and outpatients, including complex consultations for patients in the Burn ICU.