Post Pediatric Portal Program
The Post Pediatric Portal Program is a three-year combined training program in general psychiatry and child and adolescent psychiatry, which is approved and overseen by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN). Physicians who are completing or have completed an ACGME approved pediatric residency (whether recent graduates or later career pediatricians), and are seeking additional training in/a career shift to child and adolescent psychiatry, are eligible to apply. Upon successful completion of the program, graduates will be eligible to take the board certification examinations in Adult Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
The Mission of the CHOP Post Pediatric Portal Fellowship is to train pediatric physicians in adult and child psychiatry, including the knowledge, skills, and clinical judgment to properly assess and treat mental and emotional disorders. Fellows will also gain experience in addressing ethical issues in the field of mental health and learn to work with and provide consultation to a range of other professionals, including non-psychiatric physicians, other mental health providers, schools, community agencies, and other programs in an effort to prevent and treat mental health issues across the lifespan.
Graduates of the Post Pediatric Portal Program work in a variety of settings, including outpatient psychiatry, inpatient psychiatry, consultation-liaison psychiatry, emergency psychiatry, telephonic consultation programs, integrated mental healthcare within primary care settings, research, and some also continue to practice pediatrics.
Learn more about Penn’s psychiatry residency program.
Learn more about CHOP’s Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship.
For information on how to apply, see the "How to apply" section below.
Leadership
- Katrina A. Fletcher, MD, Training Director, Post Pediatric Portal Program
Sample rotation schedule
Year 1
- Four months Child/Adolescent Inpatient Psychiatry
- Four months Adult Inpatient Psychiatry (includes geriatric psychiatry)
- One month Addiction Psychiatry
- One month Adult Consult/Liaison Psychiatry
- One month Adult Emergency Psychiatry/Night float
- One month Adult Neurology
Year 2
One half day each week is devoted to each the following:
- Adult general clinic
- Adult specialty clinic
- Adult observed assessment clinic
- Child observed assessment clinic/child community clinic
- Adult psychotherapy practice
- Child psychotherapy practice
- Supervision (adult and child)
- Child didactics
- Adult didactics
- Adult psychiatry elective
Year 3
- Child/Adolescent Consult/Liaison Psychiatry
- Child Outpatient Continuity Clinics
- Evaluation Clinic
- Psychopharmacology Clinic
- Eating Disorder and Related Addiction Clinic
- Neurodevelopmental Disorders Clinic
- School Consultation
- Forensics/Consultation
- CBT Clinic
- Family Therapy Training Clinic
- Integrated Care/Primary Care Consultation
- Friday Advanced Topics Seminars
- Research and QI projects
- Administrative Psychiatry
- Adult Outpatient Psychotherapy Practice (1/2 day/week for one year)
Post Pediatric Portal Program fellows
First year
Reshem Agarwal, MD
Pediatric Residency: Children’s National Medical Center
Education: Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California
Alise Peckjian, MD
Pediatric Residency: Tower Health/St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children
Education: Drexel University College of Medicine
Second Year
Ajjya Acharya, MD
Pediatric Residency: University of California Davis Health
Education: University of Arizona College of Medicine
Olubukola Okafor, MBBS
Pediatric Residency: Vidant Medical Center/East Carolina University Program
Education: University of Arizona College of Medicine
Third Year
Bruce Leewiwatanakul,DO
Pediatric Residency:Oregon Health & Science University
Education:A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine, Arizona
Kevin Nguyen, MD
Pediatric Residency: Valley Children’s Hospital
Education:University of California, Davis School of Medicine
How to apply to the Pediatric Portal Program
We are currently reviewing fellows wishing to start our program in July 2025, and will review applications on a rolling basis starting March 2024, and hope to complete interviews by Summer/Fall 2024. Completed applications are reviewed on an ongoing basis. For additional information, please email Katrina A. Fletcher, MD at fletcherk@chop.edu.
Our typical applicants are individuals who are in their pediatric residency or have completed their pediatric residency and are seeking additional training/career shifts in psychiatry and child and adolescent psychiatry.
As part of the Post Pediatric Portal Program, one month of pediatric neurology training is required by the ABPN. We recommend that the month of pediatric neurology be completed in pediatric residency if possible.
To apply for the Post Pediatric Portal Program, please submit the following:
- Fellowship Application
- Personal statement describing yourself and outlining your reasons for pursuing a career in child and adolescent psychiatry
- Three letters of recommendation from physicians, preferably under whom you have served or trained. For current pediatric trainees and recent graduates (less than 7 years since graduating), this includes a letter from someone who was part of your residency training team (either PD/APD).
- Copy of USMLE Step 1 or COMLEX 1
- Copies of either USMLE Step 2 and 3 scores or COMPLEX 2 and 3 scores
Applications can be emailed to PsychiatryTraining@chop.edu.
Tobacco-free hiring policy
To help preserve and improve the health of our patients, their families and our employees, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia has a tobacco-free hiring policy. This policy applies to all candidates for employment (other than those with regularly scheduled hours in New Jersey) for all positions, including those covered by the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Job applicants who apply after July 1, 2014 will be expected to sign an attestation stating they’ve been free of nicotine or tobacco products in any form for the prior thirty (30) days. They will also undergo a cotinine test as a part of the Occupational Health pre-placement drug screen administered after the offer of employment has been accepted but before the first day of hire.
Exemptions: Attending physicians (excluding CHOP physicians in the Care Network), psychologists, principal investigators and/or Penn-based faculty are exempt from this process to better align with our colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.