Wellness

Fellow wellness is incredibly important to our program and to Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine. We have an active Graduate Medical Education Consortium and trainees have access to free psychotherapy as well as psychiatric care, discounted rates to fitness centers, and other programs that support well-being. You can learn more about the other benefits and resources provided by our GME office on their website, https://gme.wustl.edu/wellness/.

Saint Louis
The City of St. Louis is a great place to live and our fellows have plenty of time to explore and enjoy it! We pride ourselves on having a close-knit fellowship where colleagues become family. Plus, we love our trainees’ partners, pets, and kids! You can often find us enjoying the beautiful weather in one of our many public parks, cheering for the Cardinals baseball team or the Blues hockey team, dining at a James Beard-nominated restaurant, or hanging out at one of the city’s many free festivals or cultural events.

Link: New York Times 36 hours in Saint Louis

“The city, with its once-quiet, now-vibrant downtown, offers new restaurants, microbreweries and a rich array of cultural venues, including a museum that pays tribute to the blues.”

Vacation

Fellows are entitled to a maximum of four weeks of paid vacation annually or a proportionate fraction thereof if the appointment period is for less than one year.

Conferences

A fellow may request up to one week per year of conference time. The division will cover up to $1,000 of expenses for second-year fellows, and all expenses for the chief fellow, to attend the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) Annual Meeting.

Sick Time

Fellows are entitled to a maximum of two weeks of paid sick time annually or a proportionate fraction thereof if the appointment period is for less than one year. When a duly appointed fellow is off duty because of illness, that fellow must notify the full-time attending. If the time exceeds three consecutive days, the Training Director must be notified. The Director must approve sick leave extending beyond one week and medical verification is required. Coverage of duties should be arranged as per policy documentation.

Personal Leave

If a duly appointed fellow needs time off in excess of his/her accrued vacation time for personal (non-health) reasons which may include child-rearing responsibilities or personal family issues, a personal leave of absence must be requested from the Training Director. The Director, in consultation with the Department Chairman, shall have the authority and discretion to approve or deny a request for a personal leave of absence based upon the individual circumstances of the fellow requesting the leave and the needs of the training program and to improve whatever conditions or restrictions (for example, it will be necessary to extend a fellow’s training to make up for time lost while on personal leave). Any approval of personal leave shall be documented in writing which sets forth the period of the leave, the conditions with respect to the fellow returning to full-time duty, and any other relevant factors. The maximum personal leave that a fellow may be granted, including extensions, is two months. All decisions of the Training Director and Department Chairman with respect to personal leave issues shall be made in a fair and nondiscriminatory manner.

Bereavement Leave

In the event of the death of an immediate relative of a fellow or a fellow’s spouse/partner, up to three (3) days of paid bereavement leave are allowed. Requests for an extended bereavement leave should be submitted to the Training Director.