No matter what career path they follow, graduates of the AACE Track are well-equipped to embark on rewarding and challenging careers in clinical education, residency and medical student training, hospital administration, and as forward thinking leaders in academic psychiatry.
Here is a sample of our many alumni who have benefitted from participating in the AACE Track:
Meredith Spada, MD participated in the AACE Track between 2016 and 2019 and served as Chief Resident for Education in her final year of training as a Fellow in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. She was recruited as a faculty physician by the Department of Psychiatry. Her AACE Track project included a self-assessment of residents’ teaching skills and an educational workshop targeting the Resident as Teacher. Dr. Spada has published and presented nationally on topics including medical education, perinatal psychiatry, and medically complicated patients with psychiatric comorbidities. Dr. Spada was recently recognized nationally for her accomplishments by the American College of Psychiatrists as a Laughlin Fellow and by the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training as a Ginsberg Teaching Fellow.
Nicole Bates, MD participated in the AACE Track between 2016 and 2018 and served as AACE Track Chair and Chief Resident for Education in her final year of psychiatry residency. As part of her AACE Track project, Dr. Bates organized an interactive workshop to teach psychiatry trainees about Mental Health Advance Directives and to hone communication skills related to patients’ goals of care. She has since completed Fellowship in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry at UPMC and joined faculty as Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
Neeta Shenai, MD participated in the AACE Track between 2014 and 2016 and later completed a fellowship in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital. Dr. Shenai was recruited as a faculty physician for the Psychiatry Consultation-Liaison service where she provides care for patients and families at the UPMC Presbyterian, Montefiore and Magee Women's hospitals. She also provides care for individuals seen at the Center for Psychiatric and Chemical Dependency Services outpatient program. For her AACE project she implemented a trauma-focused educational intervention for antepartum patients with trauma and substance use disorders. In recognition of her work, Dr. Shenai received the prestigious Webb fellowship award through the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry. Currently, she is creating a validated screening tool to screen for PTSD after traumatic delivery.
Barbara Nightingale, MD participated in the AACE track between 2012 and 2015. She is board-certified in both family medicine and psychiatry, and is currently an attending psychiatrist at UPMC McKeesport Hospital through the Department of Family Medicine. Her AACE project involved teaching family medicine resident brief motivational interventions targeting the management of patients with diabetes mellitus. During her residency training, she also became a MI Network of Trainers (MINT) certified MI trainer. She is a recipient of the first annual UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital Clinical Values Project grant and is implementing a QI project utilizing standardized patients to teach Motivational Interviewing.
Victoria Winkeller, MD participated in the AACE track from 2012 to 2016. In collaboration with a triple board colleague, she developed and implemented a support and educational group for adolescent mothers and their partners in a school for adjudicated youth. Dr. Winkeller presented this project nationally and it later became a formal training site for adolescent pediatric resident rotations. Dr. Winkeller is now a member of our Department faculty working in the Child and Adolescent Services division. She is board-certified in General Psychiatry, Child/Adolescent Psychiatry, and Pediatrics.
John Saunders, MD was an AACE track participant from 2012 to 2014. His AACE project involved incorporating video technology in teaching non-psychiatric medical professionals, and he created an enduring repertoire of educational videos that are still in use today at the UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital. Upon graduation, he gained board-certification in adult psychiatry and moved back to his hometown of Houston, TX where he is a faculty psychiatrist at Baylor Medical Center. In his current position, he has taken on teaching responsibilities and been a recipient of a faculty teaching award.
Sourav Sengupta, MD participated in the AACE Track at the UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital between 2009 and 2012, and served as the Chair of the AACE Track in his final year of training. He is a board-certified child/adolescent psychiatrist and currently serves as Program Director for the Child/Adolescent fellowship at the University of Buffalo’s Department of Psychiatry. As a participant in the AACE Track, he focused on his interest in mental health advocacy.