"The Child and Adolescent Fellowship Program at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center has truly been a bright spot in my training journey in medicine and psychiatry. In this community-based program, I have been able to join a team of talented specialists dedicated to improving the mental health of a very vulnerable population within our community. The opportunity to treat a diverse and complex variety of cases, under the guidance of these mentors, has been an invaluable experience in adding to my growth as a child psychiatrist. With the leadership of our program director Dr. Jadapalle and our faculty, the program has been able to develop and expand over a surprisingly brief period from a fledgling new program to a robust and well-established training experience, to include massive additions the core inpatient, ED, and consult rotations—these include rotations in the local county school system and local outpatient outreach and juvenile justice center, a specialty neurology rotation at UNC, an eating disorder rotation with Veritas Durham, and a simulation center case development elective. Fellows are encouraged to participate in other experiential and service activities including participation in local, regional, and national organization councils and fellowships—I have been involved in the North Carolina Council on Child and Adolescent Psychiatry as an executive board resident representative with other fellows also known to have participated in PRITE and Laughlin national fellowships. The sense of community and pride in our work sets our group of providers apart as more than just training colleagues, more like a close-knit family keeping each other's wellbeing in mind. I feel very well equipped to approach independent practice in the future after being a part of this program."

"This program has truly been a remarkable and enlightening educational journey. As a participant in a burgeoning program, I have gleaned invaluable lessons from our esteemed leadership on establishing initiatives from the ground up and navigating the practice of medicine in resource-constrained environments. Dr. Jadapalle has served as a beacon of guidance, consistently empowering us to excel, encouraging exploration of our interests, and fostering their development. Under her mentorship, I spearheaded an elective project that led to the establishment of a Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Simulation Lab. Additionally, in collaboration with my fellow trainees, we successfully organized an annual mental health education day at a local school. This program is deeply committed to enhancing patient care and addressing critical issues in psychiatric practice as well as giving back to the community."