Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center - Houston, Texas

Psychology Training Program Introduction

The Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center (MEDVAMC) is a 500 bed General Medical and Surgical Hospital. This new state-of-the-art hospital opened in 1991. It is a teaching hospital affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine for instruction and clinical experience in various medical specialties and is part of the Texas Medical Center, the largest medical complex in the nation. Approximately 50 of the beds are assigned to the Mental Health Care Line, the remainder being devoted to Medicine, Surgery, Spinal Cord Injury, and Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. Most veterans are treated on an outpatient basis.

A wide variety of training programs are conducted within the hospital, and interns and fellows assigned to this institution will be in a setting that provides a high degree of intellectual stimulation. Some of the training programs included at MEDVAMC are: medical intern and residency assignments; internships and/or residencies in dentistry, dietetics, hospital administration, and pharmacy; and affiliated traineeship in audiology and speech pathology, occupational, manual arts, kinesiotherapies and social arts, social work, and nursing.

The MEDVAMC sponsors hospital-wide programs to increase awareness and understanding of culturally diverse populations. In addition to an active EEO Program, the hospital sponsors hospital wide programs such as: Houston Hispanic Career Day Forum, Black and Hispanic Mentoring Programs, Cultural Diversity Training, and various celebrations and ethnic heritage programs.

Within the hospital, an active program of medical and clinical research is conducted that is designed to explore problems on all frontiers of medical science. Animal laboratories, special facilities for observation and study in the behavioral sciences, and nationwide cooperative studies in chemotherapy and aging are examples of the available opportunities for research.

The MEDVAMC has a small library with computerized links to a network of virtual library resources. The Jesse Jones Library located within the Texas Medical Center is equipped with reference books and current journals in the medical sciences, psychology, and other related disciplines. Close proximity of the hospital to the Texas Medical Center, Rice University, University of Houston, and Texas Southern University provides easy access to the libraries and teaching facilities of these institutions.

Our Medical Center is conveniently located near a number of residential areas, and an excellent choice of rental apartments or houses is available.

We currently have funded positions for seven pre-doctoral Interns and seven post-doctoral Fellows in clinical psychology. The MEDVAMC Internship Program and  Fellowship Programs are fully accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA).

Program Consultation and Accreditation
American Psychological Association
750 First Street NE
Washington DC 20002-4242
(202) 336-5979