Episode 113: ACGME/DWDI Disability Resource Hub Case Study: Learning Disability and ADHD in a Psychiatry Residency

Interviewees: Emily Green, MD and Kelley Volpe, MD
Interviewer: Lisa Meeks, PhD, MA

Description:

In Episode 113, Dr. Lisa Meeks talks with Dr. Emily Green (child psychiatrist, University of Chicago; recent fellow at UIC) and Dr. Kelley Volpe (training director of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship at UIC) about navigating fellowship with ADHD and a learning disability—and how openness, advocacy, and leadership support shaped a successful training experience.

Together, they trace Emily’s decision-making during the match, the challenges of transitioning from residency to fellowship (and from student to employee), and the unexpected barriers in GME accommodation processes. They unpack how program leadership stepped in when paperwork stalled, why “temporary vs. chronic” misunderstandings of disability remain a problem, and how centering inclusion ultimately benefited both the trainee and the program.

Listeners will hear advice for residents and fellows (be specific in accommodation requests, know when disclosure matters, embrace authenticity with patients) and for program directors (be proactive with GME, advocate beyond bureaucracy, and create space for trainees to bring their whole selves to medicine).

This episode accompanies the open-access case study From Policy to Practice: Building the Disability Inclusion Infrastructure in Graduate Medical Education (Green & Volpe, Academic Medicine, 2025). Part of the ACGME/DWDI Disability Resource Hub, supported by the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation Catalyst Award, it’s both a roadmap and a reminder that when programs invest in access, everyone wins.

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uhs1zRh2QOWVMgYlEFkxbFY-MJQbiqV_/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=104315301750264632478&rtpof=true&sd=true

Bios: 

Kelly Volpe, MD

Dr. Kelley Volpe is the medical director of the Pediatric Stress & Anxiety Disorders Clinic at UI Health. Dr. Volpe currently provides outpatient services that are specialized in the treatment of anxiety disorders, such as generalized anxiety, social anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, and selective mutism, in addition to trauma- and stress-related disorders. She is board certified in both General Psychiatry and Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

Emily Green, MD

Emily is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience at the University of Chicago. She specializes in pediatric psychiatry and helps children and adolescents who are struggling with mental well-being.

Key Words:  

• Disability Inclusion

• Residency

• Fellowship

• ADHD

• Learning Disability

• Psychiatry

• Accommodations

• Program Directors

• Graduate Medical Education (GME)

Produced by: Lisa Meeks 

Resources: 

Disability Resource Hub: https://dl.acgme.org/pages/disability-resource-hub

Case Studies in Disability Resource Hub: https://dl.acgme.org/pages/disability-resource-hub#case_studies

UME to GME Toolkit: 

https://dl.acgme.org/pages/disability-resource-hub-transitions-toolkit-introduction

Policy Toolkit: 

https://dl.acgme.org/pages/disability-resource-hub-policy-toolkit

Disability in Graduate Medical Education Program: 

https://www.docswithdisabilities.org/digme

Illinois Lend: https://www.illinoislend.org

Case Study: From Policy to Practice: Building the Disability Inclusion Infrastructure in Graduate Medical Education

 

 

 

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