Psychiatry Residency Training Program - VA Boston & Harvard South Shore

Please note: As a VA program, we must adhere to official federal hiring practice guidelines which require an employee to be a U.S. citizen. We regret that we are unable to hire non-citizens and therefore encourage non-citizens to not apply.

Program director’s welcome

Welcome to the official page for VA Boston-Harvard South Shore, one of five ACGME-accredited four-year psychiatry residencies affiliated with Harvard Medical School. Our program combines the financial sponsorship and training at VA Boston Healthcare System with opportunities to rotate at Harvard-affiliated sites to prepare residents for careers in the VA and beyond. I am Sarah Yasmin, MD  the Program Director for the Harvard South Shore Psychiatry Training Program, and the Chief of Psychiatry at VA Boston HCS. I received my medical training at The Aga Khan University Medical College, Karachi, Pakistan, and completed my residency in psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts Medical School where I served as Chief Resident in Public Sector Psychiatry, and earned my Master’s in Public Health in Epidemiology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. I went on to a postdoctoral clinical research fellowship at Stanford, an advanced fellowship in psychiatry and psychology at the Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC) at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto (VAPAHCS), and then a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) T-32 Fellowship at Stanford University Medical School. 

I joined the faculty at VAPAHCS where I served in progressively increasing administrative roles including as the Director of the Mental Health Evaluation Clinic and Consult Service, the Director of Inpatient Mental Health, Acting Director of the Addiction Treatment Service and Acting Medical Director of the Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Programs, and was a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Stanford Medical School. I have extensive teaching experience and was Site Director for the Geropsychiatry Fellowship and Acting Site Director for the Medical Students at Stanford. 

As a minority woman of color, an immigrant, and an international medical graduate, I am a living example of what one can achieve with hopes, dreams, determination, and hard work. I am passionate about providing excellent, compassionate, and patient-centered health care, and in developing and training the future psychiatrists of tomorrow, psychiatrists that mirror the ever-changing face of the American population. At HSS, we are committed to training compassionate, professional,  excellent clinicians. I look forward to meeting you and learning all about you. 

Letters from other program leadership

My name is Heather Bellis-Jones, MD. I am an attending in the Boston VA Healthcare System, specifically at the Brockton campus, and one of two Associate Program Directors for the VA Boston-Harvard South Shore Psychiatry Residency Training Program. In addition, I am one of the coordinators for the PGY3 outpatient clinic. 

I graduated from Georgetown College and received my medical degree from the University of Louisville prior to completing my residency training in Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Hospital. My specific clinical duties are outpatient psychiatry within the General Mental Health clinic, and I provide emergency psychiatric services at our Urgent Care. We strive to promote clinical excellence, professionalism, and compassionate patient-centered care. I look forward to meeting you! 

Hello and welcome! My name is Bruce Meltzer, MD. I am an attending in the Boston VA Healthcare System’s General Mental Health Clinic at the Jamaica Plain campus in Boston and Assistant Program Director for the VA Boston-Harvard South Shore Psychiatry Residency Program. I graduated from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, OH and Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston. I undertook a residency in Pediatrics at The Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City before completing Adult Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry fellowship at Brown University. I have had several amazing opportunities including getting to start and run a city-wide, integrated psychiatric emergency service in Boston and running Child and Adolescent Inpatient Services at the state hospital level of care at the University of Massachusetts. I have especially enjoyed working with 3rd and 4th year medical students, residents and fellows.

I’ve been with the VA since 2011. I am super passionate about the process of becoming a psychiatrist, the perspectives of psychiatry, how doctors think, being part of a learning culture, and taking care of people. Echoing Dr. Bellis-Jones, we strive to promote clinical excellence, professionalism, and compassionate patient-centered care. I look forward to working with residents as part of the VAB-HSS residency training program.

Dr. Justine Lazatin is the Assistant Program Director for the Harvard South Shore/VA Boston (HSS/VAB) Psychiatry Residency Training Program. She is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in general psychiatry and holds a faculty appointment at Harvard Medical School as Instructor of Psychiatry.

Dr. Lazatin graduated medical school at the University of New England COM where she served as a Care for the Underserved Pathway Scholar and was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society. A proud alum, she completed adult psychiatry residency training here at HSS/VAB, where she was selected as Executive Chief Resident in 2023-2024. She served as co-chair of the Massachusetts Psychiatric Society’s Early Career Psychiatry subcommittee (2021-2023), and is currently a preceptor for the Harvard Law School Pro Bono Medical Advisory Board and Assistant Editor for the Harvard Review of Psychiatry journal. 

In 2024, Dr. Lazatin joined the faculty at VA Boston (Brockton campus) as an Inpatient Psychiatrist where she treats veterans with a broad spectrum of acute psychiatric conditions including mood disorders, psychosis, trauma-related diagnoses, and substance use disorders. Her clinical work is enriched by her ability to work with learners across multiple teaching sites including HSS/VAB, Lahey Clinic, and Boston University.  Through her leadership role at HSS/VAB, Dr. Lazatin looks forward to continuing her focus on medical education.

John C. Bradley, M.D. serves as the Director of the Mental Health Service at VA Boston. He joined the VA after retirement from active duty in the US Army. His clinical and research areas of expertise are in the fields of combat trauma and suicide prevention. Dr. Bradley received his medical training at the Uniformed Services University School of Medicine and completed residency training in Psychiatry at Letterman Army Medical Center in San Francisco. Dr. Bradley retired from the U.S. Army Medical Corps where he served as Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Vice Chair at Uniformed Services University. His military career included operational assignments or peacekeeping, stability and support operations, and combat operations in Operation Iraqi Freedom. 

Dr. Bradley has been honored to serve on a number of national committees and advisory councils. He served as co-chair of the VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Suicidal Behavior. He served as the clinical subcommittee chair and Army representative for the DoD Task Force for the Prevention of Suicide by Members of the Armed Forces, and co-investigator for the Army Study To Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (ArmySTARRS). He served as an advisor to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Sciences, Board on the Health of Select Populations. Dr. Bradley has provided expert testimony to Congress and has served on numerous scientific advisory committees.

Program coordinator

Sheila Howard is the Program Analyst for the Mental Health Service at VA Boston Health Care System. Sheila has been with the Boston VA since 2015 and has worked with the student and residency training programs for Medical, Surgical, and Mental Health services. She has been with Mental Health service since 2022 and has been working with the Harvard South Shore Program since 2023.

Mission statement

At VA Boston-Harvard South Shore, we cultivate the development of psychiatrists who are dedicated to evidence-based, compassionate, patient-centered care, innovative research, and national leadership. By mobilizing Harvard and VA resources, and drawing upon our diverse backgrounds, we generate a supportive environment for academic excellence that fosters superior clinical care and discovery.

Our philosophy

The VA Boston-Harvard South Shore Psychiatry Residency Training Program prepares residents for highly rewarding careers in psychiatry. Our program philosophy is that graduating physicians need strong training not only in the fundamentals of psychiatry, psychotherapy, and pharmacology, but also in research literacy, teaching skills, and leadership development. Across the four years of residency, residents’ aptitude in each of these domains builds significantly. Beyond our strong didactic and experiential learning curriculum, VAB-HSS is exceptional in its commitment to diversity. Our residents come from a variety of backgrounds and each resident brings unique talents and strengths which create a vibrant, supportive educational environment.

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