Margaret E. McCahill, M.D.

Dr. Margaret McCahill is the Founding Director of the Combined Program... from its planning phase in 1995 to the welcoming of the first residents in 1997, and she continued to direct the program until July, 2007, when she was very pleased to pass the baton to Dr. Chris Searles, who now serves as co-director, along with Dr. David Folsom. Dr. McCahill continues as the Medical Director of the St. Vincent de Paul Village Family Health Clinic, and as a very active teaching faculty member in the program.

Dr. McCahill is a graduate of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and she completed her Family Medicine residency in Cleveland , Ohio. After three years of full time practice of Family Medicine (including solo private practice and care to a large population of migrant workers and their families), Dr. McCahill continued a part time practice of Family Medicine while she completed her Psychiatry Residency at UCSD. She has practiced as a Family Physician and Psychiatrist in the U.S. Public Health Service/Indian Health Service in Gallup, New Mexico, and at U.S. Naval Hospital, Camp Pendleton before coming to the UCSD faculty full time. Dr. McCahill has been a faculty member teaching residents and medical students for over twenty-two years, and has been recognized with several "teacher of the year" awards, both locally and statewide. She is board certified in both Family Medicine and Psychiatry and practices both specialties.

In addition to her role as founder and former Residency Program Director, Dr. McCahill is also the Medical Director of St. Vincent de Paul Village, working with a multi-disciplinary team of case managers, social workers, substance abuse counselors, clinical psychologists, educators, residential specialists, and administrators who provide a comprehensive continuum of services to the homeless community. Included in that role is that of Medical Director for the "free clinic" at the Village, and that clinic is the out-patient medical home of the Combined Residency Program. A new role that will enable Dr. McCahill to work with resident physicians in innovative training settings was developed in 2003, as Dr. McCahill serves as the President of the San Diego Health & Faith Alliance.

Dr. McCahill comments: "It is wonderful to see the Combined Family Medicine and Psychiatry Residency Program start its tenth year in July 2007. Although we are still a young program, we are privileged to receive the applications of many of the brightest and most dedicated medical school graduates. We enjoy the camaraderie of a wonderful group of residents and faculty, every one of whom brings a strong personal commitment to obtaining his or her specialty training in an environment that nurtures an integrated practice of our two specialties, and does so in a context of service to the patients who need us the most."