FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 29, 2008

The Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Washington, DC (DC VAMC), is proud to report that Dr. Richard B. Rosse, Chief, Psychiatry Service, has been selected as one of the region’s "Top Doctors for 2008" by Castle Connolly Medical Ltd., a healthcare research and information company that publishes Northern Virginia Magazine.

Dr. Rosse is not new to this type of accolade, having previously been selected as one of one of "America’s Top Doctors" from 2001 through 2006. He is also the recipient of the "Thayer Award for Excellence in Medical Student Teaching" and the Department of Psychiatry "Residency Teaching Award" from Georgetown University School of Medicine.

Castle Connolly’s "Guide to American’s Top Doctors" assists consumers in selecting the most qualified doctors and hospitals for medical treatment. Castle Connolly updates the guide annually through a nomination and selection process. The doctors are nominated by their peers. The nomination is followed by a comprehensive review and verification of credentials by Castle Connolly’s research team. Criteria for consideration include; professional qualifications, excellence in patient care, and excellence in academic medicine and research.

Dr. Rosse has been interested in psychiatry since the tender age of eight years. "I always wanted to be a psychiatrist. I wanted to understand how the mind and brain worked to the fullest extent possible. I wanted to be able to apply that knowledge to help patients in distress. I am honored to be able to apply this to the veteran population here at the Washington DC VA Medical Center."

Dr. Rosse began fulfilling his passion for psychiatry at the University of Maryland, where he graduated in 1976. He received his undergraduate degree in zoology, following his interest in the study of common themes in behavior throughout the animal kingdom. Upon graduation, he continued his studies at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and earned his Doctor of Medicine degree in 1980. He completed his residency in Psychiatry and Neurology at Georgetown Medical Center Department of Psychiatry in 1984. Thereafter, Dr. Rosse served as Chief of Outpatient Mental Health Services from 1998 through 1999. He also served as Chief of the Georgetown University Medical School Teaching Unit at the DC VAMC from 1986 through 1994.

Dr. Rosse held the position of Chief of Psychiatry, Consultation Liaison Services, at the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Washington, DC from 1994 through 1998. He is a published author of over 200 original scientific articles and book chapters, reviewer for several medical journals and wrote a best-selling medical textbook, Laboratory Diagnostic Testing in Psychiatry. In addition to his duties as Chief, Psychiatry Service, at the Washington DC VA Medical Center, he is a Professor of Psychiatry at Howard University in Washington, DC.