Core Curriculum

• PGY 1 Year
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• PGY 2 Year
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• PGY 3 Year
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• PGY 4 Year

A central aspect of the Residency Training Program is the core curriculum. Courses are held on a daily basis throughout the PGY 2 and PGY 3 years, and three days a week in the PGY 4 year. These courses are integrated with the residents' clinical activities and are sequenced to correspond to the growth of clinical skills. Didactic courses provide the scientific and conceptual basis for practice, as well as a time to consider complex treatment issues away from the pressure of immediate clinical decision making.

In addition to these courses, there are many didactic sessions that are held on a specific teaching service, attended only by residents while they are on that service. For example there is a course on the cognitive therapy of eating disorders offered to residents while they rotate on the inpatient unit where bulimic and anorexic patients are hospitalized. Similarly, PGY 1 residents attend unit-based courses while doing psychiatry rotations. Finally, there are some special seminars held for all residents, and these are described at the end of this section.

PGY 1 Year – (during Psychiatry months)
 

Urgent Psychiatry - Dr. Brett Blatter - 8 sessions - This course provides an introduction to the important skills for managing psychiatric emergencies and crisis situations. It includes an introduction to decision making regarding the pharmacologic management of acutely agitated patients.

Assessment and Management of Suicidal Behavior - Drs. Mary Sciutto and Richard Hersh- 3 sessions - An introduction to the basics of risk assessment and management of acutely and chronically suicidal patients.

Basic Psychopharmacology - Dr. Sander Markx - 8 sessions - This course offers the first year resident an introduction to the basics of psychopharmacolgy, such as how to choose medications, dosing, assessment of side effects, and relevant laboratory tests.

History of Psychiatry - Dr. Stephanie LeMelle, 1 session - An introduction to the history of psychiatry, with a particular focus on Community Psychiatry in the United States starting from the early 1800’s.

Mental Status Exam - Dr. Maria Oquendo - 1 session - An interactive introduction to the elements of the mental status exam, including tools for observation, assessment, and description.

Initial Psychiatric Note - Dr. Deborah Cabaniss – 1 session - This course reviews the basic elements of the initial psychiatric note, with emphasis on the writing of the history of present illness.

Initial Psychiatric Interview - Dr. Neala Rafizadeh –6 sessions - Each week, residents watch an interview conducted by an expert interviewer and have the opportunity to ask questions about interviewing approaches and technique.

Core Psychotherapy Concepts (Part 1 of 2) - Dr. Alicia Rojas –4 sessions - This course is an introduction to psychotherapy, and addresses such topics as what is and what isn’t psychotherapy, how to conduct a basic psychotherapy session, how to use psychotherapy on an inpatient unit, and the development of empathy.