A Day in the Life of a Resident

A Day in the Life of a PGY-1 Resident

Heather Shams

Hey everyone! My name is Heather, and I’m one of the PGY-1 residents here at Columbia. I’m on my first rotation of the year, which is our Addictions rotation at the New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI). In this rotation, you learn how to treat common addiction disorders such as opioid use disorder, alcohol use disorder, gambling disorder, etc., through both medical and psychotherapeutic interventions.

I live in NYP housing, so I usually get up by 7:30 am to get to the unit by 8:30 am. I meet with my patients from 8:30 am to 9:30 am, then attend interdisciplinary rounds with the larger treatment team at 9:30 am. There, we discuss treatment goals, social work/disposition goals, nursing notes, and recreational/occupational therapy notes.

As a PGY-1, I typically manage my patients’ psychiatric needs through medication adjustments, while beginning to provide supportive psychotherapy and CBT. Examples include doing a Suboxone induction for a patient with an opioid use disorder while managing any withdrawal symptoms, and learning to conduct an 8-session CBT program with a patient focusing on their gambling disorder.

Later, I usually write notes or participate in family meetings. I also attend our daily didactics for residents. I’ve even had some time in the later afternoon to study for Step 3 (trying to get it out of the way early!). I usually get home around 6 pm, then work-out or meet with friends for dinner. I’m new to NYC, so it’s been awesome to reconnect with old friends as well as make new ones.

A Day in the Life of a PGY-2 Resident

Olivier Joseph

My name is Olivier, and I am a PGY-2 here at Columbia. I am currently rotating on 9-Garden North, one of our acute adult inpatient units. All PGY-1s rotate through this service, so coming back as a second year is particularly great because I’m already somewhat familiar with the service, staff, and resources. My day usually starts at 7:30 AM. I wake up, play music, and go through my morning routine, readying my gym bag and eating a quick breakfast. I usually get to work around 8:20-8:40, where, depending on the acuity of my patients, I may have time for a patient interview before rounds at 8:45 AM.

During rounds, we meet as a unit: attendings, residents, NPs, RNs, psychologists, therapists, social workers, and various students to discuss patients. Over the course of the day, I see the rest of my patients and discuss and refine my treatment plans with my attendings. I try to touch base with the other members of our treatment teams to coordinate further plans or exchange updates so we’re all on the same page. I try to see all my patients before noon so that after didactics I can just focus on writing notes. That way, I have more flexibility to tend to more acute needs on the unit, like managing a psychiatric emergency. After I finish up my clinical tasks, I generally have time to go to the gym or to kickboxing, come home to cook (or order out, lol), and decompress with either reading, watching an episode of a show, FaceTiming family/friends, or going for a walk and listening to music. When I’m not at work, I try to be very intentional about maintaining wellness and tending to all the other parts of myself that aren’t the resident doctor.

A Day in the Life of a PGY-3 Resident

Sudha Guttikonda

Hi everyone! My name is Sudha Guttikonda, and I’m currently a PGY3 on the research track. I usually start my day around 7:00 AM where I like to stretch my legs with a short run or yoga in the morning. Then, I catch the A train from Columbus Circle up to NYSPI around 9:00AM. As part of the research track, I opted to dedicate two half days in the week to working in the lab, and the rest of my time is dedicated to seeing outpatients at the Psychiatric Institute Resident Clinic (PIRC).

I chose Monday mornings and Thursday afternoons to work in the lab. On Monday mornings, I attend lab meeting where I get to hear about the exciting new work my lab mates are conducting. On Thursday afternoons, I have time to run my own experiments. My work involves using human pluripotent stem cells to model psychiatric disease in vitro, and I’m currently getting set up with the right reagents and equipment to get started on my project.

At other times, I’m usually in my office seeing patients, who have a range of psychiatric needs from medication management to specific forms of psychotherapy. I also have one-on-one supervision with faculty members that help guide me in caring for my patients, in addition to daily didactics.

My day typically winds down around 5:00 PM, giving me plenty of time to relax after work. I typically head to the rock climbing gym, go home to cook, or catch up with a friend over dinner. I’m always on the look out for new vegan cuisine in NYC!

Julia Schluger

I’m Julia Schluger, a current PGY-3 – a year dedicated to working with outpatients at the Psychiatric Institute Resident Clinic (PIRC). This means that my days start with the first patient I’ve scheduled, which I like to do around 9 am. I’m generally not one to pack in a lot before the workday, so I typically wake up around 7:30 am, get ready for work, and head to the 1 train for a 20-30 minute commute from the Upper West Side.

As a PGY-3, I’m responsible for scheduling my days, which include patient appointments and individual supervision, around our daily didactics. One of the best features of third and fourth years is having your own individual office - and we’re all in the same hall so when we’re not in meetings or seeing patients we get to see each other. I chose the college mental health track as my third-year selective, which means that, starting in September, I’ll spend two half-days each week at Columbia’s undergraduate clinic in Morningside Heights, Counseling and Psychological Services (CPS).

Since my days are generally 9 am - 5 pm, I have plenty of time to wind down at home in the evenings and on weekends, enjoying the quirks of the Upper West Side, and making the occasional trip downtown for a good yoga class.

A Day in the Life of a PGY-4 Resident

Natalie Ramsey

Greetings! I’m Natalie Ramsey, one of the PGY-4 residents. I’m also a reproductive psychiatry fellow in the Women’s and Reproductive Mental Health fellowship here at Columbia. Each day during the week looks a little different. Every week, I see patients in the faculty practice for longitudinal care or as a consultant to inform the care they receive from their primary psychiatrist, as well as on the inpatient obstetrical units for subspecialty care via the consultation-liaison service. I also receive supervision and teaching on reproductive psychiatry and trauma-informed care. Additionally, I dedicate one day a week to my continuity clinic in the Psychiatric Institute Resident Clinic, and a half day a week to working on my scholarly project.

My workday usually starts around 8:45 AM, and I generally wrap up by about 5:45 PM. On the weekends, I often spend time hanging with my outrageously cute nephews (and the rest of my family, lol) down in Canarsie, making sure to get semi-regular doses of my mom’s curry goat and oxtail, trying out restaurants and bars with friends across the boroughs, going dancing with friends in Brooklyn and Harlem, visiting friends in other cities, and fantasizing about my next international girls’ trip. After residency, I am planning to practice in the outpatient setting in NYC and may move out of Washington Heights (sadly). Having lived in Brooklyn, the Bronx, and now Manhattan, it may be time to give Queens a go or to return to my original stomping grounds of BK. By the new year, I should have a clear sense of where I’ll be off to next for my first job as a board-eligible psychiatrist. PGY-4 is such an exciting year, and I am ready for my very last graduation ceremony!