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The Residency Training Program in Psychiatry is designed to integrate clinical and didactic learning throughout four years. There is a core of didactic material and clinical experiences that is essential to the training of all psychiatrists. Whether the resident eventually decides to practice General Psychiatry, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, or develops special interest in research, teaching, or any other professional area, we believe that competence in General Psychiatry is the cornerstone of a psychiatric career.
Click here to view a typical resident schedule from PGY-1 to PGY-4
The core training can be described under six broad headings:
· Medicine or Family Medicine and Neurology
· Clinical Rotations
· Psychotherapy Training
· Didactic Seminars
· Conferences
· Electives
· Medicine or Family Medicine (4 months) and Neurology (2 months)
First year residents begin their training by choosing to do a four-month rotation of either Medicine or Family Medicine, followed by a two-month rotation in Neurology.
· Clinical Rotations
It is during clinical rotations that the resident learns to function as a psychiatrist. The program places strong emphasis on the learning process, rather than on departmental service needs. The program has a large core of clinical faculty who are highly invested in residents. Through the process of direct and regular supervision, and in conjunction with the didactic program, residents gain the knowledge and expertise that allows them to treat patients independently.
Buffalo's metropolitan environment offers a patient population which reflects the ethnic, racial and socioeconomic diversity of the community. Residents develop sophistication about the interaction between psychiatric and socio-cultural factors in the development of a wide range of psychiatric disorders. The presence of a variety of major clinical institutions allows the resident to gain experience in different treatment settings and modalities.
· Psychotherapy Training
Residents begin treating outpatients with psychotherapy at the beginning of their PGY-2 year. Patients are referred from faculty members, local colleges, and other community sources.
Residents are assigned a minimum of two psychotherapy supervisors, and are expected to meet weekly. Videotapes, audiotapes, process notes and direct observation are some of the methods used for case presentation and formulation. It is through these methods, in conjunction with guided readings and the material presented in seminars, that residents are able to apply theoretical knowledge to the clinical situation. Treatment modalities include supportive psychotherapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, psychodynamic psychotherapy, brief therapy and combined psychopharmacology/psychotherapy.
Faculty members are selected as psychotherapy supervisors based on their clinical skills and expertise, interest in teaching, and capacity to stimulate the resident's growth as a psychotherapist.
· Didactic Seminars
The didactic seminar program is designed to provide the resident with a foundation of basic knowledge needed for the practice of psychiatry. During the didactic seminars, which are held weekly, the resident is freed from clinical obligations. Seminars encourage open discussion and careful critical reading of assignments selected by faculty. Material is selected to complement and integrate the residents' clinical experiences.
Important topics in psychiatry and related fields are also presented during Grand Rounds. This 1-1/2 hour weekly conference is attended by departmental faculty, community practitioners, residents and medical students. Grand Rounds programs are presented by distinguished mental health and other professionals, many of national and international renown.
· Conferences
The Department also periodically sponsors day-long conferences on specific topics. Psychiatric experts present the newest developments in their fields in a lecture format, followed by small group workshops where participants have an opportunity to present clinical cases and obtain consultation. Residents attend these conferences at minimal or no cost.
Resident Rounds This weekly seminar is organized by the chief resident and gives the entire resident group an opportunity to interface and discuss a variety of topics in several formats. These include: 1) the Video Conference which emphasizes case formulation and presentation, 2) Journal Club which focuses on critical appraisal of the literature; 3) Case Presentation and discussion with emphasis on practice-based learning and improvement; 4) Morbidity and Mortality Conference where the emphasis is on practice-based learning and improvement and systems-based practice; 5) Cultural Diversity Seminar which aims to increase awareness and sensitivity to individuals from different sociocultural, ethic and sexual groups, 6) APA Practice Guidelines. The conference encourages a free exchange of thoughts and ideas so that all residents can learn from their colleagues.
Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program (CPEP) Conference
All resident call is done in the CPEP at ECMCC. Following night call, residents meet with faculty to discuss patients seen with focus on diagnosis, treatment and disposition. Lethality assessment, crisis management, and other clinical, administrative, and forensic issues are discussed. Residents also receive continuous supervision while on call by an attending or senior resident.
· Electives
Supplementing the core training are three to six months of elective time. The electives allow residents to gain more in-depth training in particular areas of interest. Elective rotations are developed in consultation with the Director of Residency Training.
Residents choose from a wide range of experiences including: telepsychiatry, forensic psychiatry, geriatric psychiatry, community psychiatry, addiction psychiatry, neuroimaging, psychological testing, and advanced inpatient/outpatient psychiatry.
Teaching electives are also available to give residents an opportunity to participate in undergraduate educational programs for medical students. These include lectures for the Neuroscience and Behavior course offered to second year medical students and for third year psychiatry clerks at the University at Buffalo under the aegis of the Department of Psychiatry.
Research electives give residents the opportunity to participate as a junior colleague in the ongoing research projects of faculty members or to design and conduct their own with faculty mentorship. Faculty interests include: neuropsychoendocrinology, neuropsychiatric genetics, women's health, attention deficit and pervasive developmental disorders, and psychosomatic aspects of medical disorders. Residents have participated in projects involving neuropsychiatric genetics, women's mental health issues, emergency psychiatry and bipolar disorder, to name a few.
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