At WMed, we are committed to providing a four-year curriculum in our Psychiatry Residency Program that prepares you to be an excellent psychiatrist who is well-prepared and focused on providing care that is patient-centered. Our curriculum offers a broad range of experiences aimed at fostering your success.
PGY-1
| Blocks | Rotation |
|---|---|
| 6 | Inpatient Psychiatry (Including 1 block of Geriatrics) |
| 2 | Neurology |
| 4 | Primary Care |
| 1 | Collaborative Care |
PGY-2
| Blocks | Rotation |
|---|---|
| 4 | Inpatient Psychiatry (Including 1 block of Geriatrics) |
| 2 | Child and Adolescent Psychiatry |
| 1 | Addiction Psychiatry |
| 4 | Consultation/Liaison Psychiatry |
| 1 | Emergency Psychiatry |
| 1 | Forensic Psychiatry |
PGY-3
| Blocks | Rotation |
|---|---|
| 13 | Outpatient Psychiatry |
PGY-4
| Blocks | Rotation |
|---|---|
| 2 | Inpatient Psychiatry |
| 2 | Senior Resident Consultation/Liaison |
| 1 | Senior Resident Addiction Psychiatry |
| 1 | Neuropsychiatry |
| 7 | Electives |
Your fourth year of residency is designed to prepare you for your transition to practice. You will do rotations in the core clinical areas of Inpatient, Consultation-Liaison, and Addiction Psychiatry. You also are given considerable autonomy on these rotations and are often assigned to work with residents and/or medical students. There are seven blocks of electives, which include options in:
- Sleep Health
- Interventional Psychiatry (ECT, TMS)
- Neurology
- Palliative Care
- Sindecuse Student Health Center (WMU)
- Kalamazoo Psychiatric Hospital
- Teaching
- Ethics
Throughout the year, PGY-4 residents continue to see a reduced caseload of patients in the Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic for eight hours each week. This affords the opportunity to follow selected patients longitudinally for as long as two years.
Psychotherapy Training
Residents begin to learn psychological theories in their PGY-1 and PGY-2 year with didactic instruction about supportive psychotherapy and interaction with the faculty psychologists at complex case discussions. In the PGY-3 year, psychiatric resident class didactics focus on learning Interpersonal Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Psychodynamic Psychotherapy. Psychotherapy training is most intensive in the third year. Each resident carries a caseload of up to six psychotherapy patients and they receive weekly individual supervision with a licensed clinical psychologist where they learn to apply therapy skills to their therapy patients. At the end of the third year, each resident provides a capstone presentation of one psychotherapy case. By direct instruction and in collaboration with clinic psychologists, the residents become well informed about therapeutic modalities and how to apply brief therapy interventions in their psychiatric outpatient practice. Many residents elect to continue psychotherapy cases and weekly psychotherapy in their fourth-year clinic schedule.
Conferences
We have a rich assortment of case-based conferences, discussion groups, and lectures. Some are multi-disciplinary to enhance your knowledge and sharpen your clinical skills.
Conference Schedule
Tuesday
Inpatient Complex Case Conference (weekly): PGY-1 and PGY-2 residents take turns presenting cases they’ve worked up from the inpatient unit and faculty members lead a discussion with residents and medical students about the presentation, assessment, and treatment.
Wednesday
Psychiatry Grand Rounds (first Wednesday of the month): Faculty, senior residents, and outside guest speakers provide presentations on a variety of topics for a multi-disciplinary audience.
Psychiatry Morbidity and Mortality Discussion (second Wednesday of the month in the fall): PGY-3 residents lead formal presentations identifying adverse outcomes and analyze the possible causes, and prevent repetition of errors leading to complications.
Psychiatry Clinical Case Conference (second Wednesday of the month in the spring): PGY-1 residents and faculty provide formal presentations of interesting and challenging cases followed by a multi-disciplinary discussion among audience participants.
Psychiatry Journal Club (third Wednesday of the month): PGY-2 residents take turns presenting a summary of a current journal article of their choosing followed by discussion among residents, faculty, and medical students. The discussion includes an assessment of research design and methodology.
NOTE: Week of the month each type of presentation occurs subject to change based on scheduling needs
Resident Group Lecture (weekly): Lecture on a variety of topics relevant to psychiatry training.
Individual Class Lecture (weekly):
- PGY-1 – Emphasis on psych evaluation and DSM
- PGY-2 – Emphasis on specialty areas: geriatrics, child and adolescent, psychotherapy, consults
- PGY-3 – Psychotherapy
- PGY-4 – Transition to practice
Friday
Outpatient Complex Case Conference (weekly): PGY-3 residents take turns presenting cases they’ve worked up from the outpatient clinic and a faculty member leads a discussion with residents about the presentation, assessment, and treatment.