Didactics
Residents come together on a weekly basis during inpatient psychiatry in PGY1 year and longitudinally throughout the year during PGY2 through PGY4 years for centralized didactics.
Our centralized didactic curriculum seeks to actively engage residents with material pertinent to their year of training and covers a broad spectrum of core knowledge that residents need to become excellent psychiatrists. The use of adult learning principles, such as active involvement from the residents in the learning process and presenting material at the time when the residents are engaged in the issue, is emphasized. Because learning is a collaborative process, resident suggestions about topics to include in didactics are always welcomed, and their active participation in the classroom is routinely expected.
Each didactic year’s curriculum is overseen by a team of Co-Directors who seek to develop and ensure the high quality of our classroom based learning. Below is a summary of our didactic structure and leadership:
PGY 1 Didactics
Co-Directors:
Adrienne Hicks MD
Hannah Roggenkamp MD
Schedule: Tuesdays from 1pm - 4pm during Inpatient Psychiatry Block
PGY1 Didactics provide an introduction to foundational principles of assessment and treatment of psychiatric and substance use disorders most commonly seen by psychiatry interns. Foundational psychiatry lectures emphasize case-based learning and review pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment strategies for the major diagnostic categories of psychiatric illnesses. Substance use disorder lectures utilize a flipped interactive classroom seminar approach to allow for both didactic presentations and sufficient time for discussion and questions. These sessions introduce residents to the fundamentals of diagnostic criteria, clinical interviewing skills, assessment approaches and treatment interventions for different substance use disorders.
PGY2 Didactics
Co-Directors:
Suneel Agerwala MD
Dale Sebastian MD
Schedule: Thursdays 1pm – 5pm
PGY2 didactics offer an extensive and multi-faceted curriculum designed to build on foundational knowledge in neuroscience, psychopharmacology, and psychotherapy while addressing subspecialty areas and social justice in psychiatry.
The year begins with the advanced study of the biopsychosocial case formulation that forms the backbone for the year-long Malcolm Bowers case conference series. This series includes extensive case discussions of complex patients and engages interdisciplinary perspectives to ensure that residents are well prepared for diverse clinical scenarios and advanced practice in psychiatry. At the start of the year, PGY2 psychiatry residents also engage in confidential process groups where they can explore the emotional and psychological challenges of their training. In the psychopharmacology series, residents are introduced to both core concepts in psychopharmacology as well as advanced topics such as the use of clozapine through lectures, workshops, and case based teaching. In the neuroscience foundations series, the curriculum progresses from foundational principles to specific applications in depression, anxiety, social behavior, psychosis, and neurodegeneration. Key sessions include translating neurobiology to psychiatry and brain imaging. The PGY2 psychotherapy training series covers a range of therapy modalities, starting with introductory courses in psychodynamic psychotherapy, the Y Model, and supportive psychodynamics. Advanced sessions include mentalization-based therapy (MBT), good psychiatric management (GPM), and various applications of psychodynamic principles. Additional specialized areas of emphasis within the PGY2 curriculum include geriatric psychiatry and women's mental health as well as a series on forensic psychiatry. Finally social justice and health equity are integral to the curriculum, with dedicated sessions on structural competency, advocacy, and historical perspectives spanning the training year. These are complemented by interactive activities such as neighborhood walkthroughs and in-depth explorations of health equity issues.
PGY 3 Didactics
Co-Directors:
John Cahill MD
Phelan Maruca Sullivan MD
Schedule: Thursdays 8am – 10am
PGY3 didactics expand upon earlier introductions to psychopharmacology and psychotherapy to advance residents' knowledge and sophistication in these areas. Psychopharmacology seminars earlier in the year are designed to encourage the application of residents' preexisting knowledge with opportunities to practice prescribing in role playing and case-based scenarios. Certain high-yield psychotherapies (CBT, DBT, trauma-focused therapy) are highlighted in modality-specific classes, but the majority of the year focuses on subspeciality-specific prescribing and psychotherapy. Topics within each specialty can range from ACT and meaning centered therapy in geropsychiatry to high intensity decision-making in emergency psychiatry to the latest research on medications for substance use disorders. Content-based classes are supplemented in the curriculum by recurring seminars focused on evidence-based medicine via group review of seminal papers in psychiatry, process groups that explore therapeutic alliance and the role of the psychiatrist in their patients' lives, and further exploration of social justice and health equity in psychiatry buildling on concepts learned in the second year.
PGY 4 Didactics
Co-Directors:
Katie Klingensmith MD
Kourtney Koslosky MD
Erica Robinson MD
Schedule: Wednesdays 2-4pm
PGY4 Didactics center the resident’s transitioning role from resident to graduate and practicing psychiatrist. The first half of the year emphasizes career planning through interactive sessions around the development of an effective CV and cover letter, and learning and applying skills in negotiation. Speakers are invited individually and as part of panel discussions to share experiences looking for, obtaining and embodying jobs associated with different career paths (private practices, starting one’s own business after training, working within academic, private and community sectors). Additional emphasis is placed on the development of leadership skills and learning from mentors who have traversed journeys to leadership across different settings, experiences and identities. The second half of the year emphases further advancement of the resident’s clinical skills in psychopharmacology, innovative therapy and interventional treatment modalities, and builds on their development as advocates and leaders in social justice and health equity.