Department of Psychiatry

Psychiatry Residency Program

Rotations and Didactics

PGY-1 | PGY-2 | PGY-3 | PGY-4 |     All years: Retreats | Grand Rounds | Resident Review Committees

PGY-1 Clinical Rotations

The PGY-1 psychiatry internship is designed to solidify core physician identity, knowledge, and skills and to develop competence in key building blocks of psychiatry: psychiatric interviewing and case presentation, psychiatric diagnoses/DSM-IV, basic psychopharmacology, emergency assessment and crisis stabilization, supportive psychotherapy, and motivational interviewing. 

The PGY-1 year is divided into 4 three-month rotation blocks: 2 blocks of primary care and neurology and 2 blocks of psychiatry (see table).  Residents with an interest in child/adolescent populations may meet a portion of the primary care and neurology requirements at The Children’s Hospital (TCH). 

Outpatient Psychiatry Clinic: The PGY-1 year includes an outpatient psychiatry experience during the psychiatry blocks.  This closely supervised clinic is designed to teach interviewing, diagnostic, and brief psychotherapy skills, and provide residents early exposure to the full range of mental illnesses and functional levels.  

PGY-1 Didactics

PGY-1 residents have 5.5 hours per week of protected didactic time while on psychiatry rotations.  This curriculum is designed to teach core psychiatry knowledge and skills, including:

• Psychiatric diagnosis & DSM-IV
• Diagnosis and management of psychotic disorders, bipolar disorder, substance use disorders
• Basic psychopharmacology
• On-call skills
• Delirium and agitation
• Suicidal patients, crisis intervention/brief treatment models
• Capacity, competency, involuntary mental health treatment
• Psychiatric interviewing, supportive psychotherapy, motivational interviewing
• Introduction to evidence-based medicine
• Introduction to psychotherapy

PGY-2 Clinical Rotations

The PGY-2 year is designed to develop advanced knowledge and skills in complex psychiatric diagnosis, psychopharmacology, and consultation-liaison psychiatry.  It also provides elective training experiences in sub-specialty areas of psychiatry and longitudinal outpatient psychotherapy. 

The PGY-2 year is comprised of rotation blocks varying in length from 1-4 months each, including inpatient psychiatry, consultation-liaison psychiatry, geriatric psychiatry, and electives (see table).  The flexible schedule allows residents some choices and the ability to explore interests, deepen knowledge of a particular sub-specialty, and perhaps refine plans for post-residency fellowship training. 

Supervision: PGY-2 residents have two hours weekly of regularly scheduled individual supervision, one from the primary attending at the inpatient site, and one at their outpatient clinic.

Outpatient Psychiatry Clinic: PGY-2 residents have a year-long, half day per week outpatient psychiatry clinic.  Residents develop longitudinal treatment plans and more advanced psychotherapy skills; some residents co-facilitate psychotherapy groups. 

PGY-2 Didactics

PGY-2 residents have 5.5 hours per week of protected didactic time.  The curriculum is designed to hone knowledge and skills in complex diagnosis, advanced psychopharmacology and treatment planning, and mastery of the brief psychotherapies.  Psychodynamic and developmental perspectives are emphasized, as well.  The didactics include:

• Phenomenology, pharmacology, and psychotherapy of major psychiatric disorders; epidemiology, treatment planning, prognosis
• Neuroscience
• Psychotherapy—brief psychotherapies, DBT, introduction to psychodynamic therapy
• Psychological development and psychopathology
• Ethics, forensic psychiatry, cross-cultural psychiatry
• Research methods, evidence-based medicine
• Emergency, consultation, and psychosomatic psychiatry

PGY-3 Clinical Rotations

The PGY-3 year is an outpatient year, including longitudinal core experiences in outpatient psychiatry, long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy, CBT, DBT, group psychotherapy, child & adolescent outpatient psychiatry, expert consultation/advanced psychopharmacology, and geriatric psychiatry.  Residents have extensive elective options to pursue research & scholarly projects and specialty clinics.  Residents receive 4-5 hours of individual supervision and small-group case conferences each week in the various psychotherapeutic modalities.

PGY-3 Didactics

PGY-3 residents have 6.5 hours per week of protected didactic time.  The curriculum includes a 2-hour per week psychotherapy observation course demonstrating CBT and psychodynamic psychotherapy via video feed with concurrent faculty and resident discussion.  The didactics include:

• Psychotherapy: psychodynamic, group, CBT, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
• Personality disorders
• Evidence-based medicine—interactive case-based seminar
• Child/family psychiatry
• Substance abuse, tobacco cessation
• Personality disorders
• Career planning
• Advanced psychopharmacology case conference

PGY-4 Clinical Rotations

The PGY-4 year is designed to enhance scholarship, leadership, and teaching skills.  Residents usually pursue a chief residency, research project, or in-depth clinical electives to further their individual goals.  Core experiences include a year long experience in longitudinal treatment/advanced psychotherapy and a community mental health center rotation working with a multidisciplinary team treating persons with severe and persistent mental illnesses.  Residents receive 3-5 hours of individual and small-group supervision each week. 

PGY-4 Didactics

The fourth year didactics are seminar format and advance residents’ ability to read and critically appraise the current literature, major theories and controversies in the field, etc.  The didactics include

• Couples/family therapy, eating disorders
• Psychodynamic case conference and applied theory
• Advanced psychodynamic technique
• History of psychiatry
• Pharmacology and biological psychiatry literature seminar
• Public & administrative psychiatry
• Career planning/transition to practice
• Human sexuality, women's health, student mental health

Retreats

The psychiatry residency has an annual fall and spring retreat scheduled September/October and March/April. Residents and fellows are key members on the planning committee for both retreats.   

Our annual fall retreat has traditionally been held at Arapahoe Community College.  All psychiatry residents and psychiatry sub-specialty fellows participate in the fall retreat to get a chance to know each other better across PGY classes and programs.  The spring retreat has been held at Hudson Gardens in Littleton, Colorado.

Past retreat “themes” have included:

• "Connection and Reflection”.  The event featured an inspirational and thought-provoking speech by Dr. Robert Freedman, department chair, on envisioning a future career in psychiatry, competitions among resident teams in psychiatry trivia and how well they know their fellow residents, personal goal setting, and small discussion groups with recent program alumni.   Pictures
  
  
• "Physician Wellness”. The program featured a keynote address by Dr. Michael Gendel, medical director of the Colorado Physicians’ Health Program plus workshops on nutrition, mindfulness, yoga, and exercise.   Pictures
  
  
• "Professionalism". Keynote speaker Dr. Yager explored aspects of professionals and various barriers we encounter. The retreat also featured dramatic role-playing skits by resident teams that touched on some of the complexities of the subject, which was followed by a lively panel discussion. Panelists were several alumni and faculty members, who hosted questions and discussion from residents on a various of situations which posed professionalism concerns. Pictures

Department of Psychiatry Grand Rounds

The Department of Psychiatry offers weekly presentations of recent research, critical reviews of current areas, and clinical case conferences.  Speakers include invited national and international experts, departmental faculty, and psychiatry residents.  Grand Rounds is held weekly September through May, Wednesdays 12:10-1:15 pm. 

Department of Psychiatry Annual Junior Faculty Poster Show

The Department of Psychiatry hosts an annual poster show where medical & graduate students, post-docs, residents, and fellows have the opportunity to present posters of their research to the campus. Judges vote for the best posters from each categories. Winners are present an award and show their poster at grand rounds.

8 residents presented posters of their research at the 2009 poster show.  

Resident Review Committees

The training director meets approximately monthly with each resident class to monitor the educational and professional progress of the residents and the program, address concerns, monitor call and duty hours, and foster communication among residents and between the residents and the training office.