Psychiatry Residency

Orientation

Following the mandatory hospital orientation in June, interns participate in a departmental orientation where they meet with nurse managers, social workers, occupational therapists, admissions coordinators, and other members of the inter-professional teams in the department. They also learn from faculty and senior residents in a “nuts and bolts” series focused on giving them the necessary tools to be successful during their intern year.

Supervision

PGY3 residents have a combination of group and individual supervision in psychodynamic psychotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy each week. Most residents are assigned to work with clinical psychologists from outside the hospital who have extensive experience supervising residents and other trainees. PGY1 and PGY2s closely work with an attending supervisor and senior residents during their rotations. PGY1 and PGY2 residents have supervision in a group format as well as from the attending physician on the service where they are rotating.

Research

Residents are encouraged to pursue scholarly activities including but not limited to: case reports, poster presentations, and original research projects. PGY4 residents are required to complete a scholarly project, which may involve original research but can be met in other ways as well. Residents also participate in quality improvement projects to ensure that they provide optimal care. Residents are encouraged to present at the annual hospital Research Day as well as other venues. The program provides research stipends to those presenting in local or national conferences.

Teaching

Residents have an opportunity to teach medical students and physician assistant (PA) students. Tufts University School of Medicine and Boston University School of Medicine medical students complete their third-year clerkship and PA students from MGH and MCPHS University complete their psychiatry rotation in the department. Through St. Elizabeth’s academic partnership with BU School of Medicine, many of our providers move on to become faculty at BUSM. Residents may also choose to participate in a medical interviewing course for first-year medical students from Boston University as team leaders. Residents are actively involved in supervising students on the inpatient and consult services. In addition, senior residents also have an opportunity to lead didactic sessions on core topics in psychiatry for interns and students. Instruction is provided on how to give feedback to students.

Training in Psychoanalysis

Although the program does not have a formal affiliation with the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute (BPSI), many PGY4 residents choose to participate in their One Year Fellowship one evening per week to enhance their skills in psychoanalysis. Residents are responsible for the course tuition but may be eligible for a scholarship from BPSI.

Call Schedule

Two residents are always on call together to avoid overwhelming a single resident as well as to ensure the highest level of patient care. There will always be a senior resident on call who has completed at least their intern year as well as a junior resident who may be an intern. We have moved from a 24-hour call system to a night float system. With this night float system, a resident will take call overnight six days of the week, 13 hours overnight. PGY1 & PGY2 residents complete a total of two months of night float each year, broken up into 2 week stretches. The PGY3 residents complete a total of one month of night float also broken up into 2 week stretches with adequate time in between each stretch at attend to their outpatient duties. The PGY4 residents complete one week of night float at the beginning of the academic year. In addition to the night float, on average PGY1 – PGY3’s will take between one to two 24-hour Saturday calls a month and one to two 12-hour Sunday calls a month.

Vacation and Time Off

Residents may take 15 vacation days and 5 additional personal days per academic year (total of 20 working days). Residents can request vacation time in increments of no more than two weeks during PGY1 and PGY2, half of the vacation will be assigned and incorporated into the rotation schedule. The other half will be scheduled by the individual resident with the approval of the chief residents. PGY3 and PGY4s have the opportunity to decide when to take vacation in coordination with the chief residents to ensure adequate coverage. Residents may request educational days to attend one conference each year or to take the USMLE examination. Residents are entitled to 12 paid sick days. Residents who require an extended leave of absence will generally need to make up missed time by extending their training period.

Contact for More Information: Tasha Hammock, Program Coordinator, [email protected]