Education

Gary Swanson, M.D., Program Director

Length of program: 4 years
Number of position(s): 16

The educational mission of the four-year Psychiatry Residency Program has two main components:

• To train residents to accurately and efficiently diagnose and treat patients with psychiatric and behavioral disorders using a biopsychosocial approach
• To foster critical thinking and leadership skills

Mastery of these skills enhances the residents' chances of success in whatever type of position they may choose after graduation, whether it be private practice, research, academics and/or administrative work. Most graduates go on to become clinical psychiatrists who practice in a variety of settings.

The content of the clinical and didactic work in the training program is intentionally eclectic. When residents graduate, they have had the requisite training to be proficient in the following areas with any patient:

• Accurate diagnosis
• Biopsychosocial formulation that identifies possible etilogies of symptoms
• Formulation of a treatment plan that includes any necessary medical evaluation, appropriate psychotherapies, and community, family and social interventions.
• Psychopharmacologic treatments
• A variety of psychotherapeutic interventions, including supportive, cognitive, behavioral, psychodynamic and group treatments

PGY-1 comprises a minimum of four months in General Internal Medicine and two months in Neurology both at AGH. A PGY-1 residents may request Family Practice, Pediatrics or Emergency Medicine rotations in place of some or all of the months in Internal Medicine. They may request more time in General Internal Medicine or Neurology and can use elective time for this purpose. These rotations occur on inpatient wards and psychiatry interns are expected to function on par with medicine and neurology interns. The remaining six months of the year are spent on the General Adult inpatient unit at Forbes Regional Campus (FRC).

During PGY-2, residents rotate for three months on the Emergency Psychiatry Service at FRC. They also spend three months in the Intensive Partial Hospital Program at AGH. Residents rotate through the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System (Highland Drive) on either the Schizophrenia Research Unit or Mood Disorder Unit for two months. They spend an additional two months on Consultation-Liaison and two months in child psychiatry at Wesley Spectrum Acute Partial Hospital Program.

The major focus of PGY-3 training is Adult Outpatient Psychiatry. This program provides outpatient evaluation and treatment for patients with a wide range of emotional and behavioral problems, including those that arise in the context of medical illnesses. The multidisciplinary staff provides pharmacological management, interpersonal therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapies, psychodynamic therapies, family therapy and group therapy. Residents are responsible for a caseload of 40 to 50 patients, providing psychotherapy and medication management. Residents also rotate one day a week at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, providing outpatient treatment on the PTSD, Schizophrenia and/or Mood Disorder Services. Residents also have an opportunity to provide short term psychodynamic psychotherapy in the student mental health clinic of Carnegie Mellon University or to work in a rural community psychiatric clinic.

PGY-4 residents are required to function as senior residents on both the AGH C/L and on the FRC inpatient units. This gives them additional experience in the administrative aspects of running a service or ward. They will also have a one month rotation of forensic psychiatry. There are 7-8 months of elective time scheduled into the training program. Most residents who wish to use their time for clinical work plan electives during the fourth year, but residents are free to use their elective time at any point in their training after the first year.

In addition to the clinical rotations, residents have protected time to attend weekly seminar series, a number of case conferences, Journal Club and weekly Grand Rounds.