Pathways

The Department of Psychiatry encourages trainees to participate in supervised scholarly projects during their residency. All residents receive an annual professional stipend that can be used to fund their attendance at national meetings. Residents accepted to present at national meetings may apply for additional departmental funding. 

For those who are committed to a career in academic psychiatry/medicine, the following pathways or options are also available.

PGY - I:

• Attendance at a conference planned prior to starting here as a PGY-1, that focuses on research (the Department will support two nights and three days) and/or a pre-conference workshop or stand-alone workshop about research skills.  
• Identifying and then beginning to work with a research mentor. 
• Requirement to develop a mentored poster, suitable for submission at the national level.
• Department monthly Journal Club attendance.

PGY- II:

Coursework as necessary, depending on each resident’s background, to further develop research skills required for their projects (an example could be data analysis courses through the Department of Public Health Sciences). In addition:

• The ~8 weeks of elective time would be used for research, including preparing an IRB protocol for research that must begin before or by PGY III. 
• Department monthly Journal Club attendance.

PGY- III and IV: 

• Two possible options:
  1. Requires approval by the ABPN. Split outpatient rotations to occur across both the PGY III and PGY IV, and use elective time for research, resulting in a longitudinal 2-year experience of about half the time in each year for clinical and half the time for research. Paperwork submission to ABPN must occur in about February of the PGY-2 year, and requires denotation of the schedule and of what research will occur during the PGY III & IV. 
  2. Does not require ABPN approval. Uses the elective time for research. This path means essentially about 8 months total research time during PGY III & IV, more of which occurs in PGY IV. 
• For either options the Department may consider funding ($20K) for a mentored research elective during the the PGY III and/or IV. 
• Department Monthly Journal Club attendance

PGY - I:

• Application: Residents interested in the pathway will submit an application during the winter of their PGY-I year.
• The application will include a CV, a personal statement outlining their interest in medical education, and a proposal for an educational project they would like to pursue during their residency. This project should demonstrate an understanding of educational principles and a clear objective. Examples include curriculum development, assessment design, innovative teaching methods, or educational research

PGY- II:

• Medical Education Didactic Series: In August of their PGY-II year, pathway residents will participate in an intensive two-week Medical Education Didactic series.
• Psychopharmacology Teaching: Pathway residents will gain hands-on teaching experience by instructing Psychiatry Clerkship students on Psychopharmacology. This will provide a foundational opportunity to apply didactic learning in a practical setting.
• Peer Teaching Feedback: To enhance teaching skills, residents will receive constructive feedback on their teaching from peers and faculty using a standardized Peer Teaching Feedback assessment. They will also be expected to provide similar feedback to other residents participating in the pathway, fostering a supportive learning community.

PGY- II and III: 

• Assigned Mentorship: Each pathway resident will be paired with an assigned faculty mentor. Mentors will be selected based on their expertise and alignment with the resident's proposed educational project and target learners (e.g., medical students, junior residents, interprofessional teams).
• Educational Project Development: Residents will work closely with their mentors to develop and implement their proposed educational project. 
• Conference Presentation: Residents will be expected to submit an abstract based on their educational project to a national conference relevant to medical education or psychiatry before the end of their training.

• Problem Based Learning (PBL) Tutor: As with all PGY-IV residents, pathway participants will serve as PBL Tutors in the Mind, Brain, and Behavior (MBB) course for medical students.
• Additional Teaching Responsibilities: Beyond the standard PBL tutoring, pathway residents will take on additional teaching responsibilities tailored to their interests and the program's needs. This could include leading small group sessions, developing and facilitating lab exercises, or delivering lectures.
• Clinician Educator Mentorship: Pathway residents may also be paired with a more junior resident (e.g., a PGY-I applying to the pathway) to act as their Clinician Educator Mentor, guiding them through the initial stages of their own educational project and pathway participation.

URMC residents have a unique opportunity to pursue advanced degrees through University of Rochester-affiliated programs, further enriching their educational experience. Despite the rigorous nature of our residency, many have successfully utilized the tuition benefit, which currently covers 95% of tuition costs (up to two courses per semester) and offers flexible timelines to fit the demands of training. In recent years, several psychiatry residents have completed master’s degrees in Education, Medical Management, Health Humanities & Bioethics, family therapy and systemic approaches.