There are several different pathways through our program:
Traditional Track – Residents without prior residency training start at the PGY1 level and complete 4 years of training.
Advanced Track – Residents who have had least one year of prior residency experience start at the PGY1 level and graduate at the end of the PGY3 level. They are compensated as PGY2-4s, depending on prior experience and with approval from ABPN.
Clinical Educator Track – Residents enter this track as PGY2s in order to develop their skills as educators via mentorship and developing an education innovation project.
Rural Public Health Track – Through a grant from the Wisconsin Department of Human Services, we were able to expand our residency and to offer a Rural Public Health Track. This track allows resident in their PGY1-4 years to pursue a number of activities around the state, with the goal of learning how to provide mental health care to underserved populations around the State of Wisconsin.
All tracks fulfill American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology requirements for certification in general psychiatry.
Residency
The Clinical Educator Track is designed to provide educational training for residents interested in academic medicine, teaching, and leadership in medical education. This focused program offers faculty mentorship, teaching opportunities, and the change to develop a scholarly educational project addressing a real need in psychiatric training or practice.
Residents apply at the beginning of PGY2 and work closely with a faculty mentor throughout the program. Each participant designs and completes a project that contributes to the field of medical education. This may culminate in presentations at local or national conferences. Residents may use available elective time to further their project and are eligible for travel funding to support academic presentations.
By the end of the track, residents will have gained valuable experience in curriculum development, educational research, and leadership, preparing them for future roles as clinician educators or academic administrators.
Shuchi Kapoor, DO, former psychiatry resident, discusses the importance of cultural competency in psychiatry. She also describes educational opportunities for residents and fellows, what led her to join the Clinical Educator Track, and her Clinical Educator Track project.
Background
The demand for mental health services, especially in rural and underserved areas of Wisconsin is very high. A 2009 survey of Wisconsin hospitals found that mental health services are nearly inaccessible for 42% of individuals with commercial insurance, 60% of individuals with Medicaid, and 69% of individuals with no insurance. Most counties in the State of Wisconsin have been designated Wisconsin Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas.
The goal of the track is to train psychiatrists who are prepared to address the mental health needs of people in underserved rural areas across the State of Wisconsin.
The Rural Public Health Track (Rural PHT) will include clinical experiences in a variety of practice settings located in rural Wisconsin counties. Rural PHT residents work with psychiatrists in rural community behavioral health centers, federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), safety net hospitals, and other practice models.
Design
Residents interested in the Rural PHT will be identified during the PGY1 year.
During the PGY1 year, Rural PHT residents will complete a rural ambulatory medicine rotation, replacing one month of medicine rotations.
During the PGY2 year, Rural PHT residents will have an outpatient psychiatry continuity clinic at one of our rural partner sites. Some residents may have an outpatient child-adolescent continuity clinic.
During the PGY3 and PGY4 years, there are a variety of other rural rotation sites with opportunities to tailor the curriculum to allow for a variety of other experiences.
Resources
As part of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services grant that funds the Rural PHT, these residents will be reimbursed for housing and travel expenses related to participation in rural rotations, as well as educational conferences related to rural mental health practice.