The Tufts Medicine System, the Department of Psychiatry and the General Psychiatry Residency are all distinguished by three characteristics: A commitment to medical education, a commitment to providing the best possible care to all our patients regardless of their resources or circumstances, and a commitment to each other as a community of healers. Residents are typically attracted to our program because of the warm and diverse nature of the community, and because of the strong and well-balanced training that it offers. Our community offers the mutual support of other residents, close mentoring relationships with faculty, and the opportunity to teach and mentor medical students and lower level residents. The training program has particular strengths in medical and hospital-based psychiatry, in psychotherapy, and in developing physician leadership. Residents enjoy a rare balance of having close supervision coupled with real autonomy in roles of progressive responsibility, fostering the organic growth of their unique identities and skills as psychiatrists.
Residents can expect a broad range of inpatient and outpatient experiences in multiple clinics and hospitals. This includes at least four months on the Consult/Liaison service across Tufts Medical Center, six months on our locked adult psychiatric inpatient unit, two months on the Addictions service, and rotations in child/adolescent, geriatric, forensic, and public psychiatry. Outpatient work starts with a small panel of patients in PGY-2, with outpatient work as the primary focus for PGY-3 and PGY-4. Residents have the ability to follow patients continuously for up to three years of their training, including long term psychotherapy patients. These experiences prepare our residents not only for board examinations, but also for any fellowship or adult psychiatric practice.
Under the direction of Dr. Morehead our residency has been extensively revitalizing its educational curricula. We provide first and second year residents with five to six hours of protected education time each week. As third and fourth year residents, a full day is dedicated to education per week. Didactic courses are wide-ranging and taught by experienced educators including psychiatrists (with training in adult, child and adolescent, addictions, forensics, and reproductive psychiatry), internists, neurologists, psychologists, social workers, and occupational therapists. Courses cover various psychotherapy modalities including ACT, CBT, DBT, family therapy, and psychodynamics. Neuroscience, child and adolescent psychiatry, history of psychiatry, ethics and policy, and Board preparation are a few examples of regular staples to the educational curriculum. Residents are given the opportunity to request topics and to limit courses they do not find educational through feedback to the program director.
Additionally, this program has been designed to be accommodating to those considering a Child and Adolescent Psychiatry fellowship. On request, rotations can be arranged to have completed the necessary rotations and experience required to be eligible for certification by the ABPN (American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology) before transitioning into a fellowship for their PGY-4 year. Many of our graduates have entered CAP fellowships, including our own Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship.
The Psychiatry Residency is led by Dr. Brent Forester Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry; Dr. Daniel Morehead, Adult Psychiatry Residency Program Director; Dr. Carolyn Broudy, Adult Psychiatry Associate Program Director, and Caitlin Bennett, Residency & Education Coordinator.