Do you guys think psych residencies are too long, too short, or just right?

[carlosc1dbz]

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I was thinking about residency lengths and it seems with fellowship, psych is a pretty long residency choice. Going back to the original question though, should psych be a 3 year residency like family, internal, OB, or peds? I am a big fan of short residencies, but not it it affect the quality of the education. Is 4 years a good amount of time to get a good skill set for the field? And would Family, Peds, OB, and IM benefit from having an extra year like psych? I am interested in your opinions.

 

[whopper]

It's a very broad question. Some programs I can see being 3 years if they are intense and the work-hours long. In several programs, the hours ease-off tremendously after 2nd year.

No matter what, and I believe this is true in almost any field of medicine, as a first year attending, there will still be cases you have not seen, or have not seen much. You will still need to occasionally consult with your colleagues on some strange cases.

 

[carlosc1dbz]

It's a very broad question. Some programs I can see being 3 years if they are intense and the work-hours long. In several programs, the hours ease-off tremendously after 2nd year.

No matter what, and I believe this is true in almost any field of medicine, as a first year attending, there will still be cases you have not seen, or have not seen much. You will still need to occasionally consult with your colleagues on some strange cases.

Some doctors I have spoken to, not in psych tell me that they think the 80 hour rule affects the residents education, and thus they should extend all residencies one year to make up for it, especially if they impose a 70 hour rule. Maybe they are just mad that we dont go over 100 hours.

 

[loveoforganic]

I've generally seen that expressed by surgeons.

Obviously, I haven't been through even M1 year, but I feel like if you can't adequately train someone in ~15,000 on duty hours, following 4 years of medical school, the training has to be somewhat inefficient, yes?

 

[michaelrack]

Having done a medicine/psych combined residency, I think psychiatry could be shorter- the amount of info in a psych residency is less than other specialties such as IM or neuro. In my opinion, the main justification for the current length of psych residency is longitudinal experience, especially with psychotherapy.

 

[carlosc1dbz]

Having done a medicine/psych combined residency, I think psychiatry could be shorter- the amount of info in a psych residency is less than other specialties such as IM or neuro. In my opinion, the main justification for the current length of psych residency is longitudinal experience, especially with psychotherapy.

How long is that combined residency? I find that to be a really cool mix. Do you practice in both or mostly in one?

 

[rtennis18]

I think that psychiatry residency could definitely be 3 years instead of the current 4 years. In many programs, the 4th year is mostly elective time to broaden knowledge in psychiatry, to pursue research interests and to gain further experience in psychotherapy. For those going into child psychiatry, most of those residents will elect to fast-track and transition directly into child fellowship after the 3rd year of adult psychiatry residency.

 

[maranatha]

Having done a medicine/psych combined residency, I think psychiatry could be shorter- the amount of info in a psych residency is less than other specialties such as IM or neuro. In my opinion, the main justification for the current length of psych residency is longitudinal experience, especially with psychotherapy.

Right, and I think this is absolutely why it should continue to be 4 years, with an option of adding a year for those who want more extensive psychotherapy training. I'm finishing my adult training after 3 years to enter the C&A fellowship, but I plan on seeing primarily child and adolescents and will get another 2 years.

IMO, the only way to shorten the training would be to cut out most psychotherapy. However, that would be a great disservice to the field.

 

[michaelrack]

How long is that combined residency? I find that to be a really cool mix. Do you practice in both or mostly in one?

5 years. I did a 1 year sleep fellowship afterwards and now do mostly sleep. If I wan't doing sleep, I would be doing mostly psychiatry

 

[mishavrach]

I think that psychiatry residency could definitely be 3 years instead of the current 4 years. In many programs, the 4th year is mostly elective time to broaden knowledge in psychiatry, to pursue research interests and to gain further experience in psychotherapy. For those going into child psychiatry, most of those residents will elect to fast-track and transition directly into child fellowship after the 3rd year of adult psychiatry residency.

Possibly even 2 years but only after at least 2-3 years of PC residency (peds, fam. practice, int. medicine), like for all the other sub-specialties (if interested in psychotherapy, one can pursue a psychotherapeutic fellowship). A similar scheme already exists in triple-board cert. program (peds, adult and child psych)

 

[Faebinder]

I think psych could definately be crunched into 3 years. If in the future, great discoveries are made, then we got plenty of room to expand in the four years. The 80 hour rules has not hindered the learning, just cut a lot of potential scut.

 

[carlosc1dbz]

I think psych could definately be crunched into 3 years. If in the future, great discoveries are made, then we got plenty of room to expand in the four years. The 80 hour rules has not hindered the learning, just cut a lot of potential scut.

Hey cool, Byakuya. That avatar is really cool. Anyway, it seems that people are torn between 3 and 4, some saying 3 is fine and others saying 4 is good because it lets you practice more. I wonder if Family medicine would feel the same way if they were 4 years.

I think its pretty cool that you can start a fellowship after the 3rd year. That is very encouraging. I wouldnt mid that.