Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences

Welcome

NuHealth offers a well-rounded, fully accredited, four-year Residency Training Program in General Psychiatry that gives residents clinical experience in all areas of psychiatry so as to establish a foundation for future specialization. The educational philosophy of this program emphasizes fundamental mastery of a wide variety of diagnostic and treatment approaches, and an intellectual appreciation of the evidence supporting their use.

The residents, under the guidance and supervision of an experienced faculty, gain clinical expertise in the care and treatment of a diverse patient population. The Department is responsible for more than 3,550 inpatient admissions per year, accounting for more than 35,500 inpatient days. These figures have doubled over the last three years as the Department has expanded to 183 inpatient beds.

The interdisciplinary nature of our clinical department exposes the trainees to a wide range of theories and therapies. The Department is continuously expanding and improving, and, thus, it provides a rich academic and training environment for the residents throughout the four years of training. For example, in the past two years, the Department has added a Substance Abuse Rehabilitation Unit, an additional adult psychiatric unit, and a second Child and Adolescent Inpatient Unit. A Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program (CPEP) is currently under construction. An Outpatient Child and Adolescent Program, and an Outpatient Geriatric Program are currently under development.

The Department is affiliated with the Department of Psychiatry at SUNY Stony Brook School of Medicine, and with the North Shore-LIJ Health System, where cross-training opportunities are available. We also have an American Psychological Association-accredited Clinical Psychology Internship Program.

We welcome your interest in our residency program, and we look forward to seeing you soon.

Constantine Ioannou, MD
Chair

Simarpreet Kaur, MD, MHA
Program Director

Program Description

This fully accredited pro­gram conforms to the requirements of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurol­ogy for board certification in Psychiatry. The achievement of core competencies is stressed. Residents, under the guidance and supervision of experienced faculty, gain clinical ex­pertise in the care and treatment of a diverse patient population. The training program has a strong history of academic presentations at national conferences as well as publications in peer-reviewed journals.

FIRST YEAR (PGY-1 CATEGORICAL)

Ten residents are enrolled in the Categorical First Year, which includes: four months of Internal Medicine, two months of Neurology, four months of Adult In­patient Psychiatry, 1.5 months of Emergency Psychiatry and one month of Addiction Medicine. All training in the first year takes place at Nassau University Medical Centre (NUMC).

• During the Internal Medicine rotation, residents will be working alongside Internal Medicine residents to provide medical care. Residents gain experience in basic medical skills to be able to care for patients with multiple diagnoses as well as medication management.
• During the Neurology rotation, residents work closely with a Neurology attending to see consults throughout the day as well as work in clinic to see patients on an outpatient basis.
• The six (6) week Emergency Psychiatry rotation is closely related to the experience on the inpatient service, since the majority of all admissions are initiated in the Psych ED. It provides an opportunity to view both acute and chronic patients presenting at an earlier stage in the course of their current episode of illness, frequently before any treatment has been provided. This experience hones the resi­dent’s diagnostic abilities.
• The Addiction Psychiatry rotation allows the opportunity to work with patients who are acutely detoxing from substances.

Each resident is supervised directly by the psychiatric faculty to whose service they are assigned. During clinical rotations, the resident interacts with other members of the treatment team, including fellow residents, psychiatric nurses, social workers, psychologists, recreational therapists and medical students. Psychi­atric evaluations and treatment plans are carefully coordinated at daily clinical rounds and team meetings.

In addition to this clinical training component, all PGY-­1 residents receive approxi­mately five hours per week of formal didactic instruction, which includes orientation to psychiatry, basic lectures in psychiatry, complex case conferences, the psychiatric interview course and other educational activities.

SECOND YEAR (PGY-2)

This year of training includes rotations of: three months in Emergency Psychiatry (including 1.5 months of ‘night float’), two months in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, two months in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry, three ­and ­a ­half months in Adult Inpatient Psychiatry (including 1.5 months on the semi-forensic unit) and one month in Geriatric Psychiatry.

• The Child Psychiatry rotation provides the opportunity to observe and perform individualized evaluations of patients (children and adolescents) as part of a multidisciplinary team including but not limited to child psy­chologists and child and adolescent fellows. The resident actively participates in disposition planning and has ongoing contact with families, schools and child agencies whenever indicated.
• The Geriatric Psychiatry rotation is our only ‘off-site’ rotation and is completed at Zucker-Hillside Hospital, which is part of the Northwell Health care system. Residents gain exposure to the comprehensive management of this population and develop skills in electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).
• The Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry rotation allows residents to work alongside a Fellow and Attending to demonstrate clinical competence in the psychiatric care and management of the many types of patients seen in the general medical setting, including special populations on Cardiac and Intensive Care Units, and geriatric, oncology, AIDS, transplant, dialysis, burns center, OB-GYN and terminally ill patients.

In addition to these clinical training components, the PGY-­2 year is one of the core didactic years in the training program. Consequently, the residents receive up to five hours of formal basic didactic curriculum on a weekly basis throughout this year. The curriculum includes courses in psychopathology, psychopharmacology, child psychiatry, psychotherapy, interviewing techniques, and other educational activities. By the end of the PGY-2, residents will have achieved/reached the milestone levels expected for completion of 50% of their training in each of the ACGME core competencies and sub-competencies. This will serve as an important foundation for the third and fourth years of training.

THIRD YEAR (PGY-3)

The third year of training consists of a year-­long, full-­time outpatient training experience under supervision. In the outpatient service, the resident evaluates and treats a group of carefully selected patients under close supervision to gain experience in the various treatment modalities including long-­term psychodynamic psychotherapy, supportive psychotherapy, brief therapy, family and couple’s therapy, group therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy and outpatient pharmacotherapy. An exposure to ambulatory child and adolescent psychiatry is incorporated into this experience.

A balanced didactic curriculum including year-long courses in psychodynamic and cognitive behavioral theories and practice compliments the clinical experiences. Courses in short-­term therapy, family therapy, group dynamics, and crisis intervention are also provided.

FOURTH YEAR (PGY-4)

The final year of training is a time when the residents consolidate the competencies acquired during residency. Residents engage in increasingly independent decision-­making, and are involved in administrative, quality assurance, supervisory and scholarly activities. This year prepares the res­ident for advanced training in psychiatry as well as to practice independently as confident, competent mental health care providers.

Fourth year residents continue their ambulatory experience, (half-­time, year-­long) consolidating understanding of long­-term psychotherapy, chronic psychiatric disorders, ambulatory treatments, rehabilitation and consultation. The remainder of their time is includes elective and selective rotations, the latter providing leadership experience in addiction and acute treatment settings (emergency and inpatient psychiatry). Teaching and clinical supervision of junior colleagues and medical students is a highlight of these rotations. A selection of clinical and research electives are available.

The didactic curriculum for senior residents covers advance classes in the areas of psychotherapy, psychopharmacology, quality improvement, and addiction.

Please click for Department of Psychiatry Program Leaflet

Useful Links

• American Psychiatric Association (APA)
• American Academy of Clinical Psychiatrists
• American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry (AAGP)
• American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN)
• American Psychoanalytical Association (APsaA)
• Association for Academic Psychiatry
• American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law