Curriculum & Schedules

Residents have protected didactic time one afternoon per week (12-4pm). Didactics are offered in 12-week blocks with reserved time every week for a brown bag lunch during which residents across all four years have the opportunity to socialize and discuss with the residency leadership team.

PGY1 &PGY2

The first and second-year residents are paired up for didactics. The first and second-year didactics focus on essentials of clinical psychiatry and include sessions on the Introduction to Psychiatric Care, Introduction to Residency, Practice, Clinical Skills, Diagnostic formulation and Assessment, Fundamentals of psychopharmacology, Emergency psychiatry, Neuroanatomy, Neurophysiology and Neuroscience. We include specific domains of psychiatry such as Forensics, Addiction, Sexuality, Therapy modalities, as well as Systems-based practice. Reproductive psychiatry is also introduced and yearly PRITE reviews done.

PGY3 & PGY4

The third and fourth-year residents are also paired up for didactics. Their didactics consists of Advanced clinical psychopharmacology, Advanced therapy practice:psychodynamic, dialectical behavioral, and cognitive behavioral therapies, Neurology: sleep, neurocognitive disorders and neuropsychology, History of psychiatry, Ethics in practice, Integrative psychiatry, Reproductive psychiatry, Interventional psychiatry, Transition to career, and Quality Improvement. The fourth year residents also have didactic blocks focused on preparing for their initial board certification.

Across all four years, we weave the following topics into the curriculum:structural & cultural competency, advocacy, leadership and interprofessionalism, managing conflict, and improving communication.

As a resident, you may choose to engage in clinical electives in a number of specialized areas and sites:

• Addiction (UMMC or VA)
• Center for Sexual Health (UMMC)
• Community-based Ambulatory Psychiatry (CUHCC, various community and rural sites)
• Consult-Liaison (multiples sites including Primary Care and OB clinics)
• ECT (UMMC)
• Geropsychiatry (VA)
• Neuromodulation/Interventional Psychiatry
• Palliative Care
• Perinatal Psychiatry (Hennepin County Medical Center, Abbott Northwestern Hospital or UMMC)
• Primary Care/Mental Health Integration (VA)
• PTSD (VA)
• Public/Forensic (Anoka or St. Peter)
• Sleep Medicine (VA & Southdale)
• Psychotherapy
  • Family Psychoeducation
  • Family Therapy, Anxiety Interventions
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
  • Cognitive Processing
  • Prolonged Exposure
  • Time-Limited Psychodynamic Therapy
  • Motivational Interviewing
  • DBT

We are committed to offering a strong education in evidence-based psychotherapy. We emphasize that all interactions we have with our patients are an important ground for learning about and applying patient-centered psychotherapy principles. 

PGY-1
First year residents learn basic principles of psychotherapy to apply to their inpatient work, including motivational interviewing and common factors of psychotherapy.
 

PGY-2
PGY-2s begin their formal psychotherapy training in the outpatient clinic, receiving individual and group supervision while providing weekly Supportive Psychotherapy to two patients weekly. Didactics include:
    •    Introduction to Psychotherapy
    •    Motivational Interviewing (MI)
    •    Supportive Psychotherapy
    •    Psychodynamic Theory
    •    Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
    •    Family Therapy
    •    Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
    •    Cultural Competency
    •    Spirituality
 

PGY-3
PGY-3 residents continue their psychotherapy education with a focus on CBT and psychodynamic psychotherapy. Each resident carries two CBT and two psychodynamic patients during the year, along with medication management patients and one Family Therapy case. Residents also complete a four-month Group Psychotherapy rotation. Additional trainings in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) and Individualized Resiliency Training (IRT) are also offered. 
 

PGY-4
In the PGY-4 year, residents continue with their long term outpatient psychotherapy cases, with a focus on psychodynamic work. PGY-4s may also pursue a range of additional psychotherapy elective experiences.

As a resident, you will have the opportunity to participate in both required and optional scholarly work.

Required: All residents are required to participate in Morbidity and Mortality Conference, Complex Case conference, Journal Club, and Grand Rounds. All senior residents will present to junior residents during didactics with support from faculty, and all residents will work with medical students. During the dayfloat rotation of PGY2, the resident will be required to plan and execute educational offerings for the medical students on inpatient psychiatry. 
All residents will participate in our research fluency curriculum.

Optional: Residents may participate in a staged research program over the course of four years in training, which would culminate in a publishable project by the end of training. Residents in the program would work with a UMN mentor on meeting milestones annually before progressing to the next stage. Residents who meet their milestones may be eligible for research elective time in PGY4. 
All residents have the opportunity to work with faculty on projects and may be included in poster presentations or publications. 
All residents have the opportunity to present at M&M and Complex Case conference. Residents are also invited to have lunch with our Grand Rounds speakers.

• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• Addiction Medicine
• Addiction Psychiatry
• Forensic Psychiatry
• Geriatric Psychiatry
• Neuromodulation Medicine

A key goal of our residency program is to support the development of future psychiatric leaders for Minnesota and beyond. We are always eager to learn about your leadership goals and to develop individualized opportunities for you to grow these skills.   

Chief Resident: the Chief Resident role is held by a PGY-4 resident, chosen by the Program Director and co-residents, who has demonstrated educational, mentorship, and/or administrative leadership strengths and interests. We are planning on expanding additional leadership opportunities for all senior residents– stay tuned!

University of Minnesota Medical School Residency Leadership Academy  
The Medical School’s Resident Leadership Academy provides training for residents to broaden their leadership skills as they move towards their professional goals. Its mission is to foster teamwork and collaboration to drive mutual accountability within the Medical School and across departments and disciplines. Another goal is to facilitate the development and recruitment of physicians capable of becoming highly effective organizational leaders in the Medical School.

Residents are able to participate in the Resident Leadership Academy (RLA) during their 3rd year of training. They are nominated by their department and selected by a committee. There are typically (2) active and highly engaged residents selected from the Psychiatry Residency to participate in the RLA. Please reach out to Dr. Kay Powell, one of the APDs, or the Program Administrator with any questions. Learn more.

Individualized Leadership Apprenticeship Experiences
We are ready to design individualized elective and apprenticeship experiences based on your unique leadership interests. These can include working with the Vice-Chair for Clinical Affairs to learn about healthcare system leadership; working with one of the Department Councils – Clinical, Education, or Inclusive Excellence – to understand the operational needs of the department’s mission areas; or serving on Task Forces and QI projects. Please let Department Chair Dr. Sophia Vinogradov know if you have these interests.