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 or Abbott Northwestern Hospital)
• Primary Care/Mental Health Integration (VA)
• PTSD (VA)
• Public/Forensic (Anoka or St. Peter)
• Sleep Medicine (VA)
• 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 program in evidence-based psychotherapies. We emphasize that all of the interactions we have with our patients are an important ground for learning about and applying psychotherapeutic principles. 

PGY2

PGY2s begin their psychotherapy training in clinic, learning Supportive Psychotherapy one afternoon per week. Psychotherapy didactics during PGY-2 include:

• Introduction to Psychotherapy
• Psychodynamic Theory
• Family Therapy
• Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (with optional weekly study group)
• Cultural Competency
• Spirituality

PGY3

PGY3 residents carry a minimum of two Psychodynamic Psychotherapy patients during the year, in addition to one Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) patient, multiple medical management patients with a CBT focus, and one Family Therapy case. In-depth training in Motivational Interviewing occurs throughout the year. Residents are also required to complete a four-month Group Psychotherapy rotation. Additional training in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) and Interpersonal Therapy (IPT) are also offered. Weekly individual supervision is provided for Psychodynamic Psychotherapy and CBT patients as well as during Family and Group Therapy rotations; group supervision is provided for Motivational Interviewing.  Additional supervision can be arranged for DBT and IPT as well.

PGY4

In the PGY4 year, Supportive, Psychodynamic, CBT, DBT, IPT and Motivational Interviewing cases continue (2-6+ hours per week) with weekly supervision throughout the year. PGY4s 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 PGY2s are required to present during VA Grand Rounds, and all residents will be required to participate in our Quality Improvement curriculum and to help complete one team QI project. All residents will also be asked to participate at least once during their residency in our Morbidity and Mortality conference. By the end of your PGY4 year, you will be asked to complete one other scholarly work that reflects your chosen individualized learning path and/or area of focus. This could include preparation of a poster to present at a regional or national meeting, a local or regional presentation or talk, a journal article, etc.

Optional: we have multiple opportunities for teaching medical students and engaging in near-peer mentoring on many of your rotations. For those of you with research interests or who are committed to the Research Track, you will work with your research mentors to plan for and develop additional scholarly projects.

• 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.   

Thread Leads: PGY-2 residents can apply for a leadership role, working with a faculty mentor, to pursue programmatic improvement and enhancement in one of 5 specific areas (“threads”) that are important for our program. These include:

• Leadership
• Advocacy
• Resident Wellbeing/Social Club
• Psychotherapy
• Diversity and Inclusive excellence.

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.

Resident participants in the Resident Leadership Academy are nominated by their department and selected by a committee. Our department often has active and highly engaged representation in the academy! Dr. Kaz Nelson is the faculty director. 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.