Specialty Tracks

The Psychiatry Residency Program features two optional, specialized tracks, one which places extra emphasis on research training and another on medical education.

Research Track

For psychiatry residents who are committed to developing careers as physician-scientists, the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences offers a Psychiatry Resident Research Program funded by a National Institute of Mental Health R25 grant. The research program provides career and research mentoring and maximizes time for research while allowing trainees to complete all ACGME-required clinical rotations.

Timeline
During the first two years of residency, research residents identify career and research mentors and create an individualized development plan and research proposal. Participants have elective time during PGY-1 (up to 10 percent) and PGY-2 (up to 20 percent) to gain experience and exposure in their area of interest and to develop their plans for the PGY3-4 years. In the PGY-3 year, research residents devote up to 40-50 percent of their time to research and their clinical experiences align with their research area of interest. In the PGY-4 year, research residents devote up to 60-70 percent of their time to research and engage in longitudinal clinics that support their research.

Curriculum
Research program residents attend a monthly research seminar series that supports psychiatry residents with research interests in developing skills in research design and presentation, networking, and manuscript and grant preparation. Research program residents also receive supplemental funds for travel to attend meetings, publication costs and supplies. All psychiatry residents in the research program take the Responsible Conduct of Research course. Additional specialized didactic training is available to meet the specific needs of individual research track residents. Overall, the Psychiatry Resident Research Program is flexible and designed to adapt to meet the research needs of the trainee.

Research Track Contact

Evan Goulding, MD, PhD
Director, Research Track
evan.goulding@nm.org

For more information and application procedures, please visit the Starzl Academy's Physician Scientist Training Program page.

Clinician Educator Track

Our newly created Clinician Educator Track aims to prepare residents for careers in academic psychiatry. This track emphasizes a series of specialized educational activities, mentorship, and scholarly projects aimed at developing skills in clinical teaching, didactic education, curriculum development, implementation and dissemination of medical education interventions, learner assessment, and educational program evaluation in both undergraduate and graduate medical education. 

Timeline
Psychiatry residents are invited to apply to our Clinician Educator Track after acceptance into the McGaw Medical Education Clinical Scholars Program, a two-year competency-based medical education program that provides McGaw trainees with training in educational theory, curriculum design, and teaching in a variety of settings. Residents can apply to the McGaw Medical Education Clinical Scholars Program at the end of their PGY-1 year. 

Curriculum
Clinician Educator Track residents work with a longitudinal faculty mentor in the psychiatry department to develop a portfolio of medical education projects, identify opportunities for direct observed teaching, and participate in mentorship around career development. With access to the diverse training programs housed in our department, residents design and implement medical education projects that advance educational outcomes for medical students, residents, and other trainees while honing their skills as medical educators. 

Track Components: 

• Complete the McGaw Medical Education Clinical Scholars Program concurrently with Clinician Educator Track activities below. 
• Work with longitudinal faculty mentor to develop portfolio of medical education projects. 
• Participate in monthly department medical education workshops. 
• Use protected time to implement curriculum in clerkship or other department training programs. 
• PGY-2 residents may use elective time to work on a medical education project. 
• PGY-3 residents may teach clinical psychiatry skills to third-year medical students in one half-day per week faculty outpatient clinic. 
• PGY-4 residents may spend up to 30 percent of their elective time on medical education activities, including junior attending rotations leading acute care training teams, supervising trainee clinics, and/or conducting scholarly medical education work. 
• Complete directly observed teaching and implement feedback to hone teaching skills under the guidance of faculty mentor. 

Clinician Educator Track residents are expected to submit a scholarly project to a national medical education meeting and to submit a medical education paper for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Funding may be available to support attendance at a medical education meeting PGY-3 and PGY-4 years. 

Clinician Educator Track Contact

Kaitlyn Kunstman, MD
Clinician Educator Track Director
k-kunstman@northwestern.edu

To apply to the McGaw Medical Education Clinical Scholars Program, please visit McGaw's website.