Program Curriculum

Rotation Schedule

Inpatient Psychiatry - 4 months
Neurology - 1 month
Primary Care (combination of Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Internal Medicine) - 4 months
Emergency Psychiatry - 2 months
Consult/Liaison Psychiatry - 1 month

Supervisor Inpatient Psychiatry – 1 or 2 months
Inpatient Psychiatry – 1 or 2 months
Geriatric Inpatient Psychiatry - 1 month
Child and Adolescent Inpatient Psychiatry - 1 month
Emergency Psychiatry - 1 month
Elective - 1 month
Consult/Liaison Psychiatry - 4 months
Neurology Consults - 1 month

UK Outpatient Clinic: Psychopharmacology, Psychotherapy and Addiction
VA Outpatient Clinic: Psychopharmacology and Addiction
UK University Health Services: Psychopharmacology and Psychotherapy
UK Child and Adolescent Outpatient Clinic: Psychopharmacology and Psychotherapy

UK Outpatient Clinic: Psychopharmacology, Psychotherapy and Addiction
UK Adult ADHD Assessment and Treatment Clinic: Psychopharmacology
VA Outpatient Clinic: Psychopharmacology and Addiction
UK University Health Services: Psychopharmacology and Psychotherapy
Research
Electives: Jesse Harris Center, Perinatal Psychiatry, Neurology, Junior Attending Inpatient and Consult- Liaison, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Advanced Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Training at the Cincinnati Center for Psychoanalysis, community based rotation through the VA, outpatient clinic at New Vista (a community Mental Health Canter), Telehealth consults to primary care clinics in rural Kentucky

Individual Supervision

Interns are assigned one individual supervisor and also receive supervision with the attending with whom they are on service.

Each PGY 2 - 4 psychiatry resident chooses two individual faculty supervisors. Resident meets with these faculty supervisors for one hour each per week to discuss cases and other topics related to psychiatry and professional development. One of these supervisors is specifically for psychotherapy.

Group Supervision

All PGY 1 - 4 residents attend get group supervision in various settings depending on rotation and level of training. Other attendees include residents, faculty, therapists, and medical students.

Didactics

Resident lectures and grand rounds occur on Wednesday afternoons. Other faculty and resident-led seminars are held throughout the week during clinical rotations.

The grand rounds schedule includes guest speakers providing the latest information on a wide range of topics. These are held from noon to 1 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month.

Research

We encourage residents to be involved in research and scholarly activity. All residents are required to do a resident peer review in which PGY-2 residents select a patient case for presentation with a faculty discussant. Evidence-based approaches to the clinical problem are presented and discussed with audience participation. Residents also have one half day a week of protected research time during their fourth year and present a research project during the Senior Research Day in June of their last year of residency.

Faculty members in the department are involved in research in addiction, trauma, forensic psychiatry, attachment disorders, as well as other areas of psychiatry. We also have successful research collaborations with the Center on Drug and Alcohol Research, psychology, pediatrics, The Center for Research on Violence Against Women, and the Center on Trauma and Children.

In July 2016, we started a clinical scholars track in our adult residency program that is designed for residents with a strong interest in research and a career in academic psychiatry. Interested residents apply for this program in the second half of their PGY-2 and up to two residents a year are selected by a committee. Residents selected for this track get a half day of protected research time during their third year and a full day of protected research time in their fourth year. They also get additional mentorship in the research and publication process.

Medical Student Teaching

Medical students are an integral part of departmental activities. Residents actively teach students during clinical rotations, in small group seminars and in large lecture classes. Residents are involved in small group learning activities throughout the formal medical school curriculum.

Telemedicine

A variety of telemedicine activities take place in our department. These include outreach to patients in rural areas and in the juvenile justice system through telemedicine clinics, broadcasting of grand rounds and peer review to community mental health centers throughout the state, and resident courses taught by expert teachers at distant sites. Our program received the Award for Creativity in Psychiatric Education from the American College of Psychiatrists in 2002 for our excellence in telemedicine education. Many training conferences for residents and faculty of the department have been available via telemedicine.

Journal Club

Journal Club is held monthly as part of the regular didactics series on Wednesday afternoons. A variety of journal articles are discussed with attention to research methodology and critical reading of the paper.

Psychotherapy Training

Psychotherapy training is an integral part of becoming a psychiatrist. Residents begin doing psychotherapy in their first year of training and become competent in three forms of psychotherapy by the end of training. These include supportive psychotherapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and psychodynamic psychotherapy. Residents also have training in couples, family, and group therapy. Our program has developed a step-wise series of expectations in psychotherapy training with goals to be attained each year of residency. Residents are required to write up summaries of their work in therapy for discussion with supervisors. They can optionally discuss video-recorded psychotherapy sessions with supervisors. Many faculty members see psychotherapy patients actively in their practices and have advanced training and/or experience in psychotherapy.

Psychotherapy Supervision

Close relationships with faculty are one of the strengths of our program. All residents are assigned two individual supervisors and meet with them weekly for one hour. Supervision focuses on a variety of topics. These include general case management, psychotherapy, teaching of special topics, and psychopharmacologic management. One of the residents' two supervisors is a psychotherapy supervisor. Detailed process notes, case summaries, and video-recorded psychotherapy sessions are discussed with this supervisor.

Forensic Education

Multiple educational opportunities in civil, criminal, and correctional settings are available. Residents have the opportunity to participate in psychiatric evaluations and psychological testing of civil assessments with Timothy Allen, MD, and John Ranseen, PhD.

Dr. Allen is an associate clinical professor and director of forensic services in the department of psychiatry. After completing his psychiatry residency at UK, Dr. Allen completed a one-year fellowship in forensic psychiatry at Tulane University in June 2003. He is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in both general psychiatry and forensic psychiatry. In addition to his duties at UK, he is currently a staff psychiatrist at the Kentucky Correctional Psychiatric Center in LaGrange, Ky., where he performs competency and criminal responsibility evaluations for the Commonwealth.

Dr. Ranseen is a voluntary faculty member with extensive experience in neuropsychological and psychological assessment in clinical and forensic settings. He is a nationally recognized expert concerning the American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA) as it applies to mental disabilities. He is a consultant to numerous state bar exam committees and other professional licensing boards in regard to students requesting test accommodations for mental disability based on the ADA.