Curriculum & Schedule

The Psychiatry Residency program at Metropolitan is deeply committed to delivering the highest quality of psychiatric academic training. Across multiple years and disciplines, our program creates an enriching learning environment that is tailored to meet the diverse needs of our students. The curriculum provides hands-on experiences and mentorship that foster excellence and leadership in the field of psychiatry.

PGY-1 Psychology Residents

The focus of this 1^st year is to establish core skills as a physician and psychiatrist in training.

Clinical Rotations

• Internal Medicine: 3 months
• Medical Emergency Department: 1 month
• Inpatient Psychiatry: 5 – 6 months (includes 1 month of Geriatric Psychiatry)
• Night Float – Inpatient: 6 – 8 weeks (in 2-week blocks)
• Psychiatry Emergency Department: 4 weeks

Didactic Experience

PGY 1 residents attend lectures on Mondays and Thursday afternoon, combined with the PGY 2 residents. They also attend NYMC Grand Round Series (virtually) as well as Wednesday mornings Case Conference or Journal Club conferences with all PGY levels.

Sample of Lecture topics: Interviewing

Call Responsibility

When on IM and EM rotations, on-call is per those services. Weekend overnight coverage is provided by the NF team; consisting of a PGY 1 and PGY 2.

PGY-2 Psychology Residents

The second year is a time to begin integrating one’s identity as a psychiatrist.  An important clinical focus is to ensure that residents gain confidence in the care of acute psychiatric patients.  It includes a wide range of psychopathology in settings that teach focused, acute interventions.

Clinical Rotations

• Neurology: 2 months (in 4 2-week blocks)
• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Clinic: 2 months (in 4 2-week blocks)
• Consultation Liaison Psychiatry: 1 – 2 months
• Substance Abuse (CATCH Team): 1 month (in 2 2-week blocks)
• Inpatient Psychiatry: 2 – 4 months
• Emergency Psychiatry: 4 weeks (in 2-week blocks)
• Night Float: 8 weeks (in 2-week blocks)

Didactic Experience

PGY 2 residents attend lectures on Mondays and Thursday afternoons, combined with the PGY 1 residents. They also attend NYMC Grand Round Series (virtually) as well as Wednesday mornings Case Conference or Journal Club conferences with all PGY levels.

A sample of lecture topics: Psychotherapy topics

Call Responsibility

Weekend calls: Sat-Sun 12-hour shifts; 2 residents cover these calls. Senior residents cover Psychiatry Emergency and Junior residents cover Inpatient.

PGY-3 Psychology Residents

This year is designed to significantly broaden and deepen one’s psychiatric abilities. The year is spent in our Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic. The clinic consists predominantly of ambulatory psychiatric experiences in a variety of general and specialty settings. Priorities in this year include adding to and honing skills in pharmacotherapies and psychotherapy.

Clinical Rotations

• Outpatient Psychiatry: 12 months (Clinic and Walk-In Evaluation Unit)

Didactic Experience

PGY 3 residents attend lectures Monday and Thursday mornings. They also attend NYMC Grand Round Series (virtually) as well as Wednesday morning's Case Conference or Journal Club conferences with all PGY levels.

A sample of lecture topics: Psychotherapy

Call Responsibility

Weekend and Holiday Calls

PGY-4 Psychology Residents

This is a year for consolidation, mastery, leadership and exploration as the resident approaches graduation and prepares for transition to practice or fellowship training.

Clinical Rotations

• Outpatient Clinic (4-6 blocks)
• Electives (2 months)
• Completion of any requirements that were not met in the 1^st 3 years (4-6 months).

Didactic Experience

• NYMC Grand Rounds
• Journal Club and Case Conference lectures
• Provide teaching to medical students
• Board Prep

A sample of lectures topics: Various topics

Call Responsibility

• Weekend and Holiday Calls
• Moonlighting opportunities

Services Overview

Call Responsibilities

Residents at the program handle call duties on weekends and holidays in 12-hour shifts. They work in pairs, with the senior resident overseeing the Psychiatric Emergency Department and the junior resident managing inpatient services. These shifts are Saturday 8 AM to 8 PM, Saturday 8 PM to Sunday 8 AM, and Sunday 8 AM to 8 PM.

Additionally, there's a Night Float system covering weeknights, staffed by PGY 1 and PGY 2 residents, typically on a two-week block. PGY 3 and PGY 4 residents might also take on a week of Night Float annually if needed. Throughout these periods, an attending is always present for supervision and guidance.

Curriculum

Structured weekly, the curriculum is tailored for each PGY level, covering subjects such as Psychotherapy, Psychiatry Review, PRITE preparation, Evaluation, Interviewing, Psychopharmacology, among others. Classes are scheduled from 8 AM to 9 AM, Monday through Friday.

Schedule

Academic Engagement and Scholarly Development

ACGME requires scholarly activity from each resident. All residents are expected to be involved in scholarly activities, under the guidance of faculty. Every resident is scheduled for a variety of presentations throughout the year, including case conferences, Journal Club discussions, and general topic reviews as part of the Psychiatry Resident In-Training Examination (PRITE) and American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) certification preparation. All graduating residents are required to present at least one Grand Rounds lecture. Residents are encouraged and assisted in submitting their original scholarly activities for presentation at national and international conferences, local research competitions, and publication. Typical original projects include a novel case presentation (with discussion), literature review, quality improvement studies, and retrospective and prospective case reviews.

In our program, each resident must:

• complete at least one original project which you will present at a Grand Rounds. Your project can be a topic literature review or original research.
• present at least one case conference per year
• one journal article review per year 
• be involved in at least one on-going department research study group, which could result in one or more completed projects

Many residents develop interesting cases into poster presentations for outside conferences and competitions and/or journal submissions.

Psychiatry Residency Research

The Psychiatry Residency program has introduced a structured approach to research training during residency. Under the leadership of Dr. Andrea Bulbena-Cabre, MD, PhD, FAFA, a new division within the Psychiatry Department has been established. While this division takes shape, the program is committed to offering residents valuable opportunities for honing their research skills in the realms of psychiatry and neuroscience. Residents will receive formal training on research methodology, including basic statistics, study designs, IRB approval process, funding sources, and protocol revisions. What sets this program apart is its commitment to fostering collaboration. Residents will have the privilege of engaging in research partnerships with esteemed institutions such as New York Medical College (NYMC) and NYC Health and Hospitals (Central Office), as well as other esteemed departments within the hospital. Every scholarly project undertaken by residents will be expected to be either published or presented at a conference before graduation.

Salary and Benefits

Annual Salaries for Academic Year 2020-2021

• PGY 1: $66,247
• PGY 2: $68,989
• PGY 3: $74,469
• PGY 4: $77,049
• PGY 5: $79,307

Additional Financial Support

• Meal Stipend: $3,500 per year
• $650 per year for medical books, journals, exams, or mobile devices
• $1,500 every three years for medical conference attendance

Other Benefits

Main Medical Benefits are provided by the Hospital. Supplemental coverage provided by the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR) union. (Subject to change and negotiation).

• Medical coverage
• Prescription Drug, Dental, Optical Insurance
• Flexible Spending Childcare (up to $5,000 per year deducted before taxes)
• Life Insurance
• Short Term Disability
• Professional Education Plan

Time Off

Vacation: 20 weekdays per year, subject to approval. Requests for adjacent weekends can be made but are not guaranteed.

Holidays: 11 standard holidays plus one floating holiday annually, with residents scheduled to work 2 holidays each academic year.

Bereavement Leave: Up to 3 days for the loss of an immediate family member.

Personal/Well-being Leave: Up to 2 full days, or 4 half days, which must be scheduled at least 30 days in advance.