Our didactic curriculum offers a rich, varied experience including lectures, journal clubs, grand rounds, case presentations, assigned readings, experiential learning, and group projects to encourage trainees to learn steadily while supporting them in achieving excellence. During each year of residency, the residents enjoy protected learning time where their clinical duties are covered by on-call providers without interruption.
PGY 1
Introduction to Psychiatric Interviewing and Documentation
This course involves didactic instruction and experiential learning with emphasis on the components and characteristics of psychiatric interviewing and mental status examination. This will include an approach to interviewing individuals with special characteristics such as patients who are hostile, agitated, or paranoid. Approaches for different settings will also be covered. The major theoretical approaches to understanding the patient-doctor relationship will be presented. The psychiatric evaluation components will be covered, especially regarding suicidal and homicidal documentation and risk factor evaluation and mitigation strategies.
Introduction to Therapeutic Concepts
This course will cover historical aspects of psychiatry, HIPPA and patients’ rights, research, cultural competency, emergency psychiatry verbal de-escalation strategies, and spirituality in psychiatry. This course will also involve experiential learning where residents hone their skills in verbal de-escalation techniques. This course also involves instruction on teaching psychiatric concepts to medical students.
Introduction to Psychiatric Disorders and Treatment
This series of lectures occurs during the first year with the purpose of introducing PGY-1 residents quickly to many of the important topic areas in psychiatry. The series will help prepare residents for upcoming experiences in their clinical rotations. Session topics will include an introduction to the psychopharmacology and psychopathology for the most commonly diagnosed major psychiatric disorders and an introduction to the DSM for classification of these disorders.
Neuroscience
This course emphasizes the aspects of neuroscience and neurology that a psychiatrist is likely to encounter. It provides a detailed review of the neurological examination with experiential learning for the residents. This series emphasizes the concepts of brain-behavior relationship, review of neuroanatomy, bedside neuropsychiatry assessment, neuropsychiatric laboratory methodologies (neuropsychiatric testing, EEG, structural and functional imaging), and developing neuropsychiatric formulations.
Introduction to Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
This course is an introduction to psychiatric disorders seen in childhood and adolescence. This includes attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, psychotic disorders, and behavioral disorders. Assessment, diagnosis and management of children in various treatment settings such as inpatient, outpatient, and school are discussed. Treatment options including psychotherapy, family therapy, behavior modification, educational/vocational interventions and psychopharmacologic management are reviewed. This course also covers theories of normal human development from infancy through death. Emphasis will be placed on life transitions in the cognitive, emotional and social domains.
Introduction to Psychotherapy
The beginning of this course provides PGY-1 residents with an introduction to the theories and techniques involved in individual, group, and family settings with a variety of psychotherapy modalities including supportive psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, and psychodynamic psychotherapy. The residents will be able to discuss how they can apply the skills in their patient encounters to enable patient centered behavioral changes.
PGY 2
Introduction to Psychotherapy
This course is a continuation from the PGY-1 didactic curriculum. The latter part of the course during the PGY-2 year will focus on strategies to integrate supportive psychotherapy techniques into their patient interactions. Residents discuss case examples from current rotations where the skills can be utilized, as well as, their individual psychotherapy clinics.
DSM Series
This course utilizes the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5) as the required text. Sessions will be structured around chapters in the text, and residents will be required to read about each topic in advance of the session. Discussions will focus on the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for each disorder, as well as, the uses and limitations of the manual. This course allows for incorporation of actual observed symptomatology with specific diagnostic criteria. This course also covers conditions for further study and cross-sectional cutting.
Psychopharmacology Series
This 12-month course offers didactic instruction to allow for incorporation of actual treatment with specific psychopharmacologic knowledge using Essential Psychopharmacology by Steven Stahl. This course provides instruction on specific mechanisms of actions of psychotropic medications providing enhancement in nuances of psychopharmacologic treatment, building upon information learned in the PGY-1 year, and introducing other less frequently used medication classes. Neuromodulation, chemical neurotransmission, and targets of drug interaction will be reviewed. Investigational medications and areas for future research in psychopharmacology are reviewed. Indications for use, benefits, adverse events, and alternatives to psychopharmacology are also discussed.
PGY 3
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Course
This course spans 8 weeks for the PGY-3 year and offers didactic instruction and experiential learning involving extensive education on the therapeutic approaches with specific forms of CBT including but not limited to: cognitive therapy, behavioral activation, exposure response prevention, flooding, and dialectical behavioral therapy. Each resident is expected to learn and apply CBT specific modalities during their concurrent CBT psychotherapy clinic. The teaching format includes lectures, guided reading, and case discussions.
Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Course
This course spans 8 weeks for the PGY-3 year and offers didactic instruction and experiential learning involving extensive education on the therapeutic approaches in brief and long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy while also treating patients with psychodynamic approaches in their concurrent psychotherapy clinic. The basic theories of psychodynamic psychotherapy and how they can be applied will be covered. An emphasis will be placed on helping residents understand the psychological aspects of medical practice and the doctor-patient relationship. Case centered group discussions are utilized in addition to didactics. Each resident is expected to learn and utilize psychodynamic modalities during their concurrent outpatient psychodynamic psychotherapy clinic while integrating psychopharmacology with psychotherapy.
Advanced Neuropsychiatry
This course offers didactic instruction involving extensive education on recognition of psychiatric symptomatology and treatment in neurological disorders to assist with preparation of neurology knowledge base for the PRITE and American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology Examination. It provides a detailed review of neurological conditions commonly seen in dementia, stroke, seizure disorders, and delirium. It will focus on a review of differential diagnoses and management options.
Advanced Psychopathology
This course offers didactic instruction involving historical overview, neurobiology, intrapsychic and interpersonal aspects, epidemiology, genetics, psychophysiological aspects, phenomenology, applied neuroimaging and neuropathology, phenotypic manifestations, psychopharmacology, psychosocial approaches, prevalence, contributing factors, prognostic indicators, and functional and diagnostic assessments and treatment for all classes of psychiatric disorders. Psychopathology of mood disorders, psychotic disorders, somatoform disorders, factitious and dissociative disorders, grief and bereavement, sexual disorders, gender identity and eating disorders, sleep disorders, personality disorders, sleep medicine, eating disorders, and neurocognitive disorders are addressed. This course uses Kaplan and Sadock’s Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry, 10th edition.
Research Methods Seminar
This course teaches research design, biostatistics, ethics, methodology, and the importance of Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval.
PGY 4
Psychology/Psychiatry Senior Presentation Seminar
This is an opportunity that emphasizes a collaborative model of behavioral health care. Focus will be on collaborative models of practice, roles of various providers in integrative health, and team based approach to managing the psychiatric patient. The PGY-4 residents along with the post-doctorate psychology fellows will collaborate and present a case or poster presentation, research project, or in-depth interesting topic discussion. This will further enhance cooperation among other disciplines and an opportunity to see presentations from non-medical providers’ viewpoints. Reading will include American Psychiatric Association recommendation of “Training Psychiatrists for Integrated Behavioral Health Care.”
American Psychiatric Association Practice Guidelines Seminar
This series of seminars reviews the development and theoretical basis for the use of evidenced practice guidelines and best practices. It involves an in-depth discussion and debate of each specific practice guideline for treatment of psychiatric disorders outlined by the American Psychiatric Association which are intended to assist in clinical decision making by presenting systemically developed patient care strategies in a standardized format.
Board Preparation Series
This series is a resident led and self-taught preparation with focus on the psychiatry and neurology topics tested by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology that ensures the residents have adequate preparation for their upcoming board examination following graduation from residency.
Business in Psychiatry
This course will provide a review of different career options in psychiatry to help prepare PGY-4 residents for employment after graduation. Speakers will be invited to discuss academic positions, private practice, inpatient psychiatry, ambulatory outpatient psychiatry, telepsychiatry, research and consulting roles, systems of care, and contracts. Residents will be given an opportunity to discuss and explore career interest areas with course directors and peers. Job applications, curriculum vitae, and other aspects of career planning will be reviewed.
Ethics in Psychiatry
This course covers both the history and current knowledge base on medical codes of ethics, moral philosophies, and current medical and psychiatric ethical issues. Residents learn to recognize moral dilemmas and ethical issues and identify some strategies to manage their resolution. They also gain insight into their own moral viewpoints and the ambiguity that exists in many ethical dilemmas. They are asked to examine a current medical/psychiatric ethical issue from the standpoint of his/her professional conscience. The text that will be utilized to guide this course is the Code of Medical Ethics of the American Medical Association.
Transition to Practice
This course serves as an extension of the Business in Psychiatry course. It covers areas needed for transition to practice such as malpractice, hospital privileges, establishing a private practice, insurance panels, board certification and licensure, administrative psychiatry, academic psychiatry, among other topics. This course covers methods for planning for transitions and terminations of care. Emphasis will be placed on timing of termination/transition of care, timing of disclosure to patient, referrals, legal aspects of termination, and transference/countertransference reactions. Residents have the opportunity to discuss their own transition processes with peers and the course director and assist each other in planning for patient termination at the end of residency training and transitioning to their own practices.
PGY ALL
Psychiatry Grand Rounds
This series of seminars is a Continuing Medical Education (CME) activity for psychiatric faculty and residents. It focuses on an expansive range of clinical topics central to psychiatric practice in adults, children and adolescents, and special populations. Topics include case presentations, morbidity and mortality conferences, review of the literature in psychiatry and neuroscience, psychopharmacology, psychosomatic illness, and psychotherapeutic models covering all psychiatric disorders. Guest lecturers will be brought from outside institutions to enhance subject matter and keep residents and faculty up-to-date on the most current psychiatric practice and data.
Psychiatry Residency-In-Training Examination (PRITE) Review
This seminar is a resident led review of questions from recent Psychiatry Residency In-Training Examinations (PRITEs). Residents take turns researching answers and are responsible for providing a structured discussion and review of relevant and pertinent knowledge points in preparation for taking the PRITE examination yearly.
Quality Assurance/Improvement
This course spans all twelve months for PGY-1, PGY-2, PGY-3, and PGY-4 residents and involves structured review of the importance of quality assurance and improvement in organized medicine and practice settings, instruction on organizing, completing, and successful implementation of quality improvement projects and publication of research in this area. This course will also provide hands on and experiential learning with opportunities throughout residency to organize, facilitate, and evaluate Quality Improvement projects throughout the hospital with resolution in a completed project with a final presentation of results.
Journal Club
Articles from leading journals in psychiatry and other scientific literature are chosen for critical review by assigned residents (practice changing articles encouraged) and presented to faculty and residents in approved format. Residents are encouraged to review and discuss the article. Discussion regarding research design, methodology, number needed to treat, impact factor, funding and other pertinent aspects of the article is facilitated.
Case Conferences
PGY-2 residents present resident-led case conferences to all of their fellow residents in which they cover a variety of topics including interviewing, psychiatric education, adult inpatient psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry, emergency psychiatry, neuropsychiatry, geriatric psychiatry, and forensic psychiatry. Clinical complex case presentations presented by residents are followed by discussion and review of psychiatric challenges faced when treating the persistent mentally ill.
Morbidity and Mortality (M&M) Conferences
PGY-1 residents present resident led Morbidity and Mortality conferences on individual cases in which the resident has identified gaps within healthcare delivery, which may have contributed to negative outcomes and present thought provoking mitigation strategies with input from fellow residents and faculty, and also spontaneously if a root cause analysis is indicated during a rotation involving the resident and/or his/her patients.
Cultural Diversity Workshops
This course reviews social and cultural topics related to and impacting the practice of psychiatry in a multi-cultural society with the aim of increasing the residents’ awareness of cultural diversity. Focuses are on concepts of race, ethnicity, and culture, especially from a psychiatric perspective. Review of the cultural syndromes in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition will be included. Residents will have an opportunity to tour inner city homeless shelters, personal care homes, charitable organizations, and free clinics who serve vulnerable populations in the community during this course to facilitate application of information reviewed.
Special Topics in Psychiatry
This course spans all twelve months for the PGY-1, PGY-2, PGY-3, and PGY-4 residents offering didactic instruction and experiential learning pertinent for all training levels on special topics pertaining to psychiatry including but not limited to the following: Organized medicine, History of Psychiatry in Mississippi, Chancery Court and Forensic Involvement, Physician Burnout and Wellness, Cultural Diversity Workshops, and Ethics.
Psychiatry Resident Lunch Meeting
This is an opportunity for residents to receive mentorship from various faculty members while discussing pertinent relevant psychiatric topics in an informal setting. These meetings also incorporate reflection on how encounters with patients impact residents emotionally, spiritually and formatively along with other treatment team members as a debriefing. These lunches are attended by a variety of disciplines including physicians, nurse practitioners, social workers, psychologists/behavioral health specialists, peer support specialists, chaplains, nurses, administrators, and therapeutic recreation staff.