A Day in the Life of a PGY-2 Resident – Dr. Lataillade
Joanne Lataillade, MD
Class of 2020
Hello! My name is Joanne Lataillade and I’d like to tell you about my PGY2 year! PGY-2 year is a nice change in that the year transitions to Psychiatry training solely. Throughout the year I rotated through the Psych Consult Service both at BMC and at the VA, Geriatric consults, Forensic Psychiatry, Psych Emergency Services, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and I’ve had outpatient exposure through Behavioral Health Integrated Care, the Walk-in Clinic, and my own Thursday morning outpatient clinic. My day generally starts at about 8-9am and ends at about 5-6pm. Thursday mornings are especially interesting as we had our own clinic hours. I not only learned how to manage patients in the outpatient setting, but also how to organize and manage some administrative parts of an outpatient clinic. Although PGY2 year was a bit of a transition in that I had call responsibilities and my own outpatient clinic, I find that the support I received from an assigned supervisor and group supervision along with guidance from senior residents have given me the confidence and support to face the challenge head on!
On a typical day on my rotations, I saw patients in the inpatient or outpatient setting who are followed for a variety of diagnoses including substance use disorders, mood disorders, etc. There are several learning opportunities throughout the week including protected didactic time, grand rounds, individual supervision, group supervision, and various case presentations. The highlight for my PGY2 year was that through all the exposure to the C/L services that I’ve gotten at BMC and at the VA, along with the opportunities to work with and be supervised by some amazing C/L attending physicians, I’ve been able to foster my interest and skills in psychosomatic psychiatry. I am even considering a C/L fellowship once I complete residency.
One of the most challenging parts of PGY2 year were the new call responsibilities. Although it can be very busy in the BMC Psych ED, I had the opportunity to manage and treat some very clinically and biopsychosocially complex cases. I admit that call shifts can be exhausting and can be very frustrating at times, however, after experiencing call in the Psych Emergency department, I feel well prepared to manage anything! It’s also been helpful to develop my leadership skills in managing the patient flow of the psych emergency department while working with an interdisciplinary team of clinicians, nurses, and emergency medicine physicians.
On my time off, I enjoy exploring the city with my daughter. We’ve been able to enjoy museums and free concerts in the city as well as hiking and nature walks just outside of the city. Boston/New England has so much to offer and truly caters to both the city and small town parts of me. I also find the area to be very family friendly which was important to me in ranking residency programs.