Boston University Medical Campus
Psychiatry

First Postgraduate Year

Orientation Boston Medical Center

The psychiatry residents at Boston University Medical Center actively participate in intern orientation each year. Each new intern is assigned a resident “buddy” that becomes the point person for questions focused on the resident experience.

Orientation is focused on welcoming new psychiatry residents to Boston Medical Center and preparing them for the transition to residency. Boston Medical Center organizes a day long program for all incoming residents. Our program has a day of orientation for new residents to meet with the Program Director, Associate Program Director, Residency Coordinator and staff, Chief Residents, and residents. Upper year psychiatry residents coordinate various activities for new residents including information, facility tour, and social events.

Buddies: A current first year resident is assigned following the match as a buddy to the incoming residents. Contact information is shared prior to the official start date so that “buddies” can provide information about moving to Boston, recommended reading materials, and information regarding the internship year.

Psychiatry Rotations

Adult Inpatient Psychiatry-The Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Hospital (Bedford VA)

First-year residents have a 3-month clinical experience in inpatient psychiatry. On the acute psychiatry ward, residents are  responsible for clinical work and clinically-related presentations.  Residents treat a variety of veterans with serious mental illness, PTSD, TBI, personality disorders, and dual diagnosis disorders. Supervision is provided daily and an educational core is devoted to geriatric psychiatry and inpatient psychopharmacology. Second-year residents work with first year residents taking on the role of supervising the weekly conference series for the service.  One of the unusual strengths of the Bedford VA is its strong and widespread network including inpatient and outpatient hospital services, community-based programs, groups, and various supported and structured housing options.  The clinical staff responsible for resident supervision takes an active interest in maintaining the systems and the professional and personal interactions that will be necessary to allow these facilities and resources to continue to adjust to a changing and growing population of veterans. This rotation at the provide an introduction not only to individual care in inpatient psychiatry, but exposure to network models of care and systems issues that are increasingly regarded as critical to medical training and clinical competence. An educational curriculum includes a lecture series in geriatric psychiatry and inpatient psychopharmacology, journal club, psychiatric interviewing, and case based teaching in addition to daily bedside supervision.

Adult Inpatient Psychiatry-Bournewood Hospital

This rotation is one of two inpatient psychiatry rotations that teaches residents to evaluate, diagnose, and treat complex psychiatrically ill patients. Bournewood Hospital First year residents have a 2 month inpatient psychiatry rotation at this private psychiatric hospital located in Brookline about 5 miles from the Boston University Medical Campus. As a private hospital with a varied patient population, both diagnostically and socioeconomically, residents experience the business side of psychiatry and prepare for learning how to negotiate the complex world of insurance. Advocacy skills to ensure the best care for patients are part of learning to negotiate with managed care companies. In addition, residents learn psychopharmacology for many psychiatric disorders including psychotic and mood disorders, as well as, the management of patients with dual diagnoses and personality disorders. Residents have the opportunity to be involved in court commitments for their patients. Educational seminars include a Chief Resident Journal Club and lecture series. This experience is coupled with a course aimed at honing our interview skills in a board style interview taught by the Program Director.

Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Boston Medical Center This one month rotation is located in the Menino Pavilion that has general medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, and surgical trauma. First year residents work closely with psychiatry attendings as part of the treatment team to treat patients. This rotation provides an excellent training experience in peri-partum disorders and in early reactions to trauma. Resident join the second year resident for seminars adding to the educational content of this rotation.

BEST Emergency Psychiatry Boston Medical Center
The Boston Emergency Service Team (BEST) is a fully staffed 24 hour emergency psychiatry team that serves Boston and areas in Greater Boston. The Psychiatric Emergency Service at Boston Medical Center is the center of BEST where the residents in consultation with experienced emergency psychiatrists evaluate and make treatment decisions for patients at times of crisis. This  0.5 month rotation introduces first year residents, working with second year residents, senior residents, and faculty how to make clinical and triage decisions that determine the level of care most suitable for a patients.  Decisions about the appropriate level of care, interacting with patients and their families, and advocating for patients with insurance companies and patient care settings are invaluable training experiences that prepare residents for the full practice of psychiatry in today’s complex system of psychiatric care in the community. This initial experience is followed in the second year of training with a 2-month ED rotation and night float.

Psychiatry Buddy Call
First year residents learn from more senior residents about the requirements for on-call. Under direct supervision and guidance of upper class residents, first year residents see patients, learn about the range of treatment options, and implementing the best treatment for the patient in the Emergency Department or on the Consultation-Liaison service. First year residents do not stay overnight but have a 4 hour buddy call on week nights or weekend day, 10-12 times throughout the year.

Medicine and Neurology

Internal Medicine-Boston Medical Center

First year residents rotate with Internal Medicine residents for two one-months rotations.  Psychiatry residents on medicine function as an Internal Medicine intern as part of a medical team composed of a senior resident, chief resident and attending to evaluate, diagnose, and treat patients with serious medical illnesses. This rotation provides the residents learning opportunities to strengthen their skills in internal medicine serving as one of two interns on a typical medicine team. Learning experiences include admitting and evaluation, managing illness, and discharging patients and all the skills that are required to make these aspects of good medical care happen smoothly. While this is one of the more rigorous rotations of the first year, all would agree that it is extremely valuable in teaching you how to operate efficiently within large hospitals and helps residents to develop knowledge and skills in evaluation and treatment of complex medical illnesses. Overnight call is 1 in 12 days.

Urgent care, Internal Medicine-VA Boston Healthcare System
Urgent care clinic is a busy internal medicine clinic that serves veterans who have urgent medical needs. Its pace and acuity is less intense than in an emergency room. Residents see a large array of medical conditions and are heavily involved in the medical treatment and care. Residents work closely with attending supervision to evaluate, diagnosis, triage or initiate treatment for a variety of medical illnesses that may range from serious illness such as chest pain of cardiac origin to less acute community illnesses.

Family Medicine-South Boston Community Health Center

Residents rotate for one month in family medicine rotation at one of the system of community health centers of  Boston Medical Center.  This primary care clinic sees patients in various age groups of family medicine population and serves a culturally and ethnically diverse patient population. This is a full clinic that sees a wide array of patients and medical conditions.  Psychiatry residents function as family medicine interns and are heavily involved in patient care and treatment.

Neurology Boston Medical Center

Residents have 2 one-month rotations are part of the neurology team that includes second, third and fourth year neurology residents and the team attending. The neurology team consults to medicine, surgery and the emergency department and provides treatment to inpatient neurology patients. Residents see a wide range of neurological disorders including disorders of the central and peripheral nervous system and provide state of the art treatment. Psychiatry residents learn through rounds with bedside teaching and in a weekly formal lecture series and Neurology Grand Rounds. Residents do not take call on this service.

Overnight Call

First year residents have no overnight call.