A DSM-5 To-Do List for Adult Psychiatry Residency Directors

Sheldon Benjamin

A small study within the author's department, comparing resident and faculty attitudes toward the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5), revealed that the DSM-5 transition process is starting from a point in which neither faculty nor residents are optimistic that the new DSM will result in improved diagnosis or treatment. However, the publication of DSM-5 presents training directors with opportunities to engage trainees in the study of the evolution of psychiatric nosology and the evidence for core psychiatric diagnoses. Residents should be encouraged to become familiar with both DSM-5 and National Institute of Mental Health Research Domain Criteria (NIMH RDoC) categories in their study of the neurobiology of psychiatric disorders. Department chairs are encouraged to establish timelines for the DSM-5 transition for faculty, residents, medical student teaching, medical record keeping, and billing for services. Training directors should be aware that national examinations for trainees will transition gradually between 2014 and 2017, so comparisons should be made whenever possible between DSM-IV-TR and DSM-5. To minimize trainee confusion, departments should attend to the coherence of transition timelines among faculty, resident, and medical student training.