Integrating Clinical Neurosciences in a Psychiatry Residency Training Program: A Brief Report with Pilot Data

Jacob Cookey, Michael Butterfield, Celia Robichaud, David Lovas

A novel neuroscience curriculum was developed attempting to address the growing consensus that increased attention be given to incorporating clinical neuroscience in psychiatric residencies. Eight 2-h sessions delivered over 2 academic years were incorporated into the teaching curriculum at one institution in which residents participated in case-based clinical neuroscience learning. Each session utilized multimodal teaching methods facilitated by two senior psychiatry residents with support from a faculty mentor. A survey assessing resident comfort with clinical neurosciences was gathered over four timepoints during the 2-year period. There were 69 attendees in total across the four time points, with a 100% response rate to the surveys. There was a significant overall effect found, F(3,16) = 12.64, p < .01, on resident comfort level between the four timepoints. There was a significant increase in comfort level at the third timepoint compared to the first two timepoints; however, there was a notable drop in comfort level between the third and fourth timepoint such that there was no statistically significant difference between the first and last timepoint. Nevertheless, despite mixed positive and negative responses on qualitative analysis, all residents supported the continuation of the course. Resident comfort level did not change appreciably with this curriculum; however, there was unanimous support for the continuation of the course in future years. Incorporating this type of curriculum is feasible in a medium-sized psychiatry residency program. Given that subjective comfort ratings are not indicative of actual competency, future work should include objective, competency-based outcomes.