Development of a Diverse Learning Experience for Diverse Psychiatry Resident Needs: A Four-Year Biological Psychiatry Curriculum Incorporating Principles of Neurobiology, Psychopharmacology, and…

Development of a Diverse Learning Experience for Diverse Psychiatry Resident Needs: A Four-Year Biological Psychiatry Curriculum Incorporating Principles of Neurobiology, Psychopharmacology, and Evidence-Based Practice

Psychiatry Investigation, May 2017

28539947

Andrew J. Muzyk, Jane P. Gagliardi, Gopalkumar Rakesh, Michael R. Jiroutek, Rajiv Radhakrishnan, Chi-Un Pae, Prakash S. Masand, Steven T. Szabo

A clinically relevant approach to patient care grounded in neurobiological constructs and evidence based practice which emphasizes a relevant psychopharmacology is needed to optimally train psychiatry residents. We implemented a biological psychiatry course that now incorporates neurobiology, psychopharmacology, and evidence-based practice in conjunction with a Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) perspective. A survey launched prior to course implementation and following each class session, served as the outcome metric of residents' attitudes toward the new curriculum and followed a baseline attitudinal survey designed to evaluate the program. Greater than 90% of the psychiatry residents at Duke University who took the attitudinal survey agreed or strongly agreed with needing a course that helped them develop an understanding of neurobiology, psychopharmacology, and evidence-based practice concepts. Most residents also indicated a less than adequate understanding of the neurobiology and psychopharmacology of psychiatric disorders prior to sessions. Our biological psychiatry curriculum was associated with enthusiasm among residents regarding the incorporation of neurobiology, psychopharmacology, and evidence-based practice into course topics and discussions. A biological psychiatry curriculum with integrated neurobiology and psychopharmacology built on an evidence base approach is possible, well-received, and needed in training of future psychiatrists.