Teaching Scholarly Activity in Psychiatric Training: Years 6 and 7

Abstract

Objective

To address nationally recognized needs for increased numbers of psychiatric clinician-scholars and physician-scientists, the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training (AADPRT) has provided a series of full-day conferences of psychiatry residency training directors designed to increase their competence in evidence-based medicine, enhance their research literacy, and aid them in transmitting that knowledge to their programs.

Method

These conferences take place on the day before AADPRT’s annual meeting. Each year’s pre-meeting conference includes a series of morning plenary sessions covering new information pertaining to a contemporary clinical theme.

Results

The clinical theme serves as a vehicle to teach evidence-based practice and research and neuroscience literacy. The theme is carried into the afternoon with a series of highly interactive small-group teaching sessions designed to consolidate knowledge and provide pragmatic teaching tools appropriate for residents. A detailed report of the first 5 years documented the excellent attendance, perceived satisfaction, and usefulness of the material.

Conclusion

This report highlights the evolution of the program from the first 5 years to Years 6 and 7, details how new pedagogic and funding challenges have been approached, discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the revised format, and describes plans for the future.