After completing a year of inpatient and my off service rotations, I have finally made it to second year! The Psychiatry Residency Program at Indiana University School of Medicineruns a bit differently than other programs in that we begin our exposure to outpatient our second year with unique specialty clinics.
My day usually starts around 8am when I arrive to either clinic or the emergency psychiatry area. We do different clinics for six months and then in hospital consults for six months. I participate in a substance use disorder clinic, an older adult clinic, see patients in acute crisis in our psychiatric emergency department, spend one day per week doing forensic psychiatry consultations, and split one day a week focusing on research and education. I usually wrap up between 4 and 5pm on most days. Each attending is very knowledgeable about the specific diagnoses and dual diagnoses of their specific clinic so I feel I have a plethora of learning in a variety of areas.
The second part of the year I will switch to consults which is usually 8am to 4:30pm. We rotate at several hospitals which allows us to see a very diverse population making me feel comfortable with a larger variety of conditions.
Additionally this year, we start our overnight call at the Roudebush VA Medical Center, usually once every other week. It is a great experience to help me grow my autonomy and comfort with making admission vs. discharge decisions.
Finally, our program has a fantastic work-life balance. On the weekends I enjoy hanging out with my husband, puppy and co-residents. We were crazy enough this year to decide to run a half marathon together, so we meet up for group runs and then of course reward ourselves with great food at a local restaurant! Overall, my PGY-2 year is off to a great start!
Learn more about a residency in Psychiatry at IU School of Medicine.
