The Fourth Year
The fourth year of training is an individually-tailored experience – planned by the resident and faculty – to allow for personal development and specialization. In the fall of the PGY 3, the resident consults with the Director of Residency Training concerning his or her thoughts about the future. They discuss potentially relevant activities for PGY 4. These can include additional clinical rotations in a more senior role, teaching, research, or administrative activities such as serving as a Chief Resident. In the spring, the resident formalizes a plan and selects a preceptor for PGY 4. The final proposal must be approved by the Residency Training Director.
For the fourth year, residents who did the groundwork in PGY 2 may have chosen to begin a child fellowship program. Residents who started our program in PGY 2 use the broad flexibility of the PGY 4 schedule to complete any general psychiatry requirements they did not have exposure to in their internships.
The fourth year didactic is designed by the fourth year residents in collaboration with faculty advisors. This is a time to consolidate information while identifying areas in which the class desires further exposure.
All residents participate in the Long-term Psychotherapy Clinic with a panel of least three patients.
Rural Experiences
Many residents participate in our nationally recognized rural psychiatry program. This one-of-a-kind opportunity, created with special funding from the State of New Mexico, offers the experience to work locally through telecommunications or on-site in rural locations through the assistance of the Center for Rural and Community Behavioral Health (CRCBH). Residents have the chance to learn about -- or immerse themselves -- in the varied cultures of New Mexico and gain an understanding about practicing culturally-sensitive psychiatry in rural and frontier areas while supported by an actively involved faculty.
Research
Residents may also pursue a research experience during their fourth year. This is often initiated earlier in their training, but the fourth year affords time for in depth immersion under the mentorship of faculty both at UNM and the New Mexico VA. Past residents have gone on to be highly successful and have worked in areas such as PTSD, schizophrenia, and geropsychiatry.
Other popular electives during the fourth year include:
- Sleep medicine
- Interdisciplinary pain management
- Neuropsychologic assessment
- Seniors Clinic
- MIDD Clinic for the developmentally disabled
- HIV clinic
- Affective Disorders Clinic
- Intensive Short Term Dynamic Psychotherapy
- Psychosomatics
- Forensic experiences
- Health Care for the Homeless
- Las Vegas State Hospital