Psychiatry Resident Education in Neurocognitive Disorders: a National Survey of Program Directors in Psychiatry

Abstract

Objective As major neurocognitive disorders increase, little research has examined how psychiatry residents are prepared to provide neurocognitive care to patients. Methods A national survey was sent to program directors of general psychiatry in the USA and Canada, including questions about satisfaction, attitudes, and graduation expectations for training in major neurocognitive disorders. The authors examined descriptive statistics and a series of chi-squared analyses by training setting, residency type, and presence of subspecialty fellowships. The authors also collected free text responses about perceived needs for enhancing training. Results Program directors agreed that the scope of general psychiatry includes the evaluation of cognitive disorders (78.8%) and the treatment of cognitive symptoms (77.5%) and behavioral/psychological symptoms (78.8%). Required clinical rotations were the preferred method of teaching (63.7%), but didactics were most used (93.8%). The most frequently used clinical teaching setting was geriatric psychiatry (61.3%) and didactics were most frequently taught by geriatric psychiatrists (75.0%). Fifty-six percent were satisfied or very satisfied with their clinical training and 66.3% with their didactics. There were no significant differences in satisfaction or attitudes when compared by training setting, residency type, or presence of subspecialty fellowships. Additional trained faculty were most frequently listed as a need for improving clinical and didactic training. Conclusions Psychiatry program directors view major neurocognitive disorders as part of the scope of psychiatric practice. The majority of training is provided within psychiatry rotations, especially geriatric psychiatry. Program directors reported several unmet needs for optimal training, particularly related to clinical training services.

Analysis of resident mental health and its influencing factors: a single-centre cross-sectional study

“…According to our literature review, most studies suggest that residency trainees are at high risk for psychological disorders [11][12][13]. Most residents express a lower quality of life while they are in residency, which could seriously affect their ability to work toward a degree through work-study and their ability to advance professionally.…”