Psychiatry
Program Type: Medical Medical Center
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii
Accredited: Yes, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)
Program Length: 4 years
Required Pre-Requisite Training: Medical School Graduation
Categorical Year in Specialty Required: No
Total Approved Complement: 32
Approved per Year (if applicable): 8
Dedicated research year offered: No
Medical Student Rotation availability: 3rd year USU Clerkship; 4th year USU and HPSP
Additional degree concurrent with training (e.g. MPH): No
Program Phone Number: 808-433-5780
Program Email: dha.tripler.tripler-amc.list.tamc-psych@health.mil
Program Hours of Operation: Monday-Friday 7:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Program Description
Tripler Army Medical Center is the largest Army medical treatment facility in the entire Pacific Basin. Tripler's service region includes Hawaii, Japan, Johnston Atoll, Guam, Eniwetok, Kwajalein, various Pacific Island Nations and American Samoa.
More than 400,000 people are eligible to receive care at Tripler. This includes active duty service members of all branches of service, their eligible families, military-eligible retirees and their families, eligible veterans, and many Pacific Island Nation residents. To support this diverse patient population, Tripler’s Psychiatry Residency Program is comprised of residents from the Army, Air Force, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Residents receive a broad, supervised, clinical experience in the practice of Psychiatry, as well as structured teaching. Clinical teaching, individual supervision, didactic seminars, and case conferences are the primary means used to build Residents’ knowledge base, for Residents to gain clinical skills, and for Residents to develop professionalism that is appropriate for a leader and Psychiatrist. Additionally, our residents have participated in research and leadership positions on both a local and national level, which is in line with the training goal of becoming life-long learners and contributors to the field.
Our faculty is composed of both military and civilian psychiatrists with diverse backgrounds. Faculty work in tandem with residents, allowing time for teaching and mentoring, both with clinical work and academic pursuits. Graduates of our residency proceed to a variety of positions at military bases, military treatment facilities, or directly into a fellowship. They are poised for a successful career in military and civilian Psychiatry and/or to continue their training in a sub-specialty.
Mission, Vision and Aims
Mission
The mission of Tripler Army Medical Center's Psychiatry residency program is develop highly-skilled Psychiatrists to lead, adapt and deliver safe, effective care though life-long learning, teamwork, and compassionate inclusivity.
Vision
We are a premiere military Psychiatry program, producing physician-leaders committed to clinical excellence and driving quality improvement in health care; uniquely ready to lead and serve within the military and civilian health care systems.
Aims
Aim 1
To provide residents with comprehensive training and produce graduates who are highly-skilled, compassionate, and committed to the best interests of their patients and to the military/their organization.
Aim 2
To graduate residents that possess the military psychiatry knowledge needed to treat active duty service members, assess the service member for duty limitations, and communicate as much to Command, when appropriate.
Aim 3
To support residents in gaining the knowledge and skills necessary to be a behavioral health expert on a military team or lead clinics or services within a military treatment facility.
Aim 4
To develop physicians who encourage and lead continuous process evaluation and process improvement, with the ability to refine the methods of delivering safe, quality health care.
Aim 5
To promote lifelong learning and scholarly activity that will continue to serve the graduate and contribute to the advancement of the field of Psychiatry.
Curriculum and Schedules
The Psychiatry curriculum – rotation schedule (clinical experience and learning), individual and group supervision, didactic seminars, morning reports, journal clubs, and Grand Rounds – are designed to develop physicians in the six ACGME core competencies of patient care, medical knowledge, professionalism, interpersonal and communication skills, practice-based learning and improvement, and systems-based practice. Overall, the curriculum is designed to develop psychiatrists who are skilled in pharmacotherapy and different psychotherapy modalities, as well as prepare them for success on the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology Board exam post-graduation. The curriculum is reviewed regularly for areas of improvement.
Clinical rotations during residency include active duty and dependent Inpatient Psychiatry, Veteran inpatient Psychiatry, Addiction Medicine, Consult-Liaison Psychiatry, Geriatrics, Child and Adolescent Outpatient Psychiatry, Community Psychiatry, Outpatient Neurology, and Operational Psychiatry. Rotations are based on a 4-week block with 13 rotations scheduled each academic year for PGY1, PGY2, and PGY4 residents.
PGY3 residents spend the year in a multi-disciplinary outpatient clinic with significantly increased autonomy compared to their PGY1 and PGY2 years. Supervision is predominantly “indirect” during this outpatient year.
| PGY-1 | PGY-2 |
|---|---|
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| PGY-3 | PGY-4 |
|---|---|
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- Operational Psychiatry - South Korea
- Electroconvulsive Therapy Training - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Research
- Community Interventional Psychiatry
- PGY-1: Takes short-call a few times per month during their psychiatry rotations and spends one month on night float working alongside on-call residents
- PGY-2: Begin overnight call, where they are responsible for consults and ward issues that occur after office hours.
- PGY-3: Senior Resident on call, have admitting privileges, further increasing autonomous practice.
- PGY-4: Mostly operate as emergency back-up call for junior residents; sometimes will have overnight shifts.
The Psychiatry residency program has a well vetted resident clinical and call schedule which remains well within the 80-hour work week and accounts for adequate time off between clinical obligations.
Independent overnight call with predominantly indirect supervision allows for adequate teaching opportunity in the call environment. A period of indirect supervision is preserved to develop autonomy in decision making, invaluable training for independent practice.
The academic curriculum incorporates topics related to military professional development and the role of the Psychiatrist within the military and Defense Health Agency. These lectures are presented by both residents discussing current Army regulations and by faculty, based on their experience as a Psychiatrist in the diverse clinical roles within Military Medicine. Mandatory rotations also include Operational Psychiatry, where residents gain experience operating as an embedded Behavioral Health Provider. Professional and career development lectures are included as part of this curriculum.
Scholarly and Professional Development Opportunities
The psychiatry residency experience includes the opportunity to participate in dedicated academic or research activity under the direction of faculty mentors. Residents are provided with rotations dedicated to research.
Quality improvement in Psychiatry is a continual, evolving process. Residents can participate in or lead department or hospital wide quality improvement efforts. With dedicated research rotations, it is expected that by the end of the PGY-2 year, residents will have a Process Improvement/Quality Improvement project.
Professional Development is woven into the fabric of Psychiatry residency. Professional development topics are included in the program didactics. Select opportunities are available to attend formal professional development courses offered by the Army.
Participating Sites
- Schofield Barracks
- Veterans Administration Facilities
- Local Private Practice
- MEDDAC-K Camp Humphreys, South Korea
Applicant Information, Rotation and Interview Opportunities
Medical Student rotation opportunities are available to all eligible students. A four-week rotation will generally include exposure to active duty Inpatient Psychiatry, Veteran Inpatient Psychiatry, or Consult-Liaison Service. Please contact the Program Coordinator to schedule a rotation.
The interview is designed to assist the applicant is making the best decision on their choice of specialty and location of training. Interviews are conducted during the designated interview season, generally from June through September. After scheduling the interview and prior to the interview date, the Residency Recruitment Chief will request a curriculum vitae and personal statement. On the day of the interview, the applicant will meet and interview with the Recruitment Committee and the Program Director and/or Assistant Program Director. There are also informal opportunities to meet residents to hear about the program from their perspective. To schedule an interview, the interested applicant should contact the Program Coordinator or our Recruitment Chief.
Program graduates take the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology board exam. This exam is offered annually in September. To become fully board certified, applicants are eligible to take board certification exam in September following graduation. To be eligible to take specialty board exams, graduates must complete all pre-requisites required by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology no later than September 30 of the year of the exam administration. Here is a link to the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology policies, which contain the prerequisites for the board exam: https://www.abpn.com/about/policies/. The American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology requires a physician to become Board certified within seven years following successful completion of ACGME-accredited or ABPN approved residency training.
Teaching Opportunities
Residents participate in the learning process by preparing and delivering educational lectures for the Morning Report series. Residents mentor medical students and interns as they rotate through the department.
Residents are free to pursue other teaching opportunities available within the institution or within DHA as time permits.
Faculty and Mentorship
There is broad subspecialty training represented among the teaching faculty, including Geriatric Psychiatry, Operational Psychiatry, Forensic Psychiatry, Internal Medicine-Psychiatry, Addiction Psychiatry, and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
Formal and informal mentorship opportunities are available during training.
Well-Being
The program is a professional and collegial one with a cohort of residents and faculty who are dedicated to creating an optimized training environment. A biannual resident retreat is held to discuss the program and strive for continual improvement. Residents also have a quarterly social meeting to enhance cohesion and camaraderie within the program.
Hawaii offers a plethora of outdoor opportunities for recreation, especially valuable in supporting well-being during a busy residency.
Contact Us
Pediatrics Psychiatry Residency
Location: Tripler Army Medical Center, Oceanside 4B
Monday–Friday
7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Phone: 808-433-5780
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