Superstorm Sandy: How the New York University Psychiatry Residency Training Program Weathered the Storm

Abstract

The teaching hospitals of the New York University psychiatry residency program were evacuated and then closed for a minimum of 3months in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. Faculty and residents were deployed to alternate clinical sites. The authors examine the consequences of Superstorm Sandy and its implications for the New York University psychiatry residency training program. A survey was administered to faculty and residents. The authors tabulated 98 surveys, for which 24% of faculty and 84% of residents responded. Among respondents, 61% believed that being involved in the evacuation of the hospitals was a positive experience. During deployment, most (85%) found being placed with peers and supervisors to be beneficial, but there were significant disruptions. Despite facing multiple challenges including closed facilities, deployment to nonaffiliated hospitals, and exhausted personal resources, the training program continued to provide accredited clinical experiences, a core curriculum, and supervision for psychiatry residents during and after Superstorm Sandy.