The beginning resident and supervision.

Abstract

THE initial year of training for a psychiatric resident represents a period of professional transition. The manner in which the transition is negotiated will have a profound effect on both his personal well-being and professional adequacy. As a number of authors have pointed out, supervision plays a central role in the negotiations. 1-3 In the following pages, the initial supervisory experience will be examined from the point of view of the beginning resident. By contrasting the resident's perception of the supervisory process with the supervisor's intent, the present paper aims at clarifying the nature of the interplay between the parties so as to better understand the relevance of supervision to the student's professional development. To accomplish this aim, 12 psychiatric residents in the Department of Psychiatry of the Yale University School of Medicine were interviewed during their initial year of training. The