US Psychiatry Research Articles

Trends in gender and ethnic diversity among US psychiatry residents: A 5-year analysis.

This study aims to analyze trends in gender and ethnic diversity among incoming US psychiatry residents over the past 5 years. Physician diversity improves patient care as minority physicians often serve underserved communities and address health disparities. Increasing the representation of women and underrepresented minorities in medicine is essential for preparing a physician workforce that can effectively care for an increasingly diverse population. This study highlights the importance of efforts to enhance diversity within the field of psychiatry.

Psychedelic medicine in psychiatry residency training: a survey of psychiatric residency program directors

Objective The growth of psychedelic medicine creates new challenges in psychiatric education as physicians may soon be responsible for prescribing a number of psychedelic interventions. Despite this growing need for educated providers, very little is known about the training psychiatry residents receive in psychedelic medicine. We conducted a survey to determine the current educational opportunities as well as the priorities and concerns held by training directors about this emerging field. Methods We emailed an online survey to US psychiatry residency training directors. Respondents answered questions about current offerings in psychedelic medicine, as well as their interest, priorities, and concerns about curricular materials and their delivery. Results Sixty-one programs responded to our survey. The majority of respondents (64%) favored devoting additional time to psychedelic education, but many endorsed concerns about the dearth of educational materials (54%) and limited availability of faculty to deliver content (46%). The majority of programs (94%) expressed some interest in implementing a standardized curriculum in psychedelic medicine. Conclusion Training directors recognized that their current curricular materials are limited, and they appeared interested in additional support to meet the upcoming demand in psychedelic education. Further research can inform curriculum development and implementation of psychedelic education in residency training.

Slavery and Its Afterlives in US Psychiatry.

Antecedents of racist treatments of Black patients by the psychiatric profession in the United States affect the way they view treatment today. Specifically, in this essay, we explore the enduring consequences of racial science on various treatment practices. We examined a range of primary sources on the history of racial theories about the mind, medical and psychiatric publications, and hospitals. We contextualize this analysis by examining the secondary literature in the history and sociology of psychiatry. Through analyzing racial thinking from the antebellum through the Jim Crow periods, we show how US medicine and psychiatry have roots in antebellum racial science and how carceral logics underpinned the past and present politics of Black mental health. Changing this trajectory requires practitioners to interrogate the historical foundations of racist psychiatric concepts. This essay urges them to reject biological racial realism, which bears reminiscences to 19th-century racial science, and embrace the variable of race as a social construct to study social inequalities in health as a first step toward moving away from the legacies of past injustices in medicine. (Am J Public Health. 2024;114(S3):S250-S257. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2023.307554).

Assaults and Microaggressions Against Psychiatric Residents: Findings from a US Survey.

Psychiatric physicians may experience higher rates of assault than those in other fields. For many reasons, residents may be especially vulnerable. This study updates rates of assaults among US psychiatry residents as well as the reporting rates and emotional effects of these incidents. Little data exists to examine rates of microaggressions against psychiatry residents. A cross-sectional online survey was distributed through a national residency database via a snowball-sampling approach between June and September of 2021. The questionnaire asked about experiences of verbal, physical, and sexual assaults, as well as microaggressions and their impact. Descriptive analyses of the obtained data were conducted. The survey was completed by 275 psychiatry residents from 29 states (63.6% women). At least one form of assault was experienced by 78.9% of participants with 74.5% experiencing verbal, 22.2% experiencing physical, and 6.2% experiencing sexual assault. At least one type of microaggression was experienced by 86.9% of trainees. Elevations in PTSD scores were seen in residents who identified as women and non-White and those physically injured or sexually assaulted. While 92.7% of residents stated their program provided training about assault, 25% of residents indicated they had no training on recognizing and responding to microaggressions. Psychiatric residents experience widespread assault and microaggressions in the clinical setting but often do not report them. Due to the ubiquitous nature of these events, programs should provide training about early recognition and de-escalation techniques for agitation, responding effectively to microaggressions, and the importance of reporting events.

Social psychiatry lives!

In this journal Ikkos examines the work of the American sociologist Owen Whooley, who argues that US psychiatry has gone through five paradigm shifts without defining the object of its own expertise. We look at the substance of Whooley's methods and assumptions and offer our observations on Ikkos's argument and conclusions.

23.4 Teaching to Our Time: The Present and Future of What Is Taught to US Psychiatry Trainees about Climate Mental Health

Climate change is considered the greatest public health crisis of the 21st century and significantly impacts mental health (Watts et al, 2020). Whereas others have published on the importance of education about the effects of climate change on health in medical training curricula (Wellbery et al, 2018), the degree to which psychiatry residents and fellows currently learn about this topic during training, if at all, is unknown. Furthermore, there is no consensus as to what type of curriculum would be most appropriate to teach psychiatry trainees about this topic.

Psychiatry Residency Directors' Attitudes Toward and Uses of the Medical Student Performance Evaluation and Other Potential Tools for Residency Selection.

A survey was conducted to determine US psychiatry residency directors' attitudes regarding current measures of medical student performance and their preferences for the future. A team of psychiatry medical student educators and residency program directors developed a 23-question survey. In July 2021, links to the survey were sent out to all program directors registered with the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training. Seventy program directors out of 223 initiated the survey, resulting in a response rate of 31.4%. Forty percent of respondents reported that the most important use of the Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE) is in screening out applicants for interviews, and only 26.1% reported that the MSPE in its current form could be trusted to provide a valid and reliable assessment of a student's medical school performance. Most respondents agreed that in the absence of United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) step 1 numerical scores, the existing MSPE format/content requirements should be modified, use a set of ranking categories that are uniform across all medical schools, and be supplemented with additional measures of the student's character and ability specific to psychiatry. US psychiatry program directors are eager for change when it comes to the MSPE and how it reports rankings, grades, and professionalism. The transition of the USMLE step 1 score reporting to pass/fail presents an opportunity to pursue this change and for stakeholders from all medical specialties to work together toward a shared goal of an improved residency selection process.

Gender and Racial Disparity Among US Forensic Psychiatry Fellows: Broken System by Default.

Diversity enhances the performance of the healthcare system by providing better patient outcomes and reducing physician burnout. In this study, we explored the gender and racial trends in the recruitment of women and racial minorities into forensic psychiatry fellowship programs in the US. Retrospective data analysis was performed by utilizing the data from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)'s annual Data Resource Books from the year 2007 to 2021. Demographic data, including gender and race, were extracted for forensic psychiatry fellows. The number of female trainees increased significantly to become a majority, i.e., 58.8% of all forensic psychiatry trainees in 2020-2021 were female compared to 27.78% of women forensic psychiatry fellows in 2007-08. Between 2011-12 and 2020-2021, there was a relative increase in White (Non-Hispanic), Asian/Pacific Islander and Black (Non-Hispanic) forensic psychiatry fellows, by 54.75%, 114.4%, and 0.36% respectively. Despite the overall increase in the numbers of ethnic minorities in US psychiatry residency and fellowship programs, racial minorities remain significantly under-represented in forensic psychiatry fellowship programs. We need to revise policies to promote underrepresented minorities in medicine (URMM) in forensic psychiatry.

Are Psychiatry Programs Providing Adequate Parental Leave to Their Residents?

ObjectiveDuring residency training, parental leave is frequently briefer than may be optimal for the well-being of the family. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) requires residency programs to have a parental leave policy without providing specific guidelines on its makeup, resulting in varying policies and confusion among residents planning parental leave. This study identifies differences in parental leave policies in psychiatry residencies and discusses if these policies are adequate.MethodsA 45-question, anonymous survey was emailed to general psychiatry and fellowship program directors in the USA.ResultsOut of 520 program directors contacted, 186 completed the survey (35.7% response rate). Among the respondents, 94.1% had policies for maternity leave, 79.8% had policies for paternity leave, and 67.2% had policies for non-childbearing parental leave (e.g., adoption). Variations were reported in implementation, coverage, and accommodations. Most respondents (57.1%) believed that residents would benefit from more parental leave. Some (11.5%) believed that parenthood negatively affected residents’ overall performance, especially regarding patient care and clinical skills; 36.5% endorsed that parenthood negatively affected overall residents’ well-being; and 7.5% felt negatively when an applicant was pregnant or was planning to become pregnant during residency. Lastly, 32.9% were not confident regarding ACGME, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, federal, and hospital policies.ConclusionsParental leave policies are not universal in US psychiatry residency and fellowship programs. Some program directors feel that parenthood adversely affects residents’ clinical performance as well as well-being. If true, reformation of parental leave policies may be a remedy.

From Requisite to Right: Assessing and Addressing Paid Maternity Leave in US Psychiatry Residency Programs.

ObjectiveData on the physical and mental health benefits of paid maternity leave for mothers and infants is abundant. Data on the make-up of current maternity leave policies in US psychiatry residency programs is not. This survey of program directors was undertaken to assess the components of their program’s policies and the perceived impact of maternity leave on the training of childbearing residents, co-residents, and programs.MethodsAn anonymous 19-question survey was emailed to US psychiatric residency program directors. Questions assessed demographics for respondents and their programs, composition of maternity leave including paid and unpaid components, and the perception of effects of maternity leave on childbearing residents, co-residents, and programs (with optional free-text elaboration).ResultsThe response rate was 19.5% (49 out of 262 program directors). Many programs require the use of FMLA (81%), vacation days (75%), sick days (75%), and short-term disability (30%) for maternity leave. Around a third (34%) offer separate paid time off varying from 2 to 12 weeks at 80–100% of pay. Most respondents relate a neutral to strongly positive impact of leave on the psychiatric training of childbearing residents (98%) and co-residents (84%), citing benefits like improved empathy, compassion, and patience.ConclusionsMaternity leave is seen to have minimal negative impact on training received within psychiatry residency programs. A minority of residents have access to paid maternity leave policies that would best support their health and career trajectories.

Reflections on US Psychiatry: How the Baton Was Passed From European Psychiatry and the Contributions of US Psychiatry.

The medical model in psychiatry and descriptive psychopathology were established in Germany by Krapelin's textbook and Jaspers' General Psychopathology. In the United Kingdom, Mayer-Gross' textbook synthesized both books, influencing US psychiatry. US psychiatrists from the World War II generation defeated the US academic psychoanalytic establishment by building three pillars: biological psychiatry (brought by Wortis), the psychopharmacology revolution, and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd Edition (DSM-III). The psychopharmacology revolution included immigrants (e.g., Gershon), Cole's marketing, and textbooks by Klein and Fink. The "neo-Kraepelinians" introduced the medical model in US psychiatry and defined 15 valid psychiatric disorders. Spitzer supervised DSM-III's development. Its 1980 publication started the world dominance of US psychiatry and the multiplication of diagnoses. Major contributions by US psychiatrists include a) McHugh's update of the Jaspersian approach, b) Fink's inclusion of catatonia as a syndrome in DSM-5 (following Abrams and Taylor's studies), and c) DSM-III's departure from the Jaspersian hierarchy of schizophrenia and affective symptoms.

Trends in Ethnicity, Race, and Sex Among Psychiatry and Non-psychiatry Residency Applicants, 2008-2019.

The objective of this study was to examine trends in racial/ethnic and gender representation among US psychiatry residency applicants compared with non-psychiatry applicants. Using publicly available applicant data, racial/ethnic and gender distributions of psychiatry residency applicants from 2008 to 2019 were examined and compared with non-psychiatry residency applicants. Both longitudinal trends within both cohorts and cross-sectional, between-group differences were examined. From 2008 to 2019, the percentage of female, American Indian/Alaskan Native (AIAN), Black, Hispanic, and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander (NHPI) psychiatry and non-psychiatry residency applicants increased (p<.001). Within each year, Black and Asian applicants comprised a larger percentage of psychiatry applicants compared with non-psychiatry applicants (p<.001). Between 2008 and 2019, Black psychiatry and non-psychiatry applicants increased from 9.1% to 11.6% and 6.6% to 7.6%, respectively; Asian psychiatry and non-psychiatry applicants decreased from 39.5% to 30.5% and 27.5% to 26.6%, respectively; White psychiatry and non-psychiatry applicants increased from 26.7% to 38.2% and 42.7% to 49.2%, respectively. Racial/ethnic and gender characteristics of US psychiatry residency applicants represent the future of the US psychiatric workforce. The US psychiatry residency applicant pool has become increasingly diverse from 2008 to 2019. Initiatives should work to enhance representation of psychiatry applicants from historically marginalized backgrounds, and simultaneously to recruit and retain a diverse psychiatric workforce following residency training.

Gender and Racial Disparities among US Psychiatry Residents: A Review of Trends

Diversity provides better patient outcomes, reduces physician burnout, and therefore lessens the burden of the healthcare system. In this study, we explore the gender and racial trends in the recruitment of medical graduates into US psychiatry residency programs. Retrospective data analysis was performed utilizing the data from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Data's annual Resource Books from the year 2007 to 2018. Demographic data, including gender and race, were extracted for psychiatry residents. Gender was categorized as Male, Female, and Not Reported. Race/ethnicity was categorized as White (Non-Hispanic), Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic, Black/African-American (Non-Hispanic), Native American/Alaskan, Others (not in the aforementioned categories), and Unknown. Female psychiatry residents relatively decreased by 2.6% whereas male psychiatry residents relatively increased by 15.5% from 2007 to 2018. Between the years 2011 and 2018, there was a relative increase in African American/Black and Native American/Alaskan psychiatry residents by 5.5% and 1%, respectively, whereas the Asian/Pacific Islanders, White (Non-Hispanic), and Hispanic/Latino psychiatry residents relatively decreased by 5.1%, 2.3%, and 1.7%, respectively. Despite the overall increase of women and ethnic minorities in US medical schools, women and racial minorities remain significantly under-represented in psychiatry residency programs in the US.

Diversity by Race, Ethnicity, and Sex within the US Psychiatry Physician Workforce.

This study assessed the distribution of race, ethnicity, and sex within the US psychiatry physician workforce and trends from 1987 to 2016. The authors used physician workforce data to assess differences in race, ethnicity, and sex among psychiatric practicing physicians, faculty, fellows, residents, residency applicants, and medical graduate cohorts. Binomial tests were used for comparison between individual cohorts and to US population statistics. A simple linear regression model was used to assess trends among psychiatric residents and faculty over years 1987-2016. Within psychiatry, historically underrepresented minorities in medicine (URMs) had less representation as residents (16.2%), faculty (8.7%), and practicing physicians (10.4%) compared with the US population (32.6%), Ps < 0.0001. Females were underrepresented as psychiatric practicing physicians (38.5%, P < .0001). There was greater URM representation among residents (16.2%) compared with that of Psychiatry faculty and practicing physicians (Ps < .0001). Racial/ethnic representation did not differ significantly compared with subspecialty fellows; however, the addiction subspecialty contained the least URM and female diversity. Historical trends indicated the proportion of female faculty (0.9%/yr) increased nearly 1.5 times faster than that of female trainees (0.6%/year). Conversely, the proportion of URM residents (0.26%/year) increased over 4 times faster than that of URM faculty (0.06%/year), with black faculty actually decreasing in proportion. Female and URM representation within the psychiatry physician workforce is significantly lower than US population demographics; however, trends indicate diminishing underrepresentation. While psychiatry residency remains more diverse than other specialties, specific trends identify poor minority representation among psychiatry faculty and fellows as areas needing attention.

Factors Affecting Psychiatry Resident Decision toPursue Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry or Other Subspecialty Fellowship Training.

There is a national shortage of psychiatrists with subspecialty fellowship training, and many fellowship positions are unfilled. We conducted a survey of US psychiatry residents to better understand the motivation to pursue fellowship training and to determine any specific factors that were particularly influential in choosing a fellowship in consultation-liaison (C-L) psychiatry. Online surveys were distributed electronically to US general psychiatry residents through the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training list server. A total of 219 questionnaires were completed. Interest in fellowship declined during residency training. Most important factors in consideration of fellowship training were lifestyle (89%), finances (69%), and academic opportunities (63%). Specific influential factors were residency experiences, attending staff as a role model, and medical school experiences. Most important discouraging factors were extra training time, financial concerns, and belief that fellowship training was not necessary. Only 30% of residents had outpatient C-L psychiatry experiences. Few residents belonged to any subspecialty organization or attended any subspecialty meeting. Residents interested in C-L psychiatry fellowships had lower expectation of increased salary than other residents. Outpatient practice settings were seen as preferable over inpatient settings by most residents. Results of this survey suggest that enhancing consultation psychiatry exposure in medical school and residency with strong role models, outpatient C-L psychiatry experiences, facilitating subspecialty organization membership and meeting attendance, emphasizing academic opportunities of fellowship training, and improving remuneration for fellowship-trained psychiatrists might be important factors that could improve recruitment into C-L psychiatry and other psychiatric fellowships.

US Psychiatry Faculty: Academic Rank, Gender and Racial Profile.

The gender and racial underrepresentation persist in academic psychiatry faculty appointments. Our study investigated the gender and racial distribution and its temporal trends in academic psychiatry faculty positions across the USA over a 12-year period. Using the annual reports of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), a retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted. Simple descriptive statistics analyzed the time trends and the distribution of gender and race across academic ranks, tenure, and degree types. Over the 12-year study period, the White race was the most represented at each rank. In the lower academic ranks, there was an increased representation of Asians, while the minority race/ethnicities experienced minimal increment. Similarly, males were overrepresented at higher academic ranks, with females increasing in proportion at lower academic ranks. Females and minorities remain underrepresented in academic psychiatry faculty positions, especially among senior academic and leadership positions. Differences in tenure tracks and degree types may contribute to the overrepresentation of White and male academic physicians.

From ‘root shock’ to ‘Main Street’: For a biopsychosocial urban psychology

This paper reflects upon a lifetime of scholarship and activism which has sought to increase the urban policy literacy of psychiatrists and the psychiatric literacy of urban policy makers. She underscores the generative importance in her thinking of a unique intellectual ‘progressive’ niche-milieu which emerged in US psychiatry in the late 1970s and early 1980s and in particular the insights provided by George Engel’s Biopsychosocial Model; charts her research on forms of urban development in US cities that have left as their legacy mass displacement and gentrification, which has wounded disproportionally poorer and ethnic communities and caused ‘root shock’; and outlines the author’s hopes for a new tradition of Biopsychosocial informed urban regeneration and renewal which seeks to nurture and thicken communities and pro-social spaces so as to protect, repair and heal the mental health of those hitherto construed as ‘casualties of progress’. This paper calls attention to the literal and figurative importance of the idea of the ‘Main Street’ in projects of healing.

A history of psychiatry in the United States of America

Objectives: In this general review, we provide a timeline of how psychiatry in the United States of America has evolved and developed since the nation's inception in the 18th century. Methods: Besides our life time experiences in receiving training, teaching, and practicing psychiatry, we collected information from the literature pertinent to the history of development of American psychiatry in this review. Results: In this review, we have highlighted some of the more cardinal events in American history – the shift from asylums to deinstitutionalization of patients in chronic state hospitals; the birth and evolution of the Diagnostic and Statistical of Mental Disorders by the American Psychiatric Association inspired by a dire need to unite a field; the revolutionary discovery of psychotropic medications and the galvanization of pharmaceutical research, development, and use of psychotropic medications in America; and the growing passion for psychiatry over the last several years among senior medical students. Conclusion: In tandem with their colleagues in other countries, American psychiatrists have overcome many trials and tribulations in their endeavor to ease the suffering of the mentally ill in the United States. We are optimistic for the future of American psychiatry as exemplified by a growing passion for psychiatry among American senior medical students, the expansion of US psychiatry residencies, the continued commitment by the National Institute of Mental Health to fund psychiatric research, and the exciting and thoughtful research of our colleagues domestically and abroad.

Transforming Psychiatry from the Classroom to the Clinic: Lessons from the National Neuroscience Curriculum Initiative.

Individual residency programs often struggle to keep pace with scientific advances and new training requirements. Integrating a modern neuroscience perspective into the clinical practice of psychiatry is particularly emblematic of these challenges. The National Neuroscience Curriculum Initiative (NNCI) was established in 2013 to develop a comprehensive set of shared, open-access resources for teaching neuroscience in psychiatry. The NNCI developed a collaborative, team-based approach with a peer-review process for generating and reviewing content. Teaching resources have included interactive sessions for the classroom paired with a comprehensive facilitator's guide. Brief accessible reviews and short videos have been developed for self-study and teaching in clinical settings. Dissemination efforts have included hands-on training for educators through national workshops. All resources are freely available on the NNCI website. Outcome measures have included the number of educational resources developed, feedback from workshop attendees, the number of US psychiatry residency programs who have adopted NNCI resources, as well as analytics from the NNCI website. To date, the NNCI has developed over 150 teaching sessions, reflecting the work of 129 authors from 49 institutions. The NNCI has run over 50 faculty development workshops in collaboration with numerous national and international organizations. Between March 2015 and June 2019, the website (www.NNCIonline.org) has hosted 48,640 unique users from 161 countries with 500,953 page views. More than 200 psychiatry training programs have reported implementing NNCI teaching materials. This multisite collaborative provides a model for integrating cutting-edge science into medical education and the practice of medicine more broadly.

Comfort Level and Barriers to the Appropriate Use of Clozapine: a Preliminary Survey of US Psychiatric Residents.

Clozapine is the gold standard treatment for treatment-resistant schizophrenia. Prior surveys of mental health providers have identified multiple causes for underutilization of clozapine; however, no previous survey has been conducted to assess US psychiatry residents' level of comfort in prescribing clozapine. A survey was sent via email to program directors of Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-affiliated psychiatry residency programs requesting the survey to be distributed to current residents. The survey included questions regarding demographics, clozapine-prescribing practices, comfort levels with prescription, and perceived barriers to prescription. A total of 164 psychiatric residents completed the survey, 37% PGY-1 and 2 residents and 63% PGY-3 or higher. One-third of the respondents had a clozapine clinic in their program. Only 18% of the residents felt "very" comfortable in initiating clozapine and 41% felt "somewhat" comfortable. Two main reasons for not starting clozapine were (1) side effect profile (41%) and (2) limited experience and inadequate training in clozapine use (38%). More than 4/5ths of the residents (83%) responded that they would feel more comfortable in prescribing clozapine if they were trained in a clozapine clinic. Major limitation of this study has been the small sample size, lack of representativeness, and generalization. Forty-one percent of the respondents did not feel comfortable with clozapine prescription. Major concerns cited included the side effect profile as well as lack of experience and training. The majority of the respondents felt that they would be more comfortable prescribing clozapine if they had the opportunity to train in a clozapine clinic.