Adult Psychiatry Residency - Residents

 

Dear Prospective Candidates,

Welcome to the Institute of Living/Hartford Hospital Adult Psychiatry Residency Program. Congratulations on your decision to enter the wonderful world of psychiatry. We hope to give you a taste of what life as a resident in our program will be like.

The Institute of Living is nestled on 35 beautiful acres designed by renowned landscape architect, Fredrick Law Olmstead. The rich heritage of the IOL can be traced back to 1822, when it began as one of the earliest psychiatric institutions in the country. At the IOL, a balance of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy is stressed and used as a model in treatment of patients.

The Institute of Living Psychiatry Residency epitomizes excellence in teaching and providing superb psychiatric care whilst respecting the individual, personal lives of its residents. This mantra extends to some unique features of our program including, readily accessible and approachable mentors and supervisors, protected didactic time, twice monthly residency council meetings, daily interaction with in-house attendings who enjoy teaching, small case load (allowing for better patient care and exposure), adequate supervision on call (in-house back up and buddy call system), and a non-sleep deprivation call schedule (call ends firmly at 9:45pm; Fridays and Saturdays are the only overnight calls per month during psychiatry rotations). Our close proximity and ties with Hartford Hospital and Connecticut Children’s Medical Center create an atmosphere of mutual respect and admiration, making interacting with other disciplines easy and fruitful (no time-consuming long commutes for rotations).
 
In addition, as the IOL is essentially a “one stop shop for psychiatry”, having an “individualized” residency, while meeting teaching and training criteria is possible and encouraged. The IOL houses inpatient units, outpatient practices, partial hospitalization programs, and our own special needs school (Grace Webb K-12), which span all patient populations and diagnoses. There are specialty clinics, which address memory disorders, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia rehabilitation, addiction recovery, and eating disorders. Last, but by far not the least, are the research opportunities available at the Institute of Living in areas such as the Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center (cutting edge fMRI studies), Psychopharmacology, and Clinical Genetics to name a few. This creates fertile ground for any trainee to either strengthen current aspirations or to open one’s mind to the possibilities that the field of psychiatry can offer.

Currently our residents reflect a healthy mix of American Medical Graduates, International Medical Graduates, different ethnic backgrounds, couples and families with children. Being a small program (6 residents per class) allows for a supportive and cohesive environment with each resident feeling acknowledged and heard. Apart from general residency related activities (welcome picnic, yearly resident retreat, holiday party, and the Burlingame formal dinner), as a group we engage in many casual, social gatherings.

Hartford is a great small sized city, offering the creature comforts of big city life like theater, art, concerts, and fine dining. Being a hub for education also lends a college town feel to the area while offering great schools for discerning families with children. Simultaneously, Connecticut is perfect for the outdoor lover with skiing in the winter and beaches to escape to in the summer. If you’re interested in a day trip or weekend getaway, Boston and New York City are only a few hours away by car.

Choosing the right residency can be a daunting task as you decide on your areas of interest and tease out the details that are important to you in a program. We hope we have aided in this decision-making process and wish you the best of luck in the search for a residency that is the best fit for you! Please do not hesitate to contact us with questions or concerns. We look forward to hearing from you!

 

Lovey Grider, M.D. PGY-3 Resident Council President		Natalie March, M.D. PGY-2 Resident Council Vice-President

 

---

 

Residents, 2009-10