L06 – A Third Year Program in Psychiatry for Family Medicine Residents

Summary

More and more, epidemiological studies are indicating the wide prevalence of psychiatric and psychosocial problems in the community. Family physicians are the doctors who currently deliver the bulk of mental health care in the community. Thus, the training of family physicians assumes increased importance, with the goals being improved skills to detect and treat mental health issues in their patient population. In Canada, the family medicine residency is a two year program. In this paper, we discuss the development of a third year program in psychiatry for family medicine residents who have finished their second year. It is linked to the Department of Family Medicine at McMaster University. The program at McMaster University involves a core portion, along with significant periods of elective time. This flexibility allows candidates to pursue individual needs and interests. The program is divided into one or two month blocks of times, along with some horizontal placements that continue throughout the year. The blocks involve work in major psychiatric domains, such as mood disorders clinics, anxiety disorders clinics, and psychotic disorders clinics. The horizontal blocks involve psychotherapy supervision as well as working as a psychiatric consultant in different family medicine clinics, in the ”collaborative care” model. We hope to share our experiences as an administrator of this program. We will encourage discussion from the participants as to how aspects of this program can be brought to their communities.