Basic Philosophy of the Department of Psychiatry

THE BASIC PHILOSOPHY of the Department of Psychiatry at OHSU obviously influences all of its educational programs. There are several themes in that philosophy that should be emphasized:

Biopsychosocial model. The department adheres to the basic belief that human beings exist in a complex biological, psychological and social matrix which directly influences their lives. As a result, the Residency Training Program emphasizes comprehensive assessments and individualized treatments for each patient and encourages residents to develop a range of diagnostic and treatment skills in biological, psychological and social areas.

Psychiatrists are physicians. The stance of the department is that psychiatrists are physicians with special expertise in helping patients with emotional difficulties. There is nothing inherently incompatible in the roles of physician and psychiatrist. Major goals of the Residency Training Program are to encourage residents to maintain their identity as physicians, accept responsibility for coordinating the total care of their patients, and develop close working relationships with their non-psychiatric colleagues. This philosophy is embodied in the expectation that residents receive quality experiences in internal medicine and neurology during their internship and accept the responsibility for the treatment of medically ill patients, who comprise a significant portion of the inpatient census at OHSU.

Broad-based, general training. A major responsibility of the department is to provide residents with training which will prepare them to diagnose and treat the greatest possible variety of emotional disorders. A goal of the Residency Training Program is to produce general psychiatrists who are able to provide a range of psychiatric services. To meet these goals, the educational experiences are carefully designed to expose residents to varied psychopathology, multiple treatment modalities, and a number of different service delivery systems.

Pursuit of scientific research. The department is firmly committed to the pursuit of scientific research, which significantly strengthens all educational programs. Faculty currently are involved in major research efforts in biological, forensic, community, transcultural, alcohol and drug, geriatrics, child and adolescent and psychological areas. During the past five years, faculty in the department have published several hundred scientific publications. Resident involvement in research is encouraged and facilitated.

Preparation for public service. Another responsibility of the department is to help meet the needs of Oregon's public service institutions. To fulfill this goal, we believe residents must have quality educational experiences in these settings. We have incorporated into the Residency Training Program carefully designed rotations in VA hospitals, state hospitals, and a variety of community mental health centers (CMHCs) throughout the state.

Experience with special populations. The department believes that residents should have subspecialty experiences, such as severe and persistent mental illness, geriatrics, substance dependence, forensics, transcultural psychiatry, and child and adolescent psychiatry. Each of these groups presents unique problems that require special expertise. The Residency Training Program is designed to include experiences with these patients.

Close collaboration with non-psychiatric physicians. A major concern of the department is the development of close collaboration with non-psychiatric physicians to improve the medical care of psychiatric patients and the quality of the emotional care provided by non-psychiatrists to their patients. The Residency Training Program incorporates these principles especially on the consultation/liaison services, behavioral medicine service, the primary care psychiatry track, and the inpatient psychiatric units, where medical consultations are frequent.

Linkages with community agencies. The educational efforts of the department are greatly strengthened by the development of linkages with a variety of community agencies and programs that can serve as potential training sites for the Residency Training Program. We have used these relationships to develop basic residency experiences in state hospitals and CMHCs and a variety of elective rotations.

Development of model curricula. The department has a responsibility to its trainees, to OHSU and to the field of psychiatry in general to attempt to develop model curricula in its educational programs. Faculty at OHSU have extensive experience in designing programs of training in the areas of community mental health, state hospitals, forensics, chronic mental illness, transcultural psychiatry, neuroscience, gender psychology, geriatrics, child and adolescent psychiatry, alcohol and drug abuse, and psychotherapy.

Involvement of clinical faculty. The educational programs in the department are significantly strengthened by the active involvement of clinical faculty in various disciplines with expertise which complements that of the primary faculty. At present, over 100 clinical faculty provide resident education, especially in seminars, psychotherapy supervision, community psychiatry and various elective experiences.

HOME | How to Apply