The Psychiatry Residency Program blends academic and community psychiatry experiences to form the best possible preparation for psychiatric practice.  The ACGME-accredited Program is jointly sponsored by The University of Arizona (UA) and UPH Hospital at Kino Campus (UPH Hospital), a multi-specialty community hospital in Tucson.  The UA Psychiatry Department offers formal didactics, research exposure, supervision, and outpatient psychiatry experiences.  UPH Hospital is the setting for inpatient psychiatry, consult-liaison, emergency psychiatry, and medical rotations.   It has the largest acute-care psychiatric facility in the state, the only psychiatric emergency room in the city, and supports the only (civilian) geriatric psychiatry unit in the community.  All psychiatrists at UPH Hospital are faculty at The University of Arizona.  The program provides a rich exposure to community psychiatry and a strong foundation in academic psychiatry.

NUMBER OF RESIDENTS
The Program is currently undergoing a planned expansion. The Program started in 2008 with a class size of three residents per year. PGY-1 and PGY-2 residents were recruited for an initial six residents in the program. For the 2009-2010 academic year, the Program is recruiting four PGY-1 residents and one additional PGY-2 resident.  This will increase the Program size to 11 residents (four PGY-1s, four PGY-2s and three PGY-3s).  Plans are underway to increase the Program still further in subsequent years. The growth reflects the substantial clinical opportunities and large number of supervising faculty available to Residents in the program. Residents have access to a wide range of supervisors and mentors from the UA Psychiatry Department with an excellent faculty to resident ratio.

LENGTH OF PROGRAM
The Program follows all ACGME requirements for accreditation for a four-year general adult psychiatry residency.  Residents planning to apply for additional training in Child and Adolescent Fellowship programs may arrange to meet all general psychiatry requirements in three years.  This permits residents to start a Child and Adolescent Fellowship in their fourth post-graduate year.

EXPERIENCE
Clinical: Residents experience a full range of clinical psychiatric settings and experiences with an emphasis on community psychiatry and the treatment of the severely mentally ill.  Residents also treat patients in a University setting (inpatient and outpatient), a VA setting, and community outpatient settings.  The year-long Outpatient Psychiatry Rotation contains significant psychotherapy training, group therapy experiences, and training in multiple other therapies (CBT, Interpersonal Therapy, Couple and Family therapy, etc.)  The program offers rotations in inpatient and outpatient Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Substance Abuse, Psychosomatic Medicine, Emergency Psychiatry, Geriatric Psychiatry, ECT, and Forensic Psychiatry as well.  There is a significant variability of patients, clinical settings, and treatment modalities.  Residents receive ample, direct supervision from expert faculty and staff.

Didactics: Seminars, Case Presentations, Grand Rounds, and Journal Clubs are all part of the didactic training in the program.  An extensive seminar series is shared with residents from The University of Arizona Psychiatry Program.  Grand Rounds take place at both UPH Hospital and the Arizona Health Sciences Center (just a few miles from each other).  Additional teaching occurs during individual supervision and review courses.  Residents participate in a yearly in-service exam (PRITE) and Clinical Examination (mock oral boards).  Attendance at seminars and conferences is required and residents are relieved of all clinical duties during these times.

Research: Faculty in The University of Arizona Psychiatry Department are actively involved in many research projects.  Residents participate in academic conferences, regular literature reviews and a Grand Rounds presentation.  Residents have the opportunity to participate in research projects through mentorship in the Psychiatry Department.  Elective time in the fourth post-graduate year may be used to engage in research activities.

PHILOSOPHY AND ATMOSPHERE
The University of Arizona / UPH Hospital Psychiatry Program aims to train capable, well-balanced psychiatrists.  The atmosphere at UPH Hospital and in the Psychiatry Department is relaxed, informal, and personal.  The Program places a strong emphasis on education through clinical experiences, individual supervision, didactics, and research.  Residents treat patients from diverse demographic backgrounds, receive substantial training in psychotherapy, and participate in multi-disciplinary community-based psychiatric care.  The blend of community and academic psychiatry, in an attentive and supportive learning environment, provides an ideal setting for this psychiatric training.

EXTERNSHIPS AND OBSERVERSHIPS
We do not currently offer externships or observerships.