Psychiatry Residency Research Program
The practice of psychiatry is increasingly becoming an evidence-based science that is built upon our evolving understanding of the biological underpinnings of mental illness accompanied by the establishment of effective means of delivering high quality care. Resident psychiatrists learn best practices during their training, but their education and careers can be greatly enhanced by hands-on research experience as well. This philosophy led us to launch the University of Washington Psychiatry Resident Research Program (PRRP).
Goals
- enhance the research experiences of the participants
- attract a diverse group of participating residents
- enrich the entire residency by promulgating an enthusiasm for scientific inquiry
- increase the rate of successful transition to fellowship and other career development experiences
- launch more psychiatrists into research careers
Structure of the Program
- aim to recruit four residents each year
- wide range of research opportunities including Neuroscience, Health Services, and Addiction Psychiatry
- typically, participants will have 80% research time available for 16 months, scheduled in a flexible manner that fits their research training needs
- In addition to a primary mentor, participants will receive scientific and career guidance from a mentoring committee
- Funds are available to help support attendance to national research meetings and support the participant’s research project
- Curriculum:
- group tutorials
- annual colloquium with external expert researchers
- advanced coursework from the Graduate School offerings
- grant writing
- structured education in the responsible conduct of research
- research seminars and conferences
Graduating participants are encouraged to apply for Institutional KL2 awards and NIH K08 awards, and secure PHS loan repayment awards. However, residents who want to have a rich research experience but are not sure if they want to pursue an academic or research career are still encouraged to participate in the PRRP.
If you have questions, please contact John Neumaier, MD, PhD at neumaier@uw.edu.
Q: Why would I list both the UW PRRP and the UW General Residency Program?
Some applicants have excellent clinical qualifications and exceptional research qualifications and commitment; ranking both match lists will maximize an individual’s chance of selection, and individuals selected from either list will join the UW Psychiatry Residency program. Residents entering through the general match list will still be eligible to do research rotations and can join the research pathway, as space permits.
Q: How do the two match lists relate to each other?
We intend to select up to four applicants from the UW PRRP match list and eight applicants from the general residency match list. If fewer individuals are selected from the PRRP match list, the slots will revert to our general match list so that twelve PGY1 residents will be selected in any case.
Q: Is there any risk to ranking both the PRRP and General Residency Program?
If you select these two options consecutively on your rank list, there should be no risk of going farther down your rank list than you would if you listed just one option for UW. Applying to and ranking the PRRP will not affect your ranking on the general residency match list.