PGY-4 Education

The PGY-4 Education experience at the UTHealth Houston Center for Interventional Psychiatry is a mandatory rotation for all PGY-4 psychiatry residents. This rotation provides senior residents with advanced clinical exposure to interventional psychiatry, treatment-resistant mood disorders, and complex psychiatric care. It represents a core component of the residency’s senior-year curriculum.

PGY-4 residents function with increased autonomy while receiving close supervision and mentorship within a high-acuity academic environment.

Educational Focus

PGY-4 training emphasizes:

  • Advanced evaluation and management of treatment-resistant depression and bipolar disorder
  • Exposure to interventional psychiatry treatments, including:
    • Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)
    • Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
    • Intranasal esketamine and intravenous ketamine therapies
  • Clinical decision-making across multiple levels of care
  • Measurement-based treatment planning and longitudinal outcomes
  • Ethical, patient-centered care for complex and high-risk patients

Clinical Training Environment

As part of this required PGY-4 rotation, residents rotate through specialized clinical settings that may include:

  • Outpatient interventional psychiatry clinics
  • Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) and Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP)
  • Inpatient psychiatric care on DCB 4C at the John S. Dunn Behavioral Sciences Center
  • Participation in ECT services and multidisciplinary treatment planning

Clinical responsibilities are appropriate to the senior resident level and emphasize readiness for independent psychiatric practice.

Teaching and Leadership Development

PGY-4 residents are encouraged to develop leadership and teaching skills through:

  • Supervision and mentorship of junior residents and medical students
  • Participation in case conferences, journal clubs, and didactic sessions
  • Contribution to program development, quality improvement, or educational initiatives

Scholarly and Career Development Opportunities

Residents may engage in:

  • Clinical research or quality improvement projects
  • Academic writing or presentations
  • Exposure to fellowship-level clinical and scholarly activities

Faculty mentorship supports career planning in clinical psychiatry, academic medicine, and subspecialty training.

Educational Mission

Through this mandatory PGY-4 rotation, the Center aims to:

  • Ensure all graduating residents achieve competence in managing complex and treatment-resistant psychiatric illness
  • Provide foundational exposure to interventional psychiatry as part of general psychiatric training
  • Prepare residents for independent practice in high-acuity clinical settings
  • Support the development of future academic and clinical leaders in psychiatry