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Curriculum and Didactics

The five-year rotation schedule aims to integrate rotations in each specialty during each year, alternating between psychiatry and family medicine approximately every four to six months for the first three years and the last year. The fourth year is one full year of outpatient psychiatry.

Schedule revisions and informal curriculum evaluations take place at the monthly program meetings. Additionally, residents are provided four weeks of vacation each year, divided proportionately between their assignments in each program.

The Family Medicine Continuity Clinic is a weekly experience (at least one half-day per week in Years 1-4 and three half-days in Year 5) at the Christ Hospital Family Medicine Center in the Medical Office Building adjoining The Christ Hospital. An additional half-day per week of family medicine outpatient experience with a homeless patient population is provided in the McMicken Integrated Care Clinic during the fourth year and during select months during the fifth year. Supervision is provided by a family medicine preceptor during this time with on-site behavioral health training by Drs. Wulsin and White.

Below is a general outline of each year of the FMP program, but individual schedules are subject to changes.

R1 Curriculum

Block RotationsLocation# of 2 week blocks
Adult Inpatient MedicineTCH4
Global HealthGuatemala1*
Pediatric Inpatient medicineCCHMC2
ICUTCH1
FMC structured blocksTCH7
Longitudinal ExperiencesLocation# of Sessions (total)
Psych Lecture SeriesUC14
OtholaryngologyTCH7
OphthalmologyVariable7
CardiologyTCH14
Procedure clinicTCH7
"R1 Specials"behavioral health, procedures, global healthTCH12

R2 Curriculum

Block RotationsLocation# of 2 week blocks
Adult Impatient MedicineTCH4
General SurgeryTCH1
Maternity CareTCH2
FMC structured blocksTCH7
Longitudinal ExperiencesLocation# of Sessions (total)
DermatologyTCH14
GynecologyTCH14
ElectiveVariable14

R3 Curriculum

Block RotationsLocation# of 2 week blocks
Adult Inpatient MedicineTCH2
Pediatric Emergency MedicineCCHMC1
Global Health LeadershipVariable1*
Emergency MedicineUC1
Outpatient PediatricsCCHMC1
Maternity CareTCH2
NewbornsUC1
FMC structured blocksTCH8
Longitudinal ExperiencesLocation# of Sessions (total)
Outpatient PediatricsCrossroad Health Center16
ElectiveVariable16
ProceduresTCH4
Sports MedicineVariable10

R4 Curriculum

Longitudinal Psychiatry ExperienceNo block rotations and no structured FMC weeks during this year. FMP residents maintain continuity in the FMC with weekly patient care sessions

R5 Curriculum

Block RotationsLocation# of 2 week blocks
Adult Inpatient MedicineTCH2
GynecologyVariable1
Emergency MedicineUC1
Pediatric Emergency MedicineCCHMC1
ElectiveVariable1
Global Health ElectiveVariable1
Orthopedics/Sports MedicineVariable2
FMC structured blocksTCH8
Longitudinal ExperiencesLocation# of Sessions (total)
Outpatient PediatricsCrossroad Health Center8
ElectiveVariable16

Legend: TCH=The Christ Hospital; UCMC= University of Cincinnati Medical Center; CCHMC= Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center; VAMC=Veterans Affairs Medical Center; UCMC-R= University of Cincinnati Psychiatry at Ridgeway; LCOH=Lindner Center of Hope

Didactic Curriculum

The curriculum emphasizes a) the essential knowledge and skills of family medicine and psychiatry, and b) the skills necessary to integrate clinical practice in family medicine and psychiatric settings.

The goal is to train primary care clinicians with expertise in the management of mental disorders in primary care settings and to train psychiatrists who can manage the primary care needs of their patients. Residents follow the didactic curricula of the rotations to which they are assigned, e.g., psychiatry while on psychiatry rotations and family medicine while on family medicine rotations.

Family Medicine Didactics

Didactics occur for three Thursday afternoons each month.The second Thursday is each month is dedicated to continuity Geriatric experience (which occurs during the 4th and 5th years for FMP residents) at the Center for Community Living at the VA Medical Center, where residents follow two veterans residing in a long-term nursing facility monthly for two years, supervised by attending geriatricians.

In addition, while residents are on their inpatient Family Medicine months, they participate in daily noontime lectures on topics related to inpatient, outpatient, and OB. During off-service inpatient months the residents participate in the didactics of their specific rotation. For example, while on pediatric rotations at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center the residents participate in morning report, noon conferences and Grand Rounds with the pediatric residents.

Family Medicine Grand Rounds occur once a month at The Christ Hospital and are well-attended by residents, faculty, and community family physicians. Journal Club, Patient Safety Conference, Maternity Care M+M, and R3 Selective Lectures are featured regularly throughout the year.

Psychiatry Didactics

PGY 1 residents have lectures for five months in the first year, while PGY2 and PGY3 residents have didactic lectures throughout the year. Lectures typically take place on Tuesday or Thursday mornings depending on the month and year of training.Grand Rounds occur weekly on Wednesdays between September and June, followed by an informal question-and-answer session with the presenter for the residents. The remaining didactics occur on a longitudinal basis according to year of training and are aimed at introducing residents to psychopharmacology, psychotherapy and other topics relevant to the practice of psychiatry. Journal Club and Evidence-Based Medicine Topics are presented by residents and attended by residents and both clinical and research faculty.

In addition, a yearly research curriculum has been integrated into the program to expose residents to the basics of experimental design, which can be very useful in the creation of resident's required scholarly project - which may consist of a Grand Rounds or formal publication. See the Research Opportunities section for additional information.

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Department of
Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience

Stetson Building Suite 3200
260 Stetson Street
PO Box 670559
Cincinnati, OH 45267-0559