PGY 2 Year

The second year of training (PGY2) offers a rich and diverse exposure to psychiatric illness and treatment through rotations in inpatient, forensics, addictions, emergency, and consultation liaison psychiatry. Inpatient rotations include one month on the community service at NYSPI, two months on an inpatient general adult psychiatric service at NYP, two months in the Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program (CPEP) working as part of a team evaluating patients in a busy urban adult psychiatric emergency room and two months on the Consultation Liaison Psychiatry service at New York Presbyterian Hospital. Additionally, PGY2 residents spend an additional month working in the child CPEP and Consultation service. For their outpatient experience, PGY2 residents spend two months working in a carceral psychiatry setting and in addictions clinics. During the year, PGY2 residents share night team responsibilities and weekend call admitting and covering the inpatient services of NYP and NYSPI, and working as a team with the PGY3’s, who cover the emergency room. As in the first year of training, PGY2 residents receive substantial faculty supervision in psychotherapy and psychopharmacology in each clinical setting.

The PGY2 also includes daily didactic sessions that include coursework in psychiatric interviewing, neuroscience, pathophysiology, psychotherapy, forensics, ethics, community psychiatry, interventional psychiatry, and others. The core curriculum in the PGY2 stresses a thorough understanding of the clinical syndromes and the biologic, psychological, familial, and cultural factors that influence patients. Residents also develop sophisticated interviewing techniques for diagnosis and treatment. The integration of these clinical experiences with the core curriculum provides the essential foundation for each PGY2 resident’s professional development.

Call Responsibilities for PGY2s

During the year, PGY2 residents share night call responsibilities and weekend call admitting and covering the inpatient psychiatric services of the New York State Psychiatric Institute. They work as a night and weekend call team with the PGY3 residents. 

Washington Heights Community Service Inpatient Unit (PI - 5South)

PGY2 residents spend one month on the Washington Heights Community Service, a state-funded urban community mental health center which provides a comprehensive system of inpatient and outpatient care for the seriously ill patients in Washington Heights. Residents treat acutely ill patients on the NYSPI inpatient unit as part of a team and work closely with the patients' families and outpatient case managers to ensure a smooth return to the community. The average length of stay is usually three to four weeks. A program on cross-cultural psychiatry focuses on the Latinx community living in Washington Heights.

New York Presbyterian/Columbia Inpatient Psychiatry Service

PGY2 residents rotate for two months on the Columbia Inpatient Psychiatry Service at a 24-bed inpatient unit. It is a general inpatient unit with particular expertise in the treatment of affective and psychotic disorders, dual diagnosis, and complex medical/psychiatric problems. As the primary referral unit for the medical center, patients often present with complicated diagnostic and treatment dilemmas. During the rotation, each resident is paired with an attending psychiatrist and works closely with PGY4s doing senior electives, psychology interns, and Columbia third and fourth-year medical students. Residents learn to work in a managed care setting (average length of stay about 14 days) and develop expertise in complex psychopharmacology, geriatric psychiatry, individual and group psychotherapy for affective illness and addiction, cognitive behavioral therapy for depressive and anxiety disorders, individual and family psychotherapy, and electroconvulsive therapy.

Adult Consultation - Liaison Service

PGY2 residents rotate for two months on the adult Consultation-Liaison (CL) Service at New York Presbyterian Hospital, one of the oldest and largest CL departments in the country. Residents are trained in a wide spectrum of psychological and pharmacological techniques. Special emphasis is directed towards treating patients with a variety of medical and surgical illnesses and in working in the consultative mode with patients and their physicians. Residents also gain experience in handling forensic issues, especially capacity assessments. Residents participate in daily clinical rounds run by an attending psychiatrist. These rounds serve as direct, case-oriented educational experiences. Residents have the opportunity to teach non-psychiatric house staff and learn how to conduct case conferences. Each week, there is an active schedule of lectures and case presentations covering a variety of topics in general psychiatry as it impacts the medical setting.

NYP Comprehensive Psychiatry Emergency Program (CPEP) 

PGY2 residents rotate for two months in the Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program (CPEP) where they gain proficiency in diagnostic interviewing and treatment of acute psychiatric emergencies. This emergency room setting is unique in that patients can stay for up to 72 hours, allowing time for a thorough evaluation and the best treatment and disposition.  Patients enter the NYP CPEP with a range of psychiatric symptoms and diagnoses, which frequently include primary or co-occurring substance use disorders.  

Pediatric Psychiatry Emergency Service and Immediate Treatment Clinic

PGY2 residents rotate for one month on the Pediatric Psychiatry Emergency Service in the Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of NYPH. Residents work on a team with the first-year Child and Adolescent Psychiatry fellows, where they are trained in diagnostic interviewing of children and adolescents, focused family work, and integrating information from broader systems of care. Educational activities include daily Emergency Psychiatry Rounds and weekly Case Conference.

Adult Outpatient Psychiatry 

PGY2 residents rotate for 2 months across multiple outpatient community-based settings. Residents rotate through an outpatient addiction clinic, a forensic site focused on providing psychiatric care to incarcerated individuals, a mobile crisis service, and a collaborative care setting. In addition to clinical patient care responsibilities, residents gain further exposure to forensic psychiatry and actively participate in quality improvement (QI) initiatives, enhancing both their clinical skills and understanding of systems-based practice.